Sam Waterston Speaks to CNN on Gulf Disaster

Law & Order’s Sam Waterston, who is also a board member of Oceana, spoke with CNN about the disaster in the Gulf. You can read the full article here: Waterston: Gulf disaster 'is an enormous wake-up call'

An excerpt:

Waterston, 69, who traces his interest in marine issues back to his New England childhood, is hoping the public channels frustration with the oil fiasco into action. The actor, who concluded 16 years as District Attorney Jack McCoy on "Law & Order" with the show's final episode last month, will take part in a July 10 "awareness-raising" charitable event for Oceana, the group founded by actor Ted Danson. Waterston says he hopes that interest stays high even after the oil well is capped and the cleanup takes over.

Waterston spoke to CNN about the oil disaster as a "turning point," anger at celebrities and -- yes -- a little "Law & Order." The following is an edited version of the interview.

CNN: What can be done? It's a very frustrating time for everybody.

Sam Waterston: I hear it from people all over the place. They're feeling helpless and don't know how to respond. [With Oceana,] they can weigh in on this with a lot of other voices, and therefore be more likely to have their voices heard in talking to their representatives and the administration.

This should be a turning point in all of our minds about what our course ought to be about energy supply in this country if we want to preserve the oceans as we know them. ... There's no way to escape the fact that these carbon-based fuels are poisoning the ocean upon which we all depend.


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