Clipmarks | Oceans Clips

Report Shows Greater Peril for World's Threatened Animals and Plants

Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:10:40 GMT

clipped by: thisnamecantbetaken
clipper's remarks: The newest report also includes assessments of 845 species of corals. Already more than a quarter are considered threatened, with climate change added to the list of threats they face. Still, IUCN cautions that the health of marine life could be worse than expected, as relatively little is known about biodiversity in the oceans.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIJHaQ8EGn0

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

Report Shows Greater Peril for World's Threatened Animals, Plants

UNITED NATIONS -- The global crisis for endangered species is more serious than the financial meltdown, with numbers of imperiled animals and plants rising at record rates, scientists are warning in a report released today.

The report, "Wildlife in a Changing World," estimates that 22 percent of known mammals are either facing the threat of extinction or are already extinct. It also found great stress for amphibians, with more than 30 percent classified as threatened or extinct.

"We now know that nearly one quarter of the world's mammals, nearly one third of amphibians and more than 1 in 8 of all bird species are at risk of extinction," IUCN warns. "This allows us to come to the stark conclusion that wildlife ... is in trouble."

290 or so critically endangered species now labeled "possibly extinct." There are insufficient data on another 5,561 species.

Recent additions to the list of extinctions are large marine mammals.

Super Tuna!

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:14:40 GMT

clipped by: mmooggss
clipper's remarks: Sushi anyone?

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Japanese scientists to breed 'super tuna'

Japanese scientists will have bred a new "super-tuna" within a decade that will be stronger, more resistant to disease and taste better than the bluefin presently in the oceans.

thirst for blood sparks toxic algal blooms

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:27:34 GMT

clipped by: doodleicious
clipper's remarks: wow! makes sense

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Thirst For Blood Sparks Toxic Algal Blooms

ScienceDaily (June 30, 2009) — The blooming of toxic algae that occurs during the summer conceal a fight for life and death. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, propose in an article published in the journal PNAS that algal blooms are created when aggressive algae kill and injure their competitors in order to absorb the nutrients they contain.

"The behaviour of the algae can be compared to that of blood-sucking insects", says Per Jonsson of the Department of Marine Ecology.

The blooming of toxic algae in the oceans and lakes is a familiar health risk and causes problems every summer, leading to increased costs for water cleaning, water consumption and the tourist industry. Scientists still do not know why algal blooms arise, and what it is that causes certain species of microalgae to multiply and form dense blooms.

Tags: toxic algae

Close Encounters of the Crab-Ball Kind

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 05:14:47 GMT

clipped by: cakebelly

Clip Source: www.environmentalgraffiti.com

For those carnivores among our readers who only think of crab cakes and crab burgers when hearing the word “crab,” consider this: Crabs are also artists. Yes, these humble crustaceans with the funny walking style make beautiful pictures out of sand. We’ve all seen them. Time to inspect how and why of this mysterious art works.

Crabs can be found in all the oceans around the world and one particular family, namely the sand bubbler crab (Dotilla fenestrate), are especially familiar because most of us will have admired their intricate artworks made out of little sand balls at a visit to the beach.

It’s a horse! At Ganapatipule beach in Maharashtra, India:

Sand bubblers can be found along the shores of the Indian and Pacific Oceans but also at beaches from East Africa to Hawaii, especially along Asian and Australian coastlines.

Tags: crab-art, bubbler, sand-balls

How Sedimentary Rock is Formed

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:40:36 GMT

clipped by: lindsaypetty2
clipper's remarks: Picture and infromation about how sedimentary rocks are formed

Clip Source: www.fi.edu

How Sedimentary Rock Is Formed

For thousands, even millions of years, little pieces of our earth have been eroded--broken down and worn away
by wind and water. These little bits of our earth are washed downstream where they settle to the bottom of the rivers, lakes, and oceans. Layer after layer of eroded earth is deposited on top of each. These layers are pressed down more and more through time, until the bottom layers slowly turn into rock.

The Pacific isn’t the only ocean collecting plastic trash

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:57:11 GMT

clipped by: JICWyllie

Clip Source: features.csmonitor.com

New research shows that plastic has collected in a region of the Atlantic as well, held hostage by converging currents, called gyres, to form a swirling “plastic soup.” And those fragments of plastic could also be present at the other three large gyres in the world’s oceans, says Kara Lavender Law, a member of the oceanography faculty at the Sea Education Association (SEA) in Woods Hole, Mass., which conducted the study.

Because the plastic has broken down into tiny pieces, it is virtually impossible to recover, meaning that it has essentially become a permanent part of the ecosystem. The full impact of its presence there – what happens if fish and other marine animals eat the plastic, which attracts toxins that could enter the food chain – is still unclear.

high concentration of plastic fragments centered about 30 degrees north latitude (in the western North Atlantic),

The plastic floating in the ocean comes mostly from land.

the world produces 225 million tons of plastic every year.

Tags: 1-pollution, 2-increase, 2-record, 3-reported, 3-research, 4-atlanric

How rich bastards like me rip off taxpayers for millions of dollars

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 21:05:48 GMT

clipped by: foxyarse
clipper's remarks: No one should build so close to an ocean."

But I built anyway.

Why? As my eager-for-the-business architect said, "Why not? If the ocean destroys your house, the government will pay for a new one."

What? Why would the government do that? Why would it encourage people to build in such risky places? That would be insane.

But the architect was right. If the ocean took my house, Uncle Sam would pay to replace it under the National Flood Insurance Program. Since private insurers weren’t dumb enough to sell cheap insurance to people who built on the edges of oceans or rivers, Congress decided the government should step in and do it. So if the ocean ate what I built, I could rebuild and rebuild again and again -- there was no limit to the number of claims on the same property in the same location -- up to a maximum of $250,000 per house per flood. And you taxpayers would pay for it.

Clip Source: www.reason.com

Confessions of a Welfare Queen

How rich bastards like me rip off taxpayers for millions of dollars

Ronald Reagan memorably complained about "welfare queens," but he never told us that the biggest welfare queens are the already wealthy. Their lobbyists fawn over politicians, giving them little bits of money -- campaign contributions, plane trips, dinners, golf outings -- in exchange for huge chunks of taxpayers’ money. Millionaires who own your favorite sports teams get subsidies, as do millionaire farmers, corporations, and well-connected plutocrats of every variety. Even successful, wealthy TV journalists.

That’s right, I got some of your money too.

My Life as a Welfare Queen

In 1980 I built a wonderful beach house. Four bedrooms -- every room with a view of the Atlantic Ocean.

It was an absurd place to build, right on the edge of the ocean. All that stood between my house and ruin was a hundred feet of sand. My father told me: "Don’t do it; it’s too risky.

Recent video of Ocean Garbage

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:29:54 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Charles Moore knows his trash...

Clip Source: www.youtube.com

[Video]

The Great Pacific plastic TRASH Island. - Consequences of plastic trash in our oceans and its effect on marine life and even greater back lash to humans in long run.
Please see my post on how to reduce your plastic consumption on my web site, and do the right thing.
http://www.maskaras.com/2009/02/25/le...

Plastic continent

Imagine a World Without Fish

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 09:51:43 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Quotes from the Makers of the Film

We must stop thinking of our oceans as a food factory and realize that they thrive as a huge and complex marine environment. We must act now to protect the sea from rampant overfishing so that there will be fish in the sea for our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. -- Charles Clover, the book's author

Overfishing is the great environmental disaster that people haven't heard about." A recent global conference about bluefin tuna stocks saw almost no media coverage in the U.S. We hope this film really sounds the alarm. We can fix this problem starting right now. -- Producer George Duffield

Reading the book The End of the Line changed my life and what I eat. I hope the film will do the same for others. -- Producer Claire Lewis

Clip Source: www.seashepherd.org

End of the Line - The world’s first major documentary about the devastating effect of overfishing

Already showing in cinemas across the U.S., Charles Clover’s film The End of the Line was launched in the UK on June 8^th which was World Oceans Day.

Roest observed, “The film is fantastic; could it be harder hitting – yes, should we stop eating fish altogether – yes, but The End of the Line superbly highlights the desperate state of our oceans as a result of relentless commercial overfishing. I received a personal commitment from Jeremy Langley [fish and shellfish specialist buyer for Waitrose] in front of 350 people that Waitrose would stop selling swordfish and other endangered fish, so a successful evening all round.“

Scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048.

take personal responsibility and actions where you can. And we continue to welcome your support for our direct action work to save fish and all ocean wildlife.

'Misty caverns' on Enceladus moon

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 11:11:41 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: Opposing opinions regarding the water vapors coming from Enceladus.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

'Misty caverns' on Enceladus moon

Nasa's Cassini spacecraft has obtained strong evidence that Saturn's tiny moon Enceladus retains liquid water.

Liquid water that is in prolonged contact with rock will leach out sodium - in exactly the same way as Earth's oceans have become salty over time.

Scientists tell Nature magazine that the liquid water may reside in caverns just below the surface of the moon.

Clip Source: www.nature.com

Sodium salts in E-ring ice grains from an ocean below the surface of Enceladus

Saturn's moon Enceladus emits plumes of water vapour and ice particles from fractures near its south pole

rich in sodium salts

which can arise only if the plumes originate from liquid water

Clip Source: www.nature.com

No sodium in the vapour plumes of Enceladus

The discovery of water vapour and ice particles erupting from Saturn's moon Enceladus fuelled speculation that an internal ocean was the source

argues against a situation in which a near-surface geyser is fuelled by a salty ocean through cracks in the crust

data may be insufficient

Tags: space

Liquid water on Enceladus

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:55:15 GMT

clipped by: JohnWaterman

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

ENCELADUS - AN ACTIVE MOON OF SATURN

Enceladus experiences tidal contortions as it orbits its parent planet

This energy is producing a "hotspot" at the satellite's southern pole

Big cracks (L) are 100 degrees warmer than the surrounding ice surface

These tiger stripes are the source of immense plumes (R)

Nasa's Cassini spacecraft has obtained strong evidence that Saturn's tiny moon Enceladus retains liquid water.

The probe has detected sodium salts in the vicinity of the satellite, which appear to spew from its south pole.

Liquid water that is in prolonged contact with rock will leach out sodium - in exactly the same way as Earth's oceans have become salty over time.

Scientists tell Nature magazine that the liquid water may reside in caverns just below the surface of the moon.

If confirmed, it is a stunning result. It means the Saturnian satellite may be one of the most promising places in the Solar System to search for signs of extraterrestrial life.

Mir Hossein Mousavi میر حسین موسوی Is On Facebook

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:01:53 GMT

clipped by: merrie
clipper's remarks: "We want to vote again!" We want to have the rights to our future. I think that every Iranian in Iran is a commander, a force. Every Iranian outside of iran is a representative of the people in Iran, a reporter. Every Iranian who gets killed in the streets is a martyr. They are also all media, filming with their cell phones and uploading the content onto Youtube. We need to take these videos from Youtube and send out the links- send them to the reporters. You can help the reporters who may not be able to find all the videos amongst the many being uploaded. We need to work collectively to spread the information coming out from Iran. We need to continue. Friday night, at sunset, light a candle. Think about and respect the deaths of the brave. The Iranian people are planning to do the same outside their houses, on their roofs, chanting: "Allah o Akbar. They will be chanting "Allah o Akbar" to not prove their religion, but to voice the intolerable pressures put on them by the government.

Clip Source: www.facebook.com

Mir Hossein Mousavi میر حسین موسوی is on FacebookSign up for Facebook to connect with Mir Hossein Mousavi میر حسین موسوی.

Please take a moment out of your time to share this video and the translation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b1y9WmlPqoY Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Translated Statement: Iranians living in Italy and other parts of the world, I urge you to not give up, because the people in the line of fire are are not scared. They are all chanting, "natarsim natarsim, ma hame ba ham hastim (Let's not be afraid, let's not be afraid. We are all in this together). We haven't seen this type of togetherness in a long time. This really has been our issue. We are aware people, but we were afraid because the oceans of Iran had become mere water droplets. In the past days, the water has been found again in the oceans. We have found our unity.

Around the world, we see that people have put their differences aside. Eveyrone is uniting their voices, chanting: "What happened to our vote?"

Tags: mir hossein mousavi, facebook page

Watch The Cove Online Free

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:07:36 GMT

clipped by: moviesonlinex
clipper's remarks: Watch The Cove Movie Online. Watch The Cove Online Full Movie. Download The Cove. Rapidshare Megavideo.

In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan lies a shocking secret that a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep hidden from the world. At last, the truth of THE COVE comes to the fore in an act of covert filmmaking that turns a documentary into a gripping action-adventure thriller . . . and a heart-pounding call for help from the worlds oceans.

Clip Source: www.moviesonlinex.com

Watch The Cove Online Free

Watch The Cove Movie Online. Watch The Cove Online Full Movie. Download The Cove. Rapidshare Megavideo.

In a sleepy lagoon off the coast of Japan lies a shocking secret that a few desperate men will stop at nothing to keep hidden from the world. At last, the truth of THE COVE comes to the fore in an act of covert filmmaking that turns a documentary into a gripping action-adventure thriller . . . and a heart-pounding call for help from the worlds oceans.

Tags: watch the cove movie online, watch the cove online full movie, download the cove, rapidshare megavideo

Planets With Life Linger Longer

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:11:42 GMT

clipped by: lakotahope
clipper's remarks: Sun was estimated to last at least 5 to 7 billion more years. I didn't think about degradation in 1 billion or so years.

Clip Source: www.spacedaily.com

Planets With Life Linger Longer

Roughly a billion years from now, the ever-increasing radiation from the sun will have heated Earth into inhabitability; the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that serves as food for plant life will disappear, pulled out by the weathering of rocks; the oceans will evaporate; and all living things will disappear.

Or maybe not quite so soon, say researchers from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), who have come up with a mechanism that doubles the future lifespan of the biosphere - while also increasing the chance that advanced life will be found elsewhere in the universe.

Earth maintains its surface temperatures through the greenhouse effect. Although the planet's greenhouse gases-chiefly water vapor, carbon dioxide, and methane-have become the villain in global warming scenarios, they're crucial for a habitable world, because they act as an insulating blanket in the atmosphere that absorbs and radiates thermal radiation

Tags: sun's life span

ask m

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:20:23 GMT

clipped by: daevidd5

Clip Source: www.parade.com

June 21, 2009

Sunday's Column - June 21, 2009

When the Earth was new, did the oceans have freshwater?
—Robert Oshust, Bayonne, N.J.

Yes, virtually. All water—even pure rainwater—contains chemicals called “salts.” Freshwater, though, tastes saltless compared to ocean water with its immense amount of salt, which has accumulated in the seas over hundreds of millions of years. Experts say the volume of salt in the oceans would cover the Earth’s land surface hundreds of feet deep.

As ocean water has gradually become unfit for nearly all animals to drink, the process is an example of natural environmental change.