Archive for September, 2010
By Justin Nobel
Palau is a paradox: The low-lying Pacific island nation is threatened by climate change but may soon be drilling for oil.
Seismic tests in the 1970s indicated the presence of petroleum but exploratory wells were never dug. Now, President Johnson Toribiong is pushing for exploration, hopeful oil will bring cheaper fuel, revenue and jobs.
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September 22, 2010
By Richard Black, BBC News
Governments must protect nature better in order to safeguard their countries’ wealth, says the UN, as ministers meet for a day of talks on biodiversity.
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By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter Gulf News
Dubai – The sight of hundreds of bloodied dead sharks, waiting to be sold at fish markets across the UAE does not bode well for the ocean’s super-predator.
Reef Relief has kicked off our Fall membership and fund-raising drive. Our goal is to raise $50,000 by winter solstice, December 21, 2010.
You can help us reach this goal at no cost to you. iGive.com is going to attempt to donate $5,000 in just 24 hours to Reef Relief and other causes.
For each person who joins iGive using the special link below and does just one qualified web search on the site between now and noon. Thursday, September 30, 2010 (Chicago time), they will give Reef Relief a dollar.
Please share this e-mail now and help Reef Relief.
If these new members search more (or buy something at an iGive store) they’ll earn even more money for Reef Relief. Right now, $.01 is donated per search and a bonus $5 for that first purchase plus the usual percentage. No purchase necessary.
The only way Reef Relief will get new supporters and that free $1+ is if you invite them. Send your friends, family, and colleagues the following link in an e-mail, tweet it, do a Facebook posting, and let them know you think Reef Relief deserves their support, especially since it’s free! You can even just forward this e-mail.
This is the link:
http://www.igive.com/welcom /warm_reg_promo.cfm?m=733185
If they wish to shop and help Reef Relief this holiday, they can choose from eBay to Amazon, iTunes to Home Depot, Staples, JC Penney, Expedia, and about 800 other great stores.
- Offer active between now and 11:59 a.m., September 30, 2010 (Chicago time).
- New members only (never have been an iGive member previously).
- The special link is important. No link, no qualified web search, no $1. That’s it. Don’t forget to try our search yourself (http://isearch.igive.com). You may need to login first.
Reef Relief would like to thank all the amazing volunteers who came out to the 25th year of the International Coastal Clean Up.
On Saturday, September 25th, Reef Relief volunteers took local action to heart by cleaning the shoreline of No Name Key. Volunteers removed 500 pounds of debris from the mangroves and recorded specific types of marine debris found, allowing the Ocean Conservancy to compile, analyze and track this data year by year and make discoveries about behaviors that cause debris. This information is used to educate the public, business, industry and government officials about the problem of marine debris.
Some of the brave volunteers show off a portion of the marine debris collected
Among the debris removed from the mangroves included buoys, lots of plastics, tires, trap line, dozens of aluminum cans, a lounge chair, and more. Thanks to Big Pine Kayak Adventures who provided the kayaks and assistance at the event and to the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuge for there assistance. Raffle prizes were generously donated by Sebago Watersports, Historic Key West Walking Tour, TGI Fridays, Hard Rock Café, Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum, Big John’s Pizza and Hurricane Hole. Special thanks to Pizza Works, Winn-Dixie in Big Pine and Key West for supplies to kept our volunteers going.
What you can do
Marine debris is caused by us and we can stop it. You and your friends, neighbors, and family, can make a difference through this international effort on behalf of the ocean.
10 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO STOP MARINE DEBRIS
1) Reduce your carbon “footprint.” Our ocean is on the front lines of climate change — absorbing half the carbon dioxide we’ve pumped into the atmosphere. Use mass transit, carpool, and find other ways to reduce your carbon footprint.
2) Take only pictures. Choose vacation spots working to protect endangered sea animals. When snorkeling or diving, take pictures and tell stories but never stand on coral reefs or touch the marine life.
3) Be a green boater. Protect the boating experience along with the ocean. A little spill makes a big difference; be especially careful with oil, gasoline, solvents, and sewage. Bring your trash back to shore. Join Ocean Conservancy’s green boating program Good Mate.
4) Ask for sustainable seafood. Let chefs, wait-staff, and the folks behind your fish counter know that sustainable seafood is important to you.
5) Sign up to attend the International Coastal Cleanup. Volunteers remove trash from beaches and shorelines, and data collected by these citizen-scientists help inform solutions that keep trash out of our ocean in the first place.
6) Reduce. Since packaging materials account for much of the trash we generate, they provide a good opportunity for reducing waste consider items with less, reusable, or recyclable packaging.
7) Reuse. More than 60 percent of the litter collected during the 2009 International Coastal Cleanup consisted of disposable items. Choose reusable shopping bags, coffee mugs, and food containers.
8) Recycle. If you can’t reuse it, recycle it. Check online with your local government to see what you can and can’t give back, and recycle everything possible.
9) Prevent contaminated runoff. No matter where you live, the ocean is downstream. Don’t use chemical fertilizers and pesticides on your lawn. On the driveway, avoid harmful cleaning products, and take proper care of spilled oil.
10) Vote Blue. Urge your elected representatives to support ocean-friendly policies that protect our ocean & stay informed.
For more information visit the Ocean Conservancy’s website
ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2010) — Tile drainage in the Mississippi Basin is one of the great advances of the 19th and 20th centuries, allowing highly productive agriculture in what was once land too wet to farm. In fact, installation of new tile systems continues every year, because it leads to increased crop yields. But a recent study shows that the most heavily tile-drained areas of North America are also the largest contributing source of nitrate to the Gulf of Mexico, leading to seasonal hypoxia. In the summer of 2010 this dead zone in the Gulf spanned over 7,000 square miles.
ScienceDaily (Sep. 25, 2010) — Craig Altier, a member of the Food and Drug Administration’s Veterinary Medicine Advisory Committee and an associate professor at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Cornell University, comments on potential FDA approval of the first genetically engineered animal for use as food.
ScienceDaily (Sep. 25, 2010) — Healthy reefs with more corals and fish generate predictably greater levels of noise, according to researchers working in Panama. This has important implications for understanding the behaviour of young fish, and provides an exciting new approach for monitoring environmental health by listening to reefs
KeyWest City.com – Date of Record: September 23, 2010
The City of Key West on Wednesday took delivery of a brand new pumpout vessel, serving as a reminder that pumping out your liveaboard is easy, inexpensive, and a vital part of protecting our nearshore waters.
The state-of-the-art 26-foot Pumpout USA 26T-1000 vessel is paid for entirely with grant funding. Company owner Capt. Donnie Brown delivered the boat and, within hours, it was on duty helping collect the more than 3,000 gallons of wastewater pumped out every month.
The city provides the service to residents of the city mooring field and marinas, and the price is included in their rent. But the cost is nominal for visitors and anyone else living “on the hook.” City officials encourage everyone who lives aboard to take advantage of the service; it ensures the protection of near shore water quality and protects the city’s status as a Clean Marina facility.
The City of Key West has set an example for the state in establishing a no-discharge zone around the island more than a decade ago. Since then, city marinas at Key West Bight and Garrison Bight were proclaimed Clean Marina facilities by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection.
Take a look at the boat online
ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 2010) — China leads the world in tonnage of fish caught annually as well as the amount of fish consumed, according to new finding.
