Some of us may have salt in our veins and are lucky enough to live by the sea; a mesmerizing force in our world covering two thirds of the earth’s surface. Others travel far to enjoy bathing, surfing, diving and water sports. Still others work in a most dangerous occupation trawling the waters to haul in fish for consumption. Under the sea are turtles, tuna, kelp forests and beautiful coral reefs. All are endangered! Many sources of marine debris and ocean pollution hurt the ocean and all living things. Sewage sludge, industrial waste, off-shore oil rigs, toxic waste incineration and dumping - all impact marine life, waterfronts and coastal environments. Things are bad and it is going to take action by all of us to protect our precious ocean resources. Any ideas or comments please contact us at Bigissues@voiceyourself.com.
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Ocean Rescue
Ocean health is everyone's job.
Most of the world’s important commercial fish species have been declining for years. Nearly one-fourth are unable, essentially, to reproduce. The biggest cause of the deterioration in ocean health — bigger than climate change or pollution — is overfishing. American fisheries are in better shape than most but not by much. The White House seems prepared to give this issue high priority. George W. Bush, though more sensitive to marine issues than other environmental problems, was slow to offer remedies, the most important being the establishment of three large protected marine reserves in the Pacific. President Obama has engaged the matter early in the game.
Editorial - The New York Times , June 22, 2009
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Snorkel teams can assess climate impact on corals
Great Barrier Reef's Giant Coral.
Teams of snorkel-wearing scientists could be warriors against the ravages of climate change on coral reefs, the International Union for Conservation of Nature reported on Wednesday. Small teams of observers, wearing snorkels, swim fins and masks and carrying underwater note paper or slates and measuring tape, could make rapid assessments of how coral formations are faring as the world's oceans get warmer, the group said at a briefing. Warmer waters can contribute to the bleaching of coral reefs, a process in which microscopic plants that live on and nourish the coral are lost; without these plants, coral can die in a matter of weeks.
By Deborah Zabarenko - Reuters , May 20, 2009
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Unique research voyage to set sail from Seattle
The Ocean Watch is a science platform.
The Ocean Watch is a unique sailing vessel that will become a floating platform for science research as it circumnavigates the Americas. The 65 foot ship is starting its sea trials. And at the end of the month it will begin a 25,000-mile voyage that will touch the Arctic and the Antarctic. Aboard is an experienced crew, including skipper Mark Schrader, who's used to long voyages. The Ocean Watch will become a floating platform for science research as it circumnavigates the Americas.
By Gleen Farley - KING 5 News | Seattle, WA , May 20, 2009
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Russia to build floating Arctic nuclear stations
If this happens, then what?
Russia is planning a fleet of floating and submersible nuclear power stations to exploit Arctic oil and gas reserves, causing widespread alarm among environmentalists. A prototype floating nuclear power station being constructed at the SevMash shipyard in Severodvinsk is due to be completed next year. Agreement to build a further four was reached between the Russian state nuclear corporation, Rosatom, and the northern Siberian republic of Yakutiya in February. The 70-megawatt plants, each of which would consist of two reactors on board giant steel platforms, would provide power to Gazprom, the oil firm which is also Russia's biggest company.
By John Vidal | Tromsø, Norway - The Guardian Observer | UK , May 03, 2009
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Imagine a World Without Seafood for Supper -- It's Nearer Than...
Enough boats, but not fish!
As I step off the train at Heysel, the vast art deco structure of the Palais du Centenaire rises like a cathedral. With its four soaring buttresses topped by statues, the Palais forms the centrepiece of the Parc des Expositions in Brussels, Belgium - a trade-fair complex built in the 1930s to commemorate a century of independence from the Netherlands. This is the temporary home of thousands of fish products from around the world as 23,000 delegates descend from 80 countries for the annual European Seafood Exposition - the world's largest seafood trade show and a grim reminder of man's dominion over the oceans.
By Andrew Purvis - The Observer | UK , April 29, 2009
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Ocean Acidification Risks Mass Extinction of Sea Life
Increasing acidity of oceans.
Increasing acidity of the oceans due to rising carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions pose a major threat to aquatic life, scientists are warning. A full 50 percent of the carbon dioxide emitted by the burning of fossil fuels or other substances is absorbed by the ocean, but this does not mean that the substance is rendered harmless. Carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid, thus increasing the overall acidity of ocean water. This has led to a lowering of the ocean's pH by 0.1 since the Industrial Revolution -- a 30 percent increase in acidity.
By David Gutierrez - NaturalNews.com , April 29, 2009
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Scholar calls for law to protect coral reefs
Fish vanish without coral reefs.
An Academia Sinica researcher suggested Friday that the government introduce legislation to protect the country's coral reefs, which he said are the largest marine structures and are more important than pandas. Chen Chao-lun, an associate research fellow at the Biodiversity Research Center, made the call while releasing the findings of a 2008 research project on the state of Taiwan's coral reefs. Chen warned that Taiwan's coral reefs are being threatened by the so-called "black disease, " or attacks from a kind of black sponge that co-exists with algae. Apart from that, he said the development of the coral-centered marine ecology was found to be seriously unbalanced due to over-fishing.
By Elizabeth Hsu - Central News Agency | Taipei , February 06, 2009
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CO2 emissions harm ocean's ability to absorb carbon
CO2 disrupts cycled between sea and atmosphere.
Burning the Earth's remaining fossil resources without technology to capture the carbon they contain could subject the planet to five times as much extra heating from the greenhouse effect as it has already experienced, according to new research. The paper, published in Nature Geoscience, also suggests that now is a particularly bad time to be disturbing the climate system with rocketing CO2 emissions, as it is particularly sensitive to them at present - more so than it's been for much of the last 400 million years.
Planet Earth Online , Feburary 03, 2009
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Watery Waste on the Dinner Table
Bags found in whale’s stomach.
The old saying goes, "One man's trash is another man's treasure." But what if one man's trash becomes another man's dinner? That's a worry among some researchers, given that one of the world's largest garbage dumps is the regular feeding ground for many fish that, then, end up on cutting boards around the world. It's a sea within a sea; an estimated 3½ million tons of garbage, mostly plastic, both sunken and floating, that covers miles of ocean stretching from the coast of California all the way to China.
By Darcy Bonfils and Lee Ferren - ABC News , February 03, 2009
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Dramatic Expansion Of Dead Zones In The Oceans
Ocean oxygen depletion causes anoxia
Unchecked global warming would leave ocean dwellers gasping for breath. Dead zones are low-oxygen areas in the ocean where higher life forms such as fish, crabs and clams are not able to live. In shallow coastal regions, these zones can be caused by runoff of excess fertilizers from farming. A team of Danish researchers have now shown that unchecked global warming would lead to a dramatic expansion of low-oxygen areas zones in the global ocean by a factor of 10 or more.
By Staff Writers - Terradaily.com | Copenhagen, Denmark , January 28, 2009
