Archive for the ‘Global issues’ Category

How many sharks?

Sunday, May 12th, 2013

Scroll down and then keep on scrolling to see how many sharks are killed each hour. Very very sad!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/27/sharks-killed-per-hour-infographic_n_2965775.html

How Tourists Are Giving Stingrays Insomnia

Sunday, May 12th, 2013

“Imagine slipping off a boat into warm, aqua blue, waist-deep, Caribbean water. Suddenly, there are hundreds of stingrays swarming around you, sliding against your legs. For some people this is a nightmarishly, terrifying scenario. For others, it’s a tropical wildlife paradise. Either way, it’s what tourists to Stingray City in the Cayman Islands drop millions of dollars each year to experience.

Each stingray on this sandbar off Grand Cayman earns the islands about $500,000 every year in tourism revenue. Globally, this kind of interactive wildlife experience is big business, generating about $165 billion each year worldwide. Moreover, interacting with animals can make even the least outdoorsy among us passionate about protecting wildlife.

But what about the stingrays? How is this normally solitary creature handling life in the public spotlight?  ”

Read more

Responsible eating

Monday, October 8th, 2012

This applies to Belize too. Very worthwhile checking out the species that you should eat from those you should not to protect these waters.

‘Jacuzzi vents’ model CO2 future

Sunday, February 19th, 2012

“A UK scientist studying volcanic vents in the ocean says they hold a grave warning for future marine ecosystems.

These vents have naturally acidified waters that hint at how our seas might change if atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise.

They are conditions that would make it harder for corals and similar organisms to make the hard parts in their bodies.

Dr Jason Hall-Spencer’s work suggests our oceans could lose perhaps 30% of their biodiversity this century.

The Plymouth University researcher has been presenting his latest findings to a major conference in Vancouver, Canada.

“I am investigating underwater volcanoes where carbon dioxide bubbles up like a Jacuzzi, acidifying large areas of the seabed, and we can see at these vents which types of organisms are able to thrive and which ones..”

Read the rest of this BBC article

Experience The Night Sky Like Never Before

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

Temporal Distortion from Randy Halverson on Vimeo.

Not much to do with our usual topics! I just thought this was so beautiful!

Garbage Islands

Saturday, February 4th, 2012

Belize Protected Area Boosting Predatory Fish Populations

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

ScienceDaily (Dec. 21, 2011) —” A 14-year study by the Wildlife Conservation Society in an atoll reef lagoon in Glover’s Reef, Belize has found that fishing closures there produce encouraging increases in populations of predatory fish species. However, such closures have resulted in only minimal increases in herbivorous fish, which feed on the algae that smother corals and inhibit reef recovery. The findings will help WCS researchers in their search for new solutions to the problem of restoring Caribbean reefs damaged by fishing and climate change.

The study appears in an online version of Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. The authors include:..”
Read more

Pacific Garbage Patch – getting bigger

Saturday, November 12th, 2011

This made me cry! Please stop using so much plastic!

The story of Broke

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Shallow Waters

Sunday, November 6th, 2011