Here is a video about the oceans and the dangerous state it is in! Hopefully this video will make people realize how serious of a matter ocean pollution is and to do something about it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfsTwAYJd3Y

Protecting our worlds Oceans!

Slow progress on ocean protection
By Richard Black Environment correspondent, BBC News website

Protected areas should also replenish catches for fishers, scientists say
Less than 1% of the world's oceans have been given protected status, according to a major survey.
Governments have committed to a target of protecting 10% by 2012, which the authors of the new report say there is no chance of meeting.
Protecting ecologically important areas can help fish stocks to regenerate, and benefit the tourism industry.
The survey was led by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and is published in the journal Conservation Letters.
"For those of us working in the issue full-time it's not a surprise, we've known all along that marine protection is lagging behind what's happening on land, but it's nice to have it pinned down," said TNC's Mark Spalding.
"It's depressing that we've still got so far to go, but there are points of hope," he told BBC News.
Coastal concentration
Four years ago, signatories to the UN's biodiversity convention - which includes almost every country - pledged to protect at least 10% of the oceans in a way that makes sense ecologically.

The hippos of the Bijagos Archipelago are benefiting from protection
Protecting them does not mean banning activities such as fishing or shipping completely, but making sure they are carried out sustainably.
All of the areas currently protected fall into countries' Exclusive Economic Zones, and the majority are along coasts, the study finds.
Even so, only about 4% of coastal waters are protected.
Countries diverge widely in how much protection they have mandated; around the Mediterranean, less than 2% of the coastline is protected.
In the developing world, Dr Spalding cites Guinea-Bissau as a country that has had invested in protection, particularly in the Bijagos Archipelago, which is home to a community of hippos dwelling along its mangrove coast, as well as more conventional marine species.
Palau, Indonesia, Micronesia and several Caribbean states are also making significant progress, he said.

Save Our Seas

Save Our Seas Foundation is a non-profit making organisation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. Its purpose is to implement and support diverse programmes centered around the protection of the Earth's marine environment. Its Advisory Committee discusses allocation of funds, sponsorship and policy; the Foundation is privately funded and has sufficient means to cover its administrative costs, insuring that all future donations and sponsorships are able to go directly towards helping worthy marine projects.

While browsing through their website I came across a really interesting and informative map that allows one to see all of their ongoing projects taking place all around the world. I definately think its worth the time to check it out!

http://www.saveourseas.com/Projects

Re think the Shark

I came across this article and I really enjoyed it, hope you guys do was well!

By perpetuating the 'Jaws' myth these films do nothing to promote shark conservation and the cruel fact that man is killing 100 million of them each year, pushing sharks toward their final cut – extinction.
In one giant step towards promoting natural history films that tell the whole story and engage viewers with the big 'C' (concervation), the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF) took home the most prestigious award in natural history filmmaking – the Panda Award – for its campaign film 'Rethink the Shark'.
A great campaign film considers the audience, provides a key message in a compelling way, and hopefully challenges preconceptions. According to the judges SOSF's 'Rethink the Shark' did this with "a sharp eye for detail, extreme wit and good humour."
SOSF, in partnership with Saatchi and Saatchi's Cape Town division of the global advertising agency, created a film that ends the stereotypical view of 'Jaws'- with an ironic twist.
Drawing from its scientists around the world SOSF's HD films are based on cutting edge research and designed to educate, delight and inspire the audience to take action and conserve our marine environment.
"Last year 791 people were killed by faulty toasters. Only 4 by sharks. Rethink the Shark".
The film, part of an awareness campaign driven by the SOSF, urges people to 'Rethink the Shark'. It challenges the media-driven public perception of sharks as man-eaters to looking at these key ocean predators in their real light.
SOSF is a non-profit research and education organization that is dedicated to raising awareness about the state of our oceans and highlighting the negative consequences of removing sharks and rays from the marine ecosystem.
So, next time you crisp your bread spare a thought for the sharks out there that are rapidly becoming toast due to over-fishing and finning.
For more information or to download 'Rethink the Shark' visit: www.saveourseas.com

Heal the Ocean

Heal the Ocean focuses on wastewater infrastructure - sewers and septic systems - as well as other municipal operations that contribute to ocean pollution. We have five goals:

• Reduced stormwater contamination


• Elimination of ocean dumping


• Elimination of coastal landfill


• Zero pathogens in sewage discharges


• A significant reduction in use of septics

Heal the Ocean's Philosophy: It's simple: The ocean can no longer be used as a dump. Heal the Ocean is attacking all sources of ocean pollution.
Heal the Ocean Course of Action: We follow a basic premise: instead of lobbying the government for action on ocean-pollution issues, we study the problem ourselves and recommend practical solutions.We undertake scientific studies to identify sources of pollution - from leaking sewer pipes, offshore sewage disposal, leaking coastal landfills or septic systems.We test for viruses in the ocean, creeks and groundwater to determine if human sources of pollution are present, and what are the likely sources. In cooperation with Santa Barbara County, Heal the Ocean pioneered both the use of environmental DNA testing and virus testing in the local area. We have commissioned numerous engineering studies and environmental assessments to determine the cost and feasibility of replacing septic systems, upgrading sewage treatment plants and installing stormwater treatment technology.We have found that once the problem is known and cleanup costs are understood, the public is eager to move forward with cleanup, and more willing to pay the price.

To get involved and/or donate visit: http://www.healtheocean.org/hto_index.html

Shedding light on reef health

The picture to the right is a satellite image of Earth at night.

These pictures are no longer just symbols of human impact, however, but can be used to objectively measure it, according to a study in the December 2008 issue of Geocarto International, a peer-reviewed journal on geoscience and remote sensing.
Travis Longcore, a USC geographer and expert in light pollution, collaborated with an international team, led by Christoph Aubrecht of the Austrian Research Centers, to develop the index.
"Coral reefs are incredibly important—but unfortunately they're also incredibly fragile," Longcore said. "Using night light proximity, we were able to identify the most threatened and most pristine spots in an objective and easily repeatable way."
The researchers did this by first classifying the light into three separate sources: urban areas, gas flares and fishing boat activity.
Each of these sources puts stress on reefs: urban areas cause sewage and polluted runoff, oil platforms cause leakages and spills, and commercial fishing boats deplete marine life and impair the ecological balance.
The closer a reef is to one or more of these sources, the higher the index number and the greater the stress on the reefs.
While previous assessments of coral reef health, like the 1998 Reefs at Risk survey, considered more variables, the LPI yields similar results, Longcore added.
"As a first-pass global assessment, light pretty much correlates with human impact on the oceans," he explained.
In this way the index uses light as an indirect measure of coral reef health, which could help inform conservation policy.
But the LPI is also a direct measurement of coral reef stress, since light itself also affects marine life, according to the study.
"The lights themselves are a stress in terms of changing the ecology in the environments around them," Longcore explained.
In terms of coral reefs, more research is needed on light's direct effects, but lab studies show that light can disrupt coral reproduction, which is timed to moonlight.
"Light at levels that would seem insignificant to humans can be incredibly significant to marine organisms and even terrestrial organisms," Longcore said.
As a rule of thumb, artificial light tends to benefit predators, which is why many organisms rely on darkness to maximize their odds of survival.
Light can also disrupt migration patterns of birds. In fact, Shell and Philips recently teamed up to change the lighting schemes on North Sea oilrigs for this reason.
In addition, communications towers, mainly because of their flashing lights, attract and kill about 4-5 million birds a year in North America, Longcore noted.
Yet despite its significance, light pollution is only one of many stresses facing coral reefs, which act synergistically to threaten their survival.

To read more visit: http://www.ocean.com/article.asp?locationid=1&resourceid=11913&ProdId=&CatId=1&TabID=&SubTabID=

Researchers discover the secret of speedy dolphins

Since dolphins are my favorite animal I was super interested and excited to find new research on dolphins. For decades the puzzle has prompted much attention, speculation, and conjecture in the scientific community. But now, armed with cutting-edge flow measurement technology, researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have tackled the problem and conclusively solved Gray’s Paradox.
To read about this amazing article go to:
http://www.innovationsreport.de/html/berichte/physik_astronomie/
gray_s_paradox_solved_researchers_discover_secret_123172.html