Category Archives: environment

A whole new world—Eaarth

22 Thursday Apr 2010

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Eaarth by Bill McKibben

Bill McKibben was right 20 years ago, and he is right today. Then, The End of Nature offered dire predictions about global warming. His new book, Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet is named for the new planet we are creating. The news is not good. In December 2009, as the United Nations climate change meetings got underway in Copenhagen, Denmark, a team of computer jockeys from institutions including MIT built a model which demonstrated that the impact of global warming had already crossed seemingly irreversible thresholds.

“But now….it’s time to think with special clarity about the future. On our new planet growth may be the one big habit we must finally break.”—Bill McKibben, Eaarth

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“Death is one thing, an end to birth is something else.”

17 Saturday Apr 2010

Posted by in environment, ocean & fisheries

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Greenpeace photo of Bluefin

Carl Safina included the above quote from poet Gary Snyder in his talk on fisheries and ocean conservation at Hopkins Marine Station in Monterey yesterday.

Safina is an author, professor and ocean activist–not necessarily in that order. As the co-founder and president of Blue Ocean Institute, Safina has long been a voice in ocean and fishery conservation.

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Think Pink this Earth Day

09 Friday Apr 2010

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Coral reef

Coral reef display at Hot Pink Flamingo exhibit

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s new exhibit Hot Pink Flamingos did what was expected—providing insights into species, habitats and migration. But this was only the beginning. Hot Pink Flamingos ties together the climate change catastrophe now underway with examples of global cause and effect. Pulling no punches about projections, the displays show the waterline in a few short years, demonstrating that most of the exhibit itself will soon be underwater.

Coral reefs are dying at an astounding rate. Many species are facing extinction each day.

At least 19 percent of the world’s coral reefs are already gone, including some 50 percent of those in the Caribbean. An additional 15 percent could be dead within 20 years, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

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The Cove: Stranger than Fiction Investigative Journalism and Eco-Adventure

27 Saturday Mar 2010

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For a fast-paced 92-minute documentary, The Cove, is many things at once—action, adventure, activism, marine biology and biography. Winner of this year’s Academy Award for a feature length documentary, veteran National Geographic director Louie Psihoyos brings together marine mammal specialist Ric O’Barry and a cast of extreme athletes, adrenaline junkies, event and special effects experts. Together they expose Japan’s horrific dolphin sales and slaughter while educating the viewer on both whaling law and why we might regard dolphins as sentient beings.

“…a provocative mix of investigative journalism, eco-adventure and arresting imagery, adding up to an unforgettable story that has inspired audiences worldwide to action.”—from www.thecovemovie.com

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Lovely song, sacrificed without a passing regret

23 Tuesday Mar 2010

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Poetry and the arts take an important place in the realm of influencing change, raising awareness and stirring the pot. Poets, writers and film makers have been my catalysts and guides along the sometimes confusing trail of conservation and direct action.

Hip Pocket Press publishes a newsletter sharing poets views on the environment. Named Canary for the unique place this lovely songbird held as a harbinger of deadly mine gas, this collection of loosely themed writings informs us of an inner life nurtured by nature.

“The canary in the coal mine” was a primitive early warning system used by miners to alert themselves to poison gases seeping into the mines.  If the canary was found dead, it was time to get out quick.  As a metaphor, its significance for me includes not only the salvation of the humans, but also the casual loss of the canary, that fragile and innocent bird with its lovely song, sacrificed without a passing regret….”—Gail Entrekin, Editor, Hip Pocket Press

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Strategic Brilliance: Plan for the Future of Oceans

19 Friday Feb 2010

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Attended “New Approaches for the Ocean Conservation” lecture presented by Michael Sutton, Vice President and Director of Monterey Bay Aquariums Center for the Future of the Oceans.

Part of a series of free events held in Stanford’s multidisciplinary sustainability showcase, Y2E2 Building, this talk covered  strategic approaches being utilized to conserve and protect ocean resources. Including:

  • Marine Protected Areas
  • Ocean Policy Reform
  • Sustainable Seafood
  • Protecting Wildlife and Marine Ecosystems

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A Little Green Tech Help for Oceans

10 Wednesday Feb 2010

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Monterey Bay Aquarium

Seafood Watch iPhone app

Just got a little technology help in making sustainable seafood choices… that informative pocket card that Monterey Bay Aquarium put together some years back is now available as a free iPhone app. Now I won’t be searching for this info when I need it most, at the market or sushi bar.

Rewilding the World

13 Wednesday Jan 2010

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Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution

by Caroline Fraser

Metropolitan Books, 12/22/2009

ISBN: 978-0-8050-7826-8, ISBN10: 0-8050-7826-6,

6-1/8 x 9-1/4 inches, 416 pages, 1 8-pg. insert; 13 maps,

Book/Hardcover       $28.50

On sale December 22, 2009

Order: http://us.macmillan.com/rewildingtheworld

Reviewed by Pamela Biery

 

Rewilding the World by Caroline Fraser is a methodical and lyrical report on global conservation efforts to establish and preserve migratory corridors. Fraser revisits Aldo Leopold’s remarkable A Sand County Almanac essay Thinking Like a Mountain, wherein Leopold realizes that killing a predator wolf carries serious implications for the rest of the ecosystem. Fraser traces projects seeded by thought leaders like Michael Soule and Reed Noss in their landmark 1998 Wild Earth article Rewilding and Biodiversity, traveling the globe to witness and report on rewilding projects now underway in North America, Africa, Australia, Asia, Central and South America.

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