While I was looking for a way to get involved with Halifax Harbour Clean Up I came across this article... I found the "Clean up misses many spots" section particularly interesting.
This is a really complicated procedure. Not that it won’t be worth it but wow, there are so many aspects that need to be taken into consideration, what a huge project!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
More On Bushmeat and Fish
check this article out here
More On Bushmeat and Fish
In Rift Valley lakes of Eastern Africa algae rely on surface water and deep water mixing to provide the perfect environment. Quoted in the article: “there is less of this mixing, because the [temperature-mediated] density difference between the surface waters and the deep waters has gotten greater, and so it takes more energy to mix deep water up to the surface.” (O'Rielly). In turn, the fish stock has plummeted as they have nothing to feed on. This has forced the local people to turn to bushmeat as a source of protein. Many of these animals are endangered and even more carry disease.
This “thread” can be pulled back to global warming. It is so sad that the people of Africa, who are most likely contributing the least to global warming, are the ones that are suffering the most due to the higher temperatures. (S. Fields, 2005)
More On Bushmeat and Fish
In Rift Valley lakes of Eastern Africa algae rely on surface water and deep water mixing to provide the perfect environment. Quoted in the article: “there is less of this mixing, because the [temperature-mediated] density difference between the surface waters and the deep waters has gotten greater, and so it takes more energy to mix deep water up to the surface.” (O'Rielly). In turn, the fish stock has plummeted as they have nothing to feed on. This has forced the local people to turn to bushmeat as a source of protein. Many of these animals are endangered and even more carry disease.
This “thread” can be pulled back to global warming. It is so sad that the people of Africa, who are most likely contributing the least to global warming, are the ones that are suffering the most due to the higher temperatures. (S. Fields, 2005)
Monday, January 15, 2007
can't comment on your bolg
i don't know what i'm doing wrong but it's not recognizing my user name on your gpy 2305 blog. i can't comment. i thought my email address was my user name, but i tried everything else too... i don't know what else to do. anyways i found an interesting atricle to follow up on your El Nino posting... it has to do with El Nino and global warming. check it out here
New Fish
Article can be found here
New Fish
In reading this article, I was astonished to think that almost 95% of the biological ocean has yet to be discovered! At the beginning of the article I couldn’t figure out if the news that 2000-3000 new species of fish will be found in 3 years was to be expected in the research field, or was simply unbelievable! By the end of the article, however, when our general knowledge of the ocean was compared to what we knew about the moon’s surface when man landed there, I was not as surprised that we have so much more to discover. It would be surprising to most people to learn, however, that we know more about the moon’s surface than our own planets’ oceans.
With the combined efforts of 300 scientists from 53 countries to create this oceans census, with a common goal of “pinpointing endangered animals and suggesting how to protect them”, this “adventure” becomes all the more exciting. Wouldn’t Maury want to be in on this! I’m sure his records are included in the 15,304 species of fish already documented, but I can imagine him being thrilled to have the collaboration of experts to log all the findings.
Aside from the discovery of new fish species, a new species of sponge, “Rasta sponge”, was discovered, which is believed to contain specific “chemical compounds that may treat cancerous tumors”. Not only are we documenting this information for our greater knowledge, but it is, more importantly, for the greater good of the oceans’ aquatic life in that it will protect endangered species; and in the interests of human life in that findings may be important in testing for treatments for diseases such as cancer.
New Fish
In reading this article, I was astonished to think that almost 95% of the biological ocean has yet to be discovered! At the beginning of the article I couldn’t figure out if the news that 2000-3000 new species of fish will be found in 3 years was to be expected in the research field, or was simply unbelievable! By the end of the article, however, when our general knowledge of the ocean was compared to what we knew about the moon’s surface when man landed there, I was not as surprised that we have so much more to discover. It would be surprising to most people to learn, however, that we know more about the moon’s surface than our own planets’ oceans.
With the combined efforts of 300 scientists from 53 countries to create this oceans census, with a common goal of “pinpointing endangered animals and suggesting how to protect them”, this “adventure” becomes all the more exciting. Wouldn’t Maury want to be in on this! I’m sure his records are included in the 15,304 species of fish already documented, but I can imagine him being thrilled to have the collaboration of experts to log all the findings.
Aside from the discovery of new fish species, a new species of sponge, “Rasta sponge”, was discovered, which is believed to contain specific “chemical compounds that may treat cancerous tumors”. Not only are we documenting this information for our greater knowledge, but it is, more importantly, for the greater good of the oceans’ aquatic life in that it will protect endangered species; and in the interests of human life in that findings may be important in testing for treatments for diseases such as cancer.
Measured Contributions
Reference to article found here
Measured Contributions
Canada’s own Connie Lovejoy of Montreal may have helped to find the “essential basis for the existence of life in the Arctic”! How exciting! A new algae that has most likely been overlooked for who knows how long, has now been recognized as a new form of life, and an essential one at that.
Picobiliphytes, the name of the newly discovered “wandering” algae, is a phytoplankton; “Phyton” meaning plant and “planktos” meaning wander. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoplankton). The algae seems to be well-named as the picobiliphytes were first discovered in the cold waters of the Arctic and then found to exist as well in the coastal waters off Europe.
This minute organism is not one that could have been discovered by one of our early century surveyors, whether they believed equatorial waters to be at boiling temperatures (found that quite amusing), or they were the first to create a way of keeping track of time at sea for the purpose of measuring longitude (as Harrison did). Only with the “advances” in technology are we now able to make contributions this large about something so small. But who’s to say which contributions are more advanced?
I find myself comparing the old with the new as we learn about the contributions made in the past to what I am learning about today’s discoveries. A stopwatch seems like such a simple, non-complex item today, compared to technologies that allow us to find something not visible to the naked eye, and then identify it as a whole new life form.
I just continue to be amazed at how far “mankind” has come in the pursuit of knowledge.
Measured Contributions
Canada’s own Connie Lovejoy of Montreal may have helped to find the “essential basis for the existence of life in the Arctic”! How exciting! A new algae that has most likely been overlooked for who knows how long, has now been recognized as a new form of life, and an essential one at that.
Picobiliphytes, the name of the newly discovered “wandering” algae, is a phytoplankton; “Phyton” meaning plant and “planktos” meaning wander. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytoplankton). The algae seems to be well-named as the picobiliphytes were first discovered in the cold waters of the Arctic and then found to exist as well in the coastal waters off Europe.
This minute organism is not one that could have been discovered by one of our early century surveyors, whether they believed equatorial waters to be at boiling temperatures (found that quite amusing), or they were the first to create a way of keeping track of time at sea for the purpose of measuring longitude (as Harrison did). Only with the “advances” in technology are we now able to make contributions this large about something so small. But who’s to say which contributions are more advanced?
I find myself comparing the old with the new as we learn about the contributions made in the past to what I am learning about today’s discoveries. A stopwatch seems like such a simple, non-complex item today, compared to technologies that allow us to find something not visible to the naked eye, and then identify it as a whole new life form.
I just continue to be amazed at how far “mankind” has come in the pursuit of knowledge.
Kelp Forest
Found this article here
Kelp Forest
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is responsible for creating a thinning kelp bed off the coast of San Diego, California. The corporation is, however, initiating the creation of a $20 million artificial reef, the largest in the US, in hopes of regenerating the kelp forest.
This article reminded me, on a much smaller scale, of the relay effect we spoke of in class. The percentage of aquatic life affected is significantly smaller - their home, the kelp forest, was not reproducing young kelp - because the “power plant's operations degraded the ocean”.
This “thread” does not have to be pulled very far to reveal what is happening, but it seems in a situation so closely related (a power plant by the sea) this situation could have been easily avoided. Let’s hope that the efforts to reproduce the kelp forest, a habitat for so many life forms, are successful and that in future, environmental impact assessment studies will play a major role in the planning of any such development.
Kelp Forest
The San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station is responsible for creating a thinning kelp bed off the coast of San Diego, California. The corporation is, however, initiating the creation of a $20 million artificial reef, the largest in the US, in hopes of regenerating the kelp forest.
This article reminded me, on a much smaller scale, of the relay effect we spoke of in class. The percentage of aquatic life affected is significantly smaller - their home, the kelp forest, was not reproducing young kelp - because the “power plant's operations degraded the ocean”.
This “thread” does not have to be pulled very far to reveal what is happening, but it seems in a situation so closely related (a power plant by the sea) this situation could have been easily avoided. Let’s hope that the efforts to reproduce the kelp forest, a habitat for so many life forms, are successful and that in future, environmental impact assessment studies will play a major role in the planning of any such development.
Just A Thought
Just a Thought
Learning about a time when it was possible to find “new land”, to be the first to step foot on a beach where no one foot had ever stepped before is exciting. Imagine living at a time, when no one really knew what the world beyond looked like.
In your Ocean Use and Management class you spoke of our descendants either looking back at us in the year 2007 and thinking “what were they thinking… not doing anything about the problems that Canada and the world are facing with the melting ice in the Arctic?” or “Wow, what a difference they made… how exciting to live in 2007 and be able to achieve what our ancestors achieved”.
It seems more believable to think that we are capable of making advances, of doing something about our problems and not just talking about them. I think back to the explorers who took a leap out into the unknown in search of something they had no idea about; that at one point in our history we did not know that a whole other continent existed. With the technology and expertise we have today, one would think it to be a simple task to tackle the environmental problems we have caused; whether the problem is an oil spill from a ship transporting oil for the use of humans, or the ice melting in the Arctic due to global warming from greenhouse gas emissions. The impact of man on Earth has been devastating, but we have the knowledge to stop and reverse this trend. Do we have the will?
Learning about a time when it was possible to find “new land”, to be the first to step foot on a beach where no one foot had ever stepped before is exciting. Imagine living at a time, when no one really knew what the world beyond looked like.
In your Ocean Use and Management class you spoke of our descendants either looking back at us in the year 2007 and thinking “what were they thinking… not doing anything about the problems that Canada and the world are facing with the melting ice in the Arctic?” or “Wow, what a difference they made… how exciting to live in 2007 and be able to achieve what our ancestors achieved”.
It seems more believable to think that we are capable of making advances, of doing something about our problems and not just talking about them. I think back to the explorers who took a leap out into the unknown in search of something they had no idea about; that at one point in our history we did not know that a whole other continent existed. With the technology and expertise we have today, one would think it to be a simple task to tackle the environmental problems we have caused; whether the problem is an oil spill from a ship transporting oil for the use of humans, or the ice melting in the Arctic due to global warming from greenhouse gas emissions. The impact of man on Earth has been devastating, but we have the knowledge to stop and reverse this trend. Do we have the will?
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