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"In an age of networking and conference attending, &amp;quot;un-conferences&amp;quot; have become quite fashionable, and one in particular has been gaining loads of attention:\u00A0Summit Series\u00A0is\u00A0an experimental events company that serves a\u00A0collection of artists, entrepreneurs, activists, philanthropists and musicians in an effort to make our world a better place.\r\n\r\nThe idea for Summit Series began on a\u00A019-person ski trip at Utah\u2019s Alta resort in April 2008. Since then, founder\u00A0Elliot Bisnow\u00A0and his 15-person\u00A0full time team\u00A0(along with dozens of part-time staff) have put together events like\u00A0DC10\u00A0and last year\u2019s\u00A0Summit at Sea, which gathered over 1,000 attendees\u00A0including Sir Richard Branson, Peter Diamandis (X Prize Foundation), Peter Thiel (The Founders Fund), Blake Mycoskie (Tom\u2019s Shoes), social media blogger Gary V and artist Peter Tunney. Attendees at Summit at Sea were asked to collaborate with leading scientists, explorers, and\u00A0conservationists to understand and address the challenges facing our current oceanic ecosystem.\r\n\r\nThe Summit Series cruise ship anchored\u00A0just twenty miles from the 70 square mile South Berry Island Marine reserve, which is one\u00A0of the most ecologically diverse areas in the Bahamas and was named a marine protected area (MPA) a decade ago.\u00A0While\u00A0this particular MPA\u00A0has been declared a no-take zone, meaning there is no fishing of any kind allowed,\u00A0it\u2019s a sanctuary only in name. There was no infrastructure, not a single enforcement, officer and no protection.\r\n\r\nIn many parts of the world, particularly China, shark fin soup is a delicacy, explains\u00A0Summit Series' Chief Reconnaissance Officer\u00A0Thayer Walker\u00A0(who's also an adventure journalist).\u00A0&amp;quot;It's a tasteless soup that's a vanity item. And it's very expensive. With the growing wealth and middle class that China has seen in the last several decades, shark fin soup has become widely prevalent.&amp;quot; Walker tells me that sharks are among the most threatened marine animals worldwide. Approximately 70\u00A0million sharks worldwide are killed every year just for their fins.\r\n\r\nOne year after Summit at Sea, the Summit Series team has recently returned from a scientific expedition to the South Berry Island Marine Protected Area, capping a year-long\u00A0ocean conservation campaign\u00A0that raised more than $800,000\u00A0to protect the vital marine habitat.\u00A0Expedition &amp;quot;Tiger Shark&amp;quot; was a collaborative effort between the\u00A0Waitt Institute, who offered their research vessel,\u00A0The Nature Conservancy,\u00A0University of Miami R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program, who conducted shark research and\u00A0MacGillivray Freeman Films\u00A0of IMAX, who sent a film crew.\u00A0The teams spent 6 days studying the shark population of the South Berry Island Marine Protected Area.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nWhile many touted the trip as a boozey schmooze cruise for entrepreneurs, it's clear that the\u00A0Summiteers' dream was fulfilled. Walker tells me that The\u00A0Nature Conservancy believes they can leverage another $200,000, topping the fundraising effort to $1 million. The money will be used to open office space, set up an operational team, order special\u00A0buoys to demarcate the protected area\u00A0and to conduct the first shark research in the MPA.\r\n\r\nWhen I asked Walker if this would be enough cash to sustain operations to protect the area for years to come, he tells me something quite amazing. &amp;quot;At this point, The\u00A0Nature Conservancy will use\u00A0the resources to get everything up and going. See, they've always had enough money in their budget to keep it going, but they never had enough seed money to set it up,&amp;quot; he says.\r\n\r\nWalker describes the 6 days he spent down in the Bahamas clipping shark fins and why it's important to do so. &amp;quot;The fin clip tells us what the shark is eating, and how healthy they are tells us a lot about the health of the ocean. We can also tell where they're\u00A0mating, giving birth and feeding. This allows us to isolate these hotspots and protect them in order to have the greatest impact,&amp;quot; he explains.\r\n\r\nAnd in true Summit Series form, Walker relates this method to Author\u00A0Tim Ferriss' theory of the 4-Hour Work Week. &amp;quot;It's all about\u00A0maximizing\u00A0results with the least amount of effort,&amp;quot; he says.\u00A0Ferriss contributed $25,000 to the campaign.\r\n\r\nCheck out this video below from their expedition. In it you'll hear the story of\u00A0Dr. Neil Hammerschlag\u00A0and his friendly tiger shark named Berry.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\nOh, and in case you were still thinking of all the small-minded folks eating shark fins,\u00A0recent research shows\u00A0that\u00A0has discovered high concentrations of BMAA in shark fins, a neurotoxin linked to neurodegenerative diseases in humans including Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig Disease (ALS). Sometimes nature has a way of working itself out.\r\n\r\nWant to know more about Summit Series? Read all about their recent Basecamp event here."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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