tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2776137107982271302024-03-05T17:30:50.553-10:00SOARPROJECT SOAR is
Dedicated to Ocean Health and solutions to plastic pollution. Our goal is to help kids have fun learning about the water world while finding new ways of ending the stream of plastic debris now entering lakes, rivers, and the sea.
(Photo: I think of this as Wisdom, the oldest known wild bird on planet earth, returning to Midway Atoll to feed her chick after a flight of more than 1,000 miles. I took the photo just beyond the lagoon at Midway in 2009)ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.comBlogger139125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-29933378057240271792013-01-09T10:05:00.001-10:002013-01-09T10:05:39.695-10:00Help Restore and Increase Funding for Midway USFWS Projects<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I started Project SOAR after visiting Midway Atoll in 2009. As a guest of the USFWS, NOAA, and the State of Hawaii, I learned a great deal about ocean issues and how vital it has been to have the USFWS presence out there in the middle of the Pacific.<br />
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Federal budget cuts have eliminated the kinds of programs that brought me to Midway and Papahanaumokuakea.............Sadly, there are NO volunteers allowed at the present time, volunteers who have been working with FWS staff to protect Albatross habitat in many ways and to help eliminate the tons of trash that wash onto Midway's shores each year. Visitors like me also helped to spread the word about important research findings about marine debris. <br />
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It is an eye opening and even life changing experience to visit Midway and I hope Congress will restore and, more importantly, increase funding over past amounts allocated to the Fish and Wildlife Service. I learned much of what you all have learned through SOAR by keeping in touch with Fish and Wildlife staff out there.......They are extremely dedicated, but can not function effectively without funding. <br />
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As one who has attempted to keep SOAR alive with no outside funds, I know what they face..........But, their mission and their place on the planet is far more vital than most of what any of the rest of us do...........Imagine if no one was allowed to visit Yellowstone National Park, the Redwoods, or any of the magnificent refuges and parks on the mainland!<br />
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Please write President Obama, Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii, and your congressional representatives to urge more funding for Midway!<br />
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ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-34402743464438928612012-12-05T11:49:00.001-10:002012-12-05T11:49:39.940-10:00Plastic Shores........The Movie<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you are looking for a video......a movie.........any compelling production that tells the story of plastics in our oceans, please watch and share PLASTIC SHORES.<br />
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Edward Scott-Clarke and LMV Productions have created the best I've seen in fun yet highly informational and inspiring footage to compliment the story line in this fantastic movie.<br />
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Show it, share it, send copies to friends and others you wish to inspire!<br />
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Downloadable copies available at <a href="http://www.plasticshoresmovie.com/">www.plasticshoresmovie.com</a> <br />
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Everything I've tried to share in SOAR is packed into this AND more.......<br />
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Much Aloha and Malama i ke Kai,<br />
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Ron Hirschi<br />
Now at: PO Box 22<br />
Poulsbo, Washington 98370<br />
Still at <a href="mailto:whalemail@waypoint.com">whalemail@waypoint.com</a></div>
ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-164253871889253822012-06-14T06:12:00.003-10:002012-06-14T06:12:59.234-10:00Eighth Grade Students at The Bush School Take Actions to Reduce Plastic Pollution<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
There are many ways everyone can help clean up the environment and reduce our consumption of plastics. Although we cannot become independent from plastics entirely, everybody should take small steps every day to help reduce plastic consumption. After Ron Hirschi’s visit to The Bush School and the Eighth Grade Science class, our class decided to take his challenge to find and use alternatives to plastic. We also conducted a beach clean up at Golden Gardens Park in Seattle, Washington to remove plastic and other trash from the beach. <br />
<br />Students found plastic alternatives for many products such as plastic bottles and plastic bags. Here are some of the products that the eighth graders at Bush found alternatives for.<br />
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<strong>Plastic bottles</strong>: Some students had decided to reduce the amount of plastic bottles that they use in their everyday lives. Students found some alternatives for plastic bottles such as using reusable water bottles. Students used the reusable water bottles for everyday use as their alternative. Other students used chemical free plastic water bottles so when they need to be thrown out they can be put into the recycle.<br />
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<strong>Plastic utensils:</strong> One student and his family put the time and effort into washing plastic utensils so that they would be reusable. Another student purchased inexpensive, reusable metal utensils to cut down on their family’s consumption of plastic.<br />
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<strong>Plastic Ziploc bags</strong>: When students brought lunches to school in zip lock bags they found after they had finished they would throw away the plastic bag and go on with their day. To eliminate the Ziploc bags, some students packed their lunch in Tupperware or reusable plastic containers and then reused the container. Also, on one of the Experiential Week camping trips, students reused their Ziploc bag for their lunch the entire week. These two efforts saved many plastic bags and helped our efforts to reduce plastic use. <br />
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<strong>Plastic shopping bags</strong>: Every year, Americans use approximately 1 billon shopping bags; that creates 300,000 tons of landfill waste (cleanair.org). Students in our class wanted to reduce the amount of plastic bags that they use on an everyday basis. Students found alternatives for plastic bags such as reusable fabric bags. They used the reusable fabric bags as grocery shopping bags to haul items in.<br />
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<strong>Toothbrushes:</strong> Most students at The Bush School use disposable toothbrushes for dental hygiene. These toothbrushes consist of plastic material which cannot be recycled. To reduce this consumption of plastic, some students decided to buy a reusable toothbrush handle that fits with disposable brush heads. Others decided to use an electric toothbrush where you still replace the toothbrush head, but it lasts longer than most of the inexpensive plastic toothbrush heads.<br />
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<strong>Pens:</strong> At The Bush School, students are consistently using cheap throw away pens which are not recyclable. These pens contain plastic material and ink which causes it to have to be put in the garbage. Students also lose these pens frequently and some pens may be dropped outside and become litter. Street litter often washed into storm drains and ends up in Puget Sound. To stop this students have decided to keep track of these plastic pens, and they have decided to find refillable fountain pens that can be reused and are also recycled.<br />
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<strong>Plastic BBs</strong>: Another unique way that a student was able to reduce his plastic consumption was by reducing his plastic use with a very specific item. This item would be known as an “airsoft gun”, which is a plastic toy gun that shoots plastic pellets. This student decided that his way of reducing his plastic consumption would be to start using biodegradable pellets which would take about 2 months to degrade versus the 9 months-1 year time that it would take for a non-biodegradable plastic pellet.<br />
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These are just some of the very simple and easy ways to reduce your plastic consumption. We hope that you consider using our ideas. If we can take simple and easy steps like these in our everyday lives, together we can reduce the amount of plastic that we consume. There are many more creative ways to use recyclable or compostable and re-usable items for everyday purposes. If we all try these simple steps to becoming more environmentally friendly we will have much less plastic winding up in bodies of water and on beaches. This is important because plastic pollutes these bodies of water and can kill important and endangered wildlife.<br />
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Written by Adam, Chris, Jack, Max, Leeds, and Jackson with additional input from Maya, Aubra, Yamina, and Abby in the Eighth Grade Science Class of The Bush School. <br />
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</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-32486674143047675012012-05-31T06:42:00.001-10:002012-05-31T10:53:42.526-10:00Some Pictures from Ron Hirschi's Visit to The Bush School<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dNUr-l3QelFMZqym1fo12hF-1o1j8VGDzQTFtbELZBpUGD35hceAt2e17-LpHRBcDEqzYzdh3qJ2Hk8fjfp1XeD_rVRdYdOiiXtmYupZ8i7-apXGg7yTETn_2bheJjk1ZOmOF0h8SdZ7/s1600/Ron+Hirshi+Lab+Photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8dNUr-l3QelFMZqym1fo12hF-1o1j8VGDzQTFtbELZBpUGD35hceAt2e17-LpHRBcDEqzYzdh3qJ2Hk8fjfp1XeD_rVRdYdOiiXtmYupZ8i7-apXGg7yTETn_2bheJjk1ZOmOF0h8SdZ7/s320/Ron+Hirshi+Lab+Photo+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Here three students sift the sand and find plastic pieces. </div>
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A student examines the pieces of debris under a microscope.</div>
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Ron Hirschi talking to some students. <br />
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Students sifting and making observations.<br />
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<br />Looking for microplastic floating along the surface.<br />
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We want to thank him again for spending time with us. </div>
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-8th Grade Class at The Bush School</div>
</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-76473825570051625162012-05-23T07:13:00.001-10:002012-06-14T11:40:41.773-10:008th grade students at The Bush School analyze plastic debris from beaches on and near Marrowstone Island<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<strong>Quantitative analysis of small-plastic debris on beaches on Marrowstone Island and two nearby beaches in the Puget Sound waters of Washington. </strong><br />
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Members of the Eighth Grade Science Class at The Bush School, Seattle WA 98112, USA<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Abstract </span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Nineteen samples of plastic beach debris from eight locations throughout north Puget Sound were analyzed. At each collection site, around 40 ml of debris samples and sand were collected and later sorted by categories pertaining to type and size. Although plastic debris was found on all collection sites, the most debris collected in one sample was found on Irondale beach. Microplastic </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">(plastics smaller than 1mm), was also found in 73% of the 19 samples and a total of 42 pieces of plastic were<span style="color: #8100ff;"> </span>collected from the eight beaches. 50% of plastics found were fragments (plastics greater than1mm),<span style="color: #8100ff;"> </span>and 17% percent of the plastics<span style="color: #8100ff;"> </span>were bottle caps. The analysis confirms the presence of plastics in Puget Sound. This debris<span style="color: #8100ff;"> </span>is common<span style="color: #8100ff;"> </span>in the region of Marrowstone Island and affects the<span style="color: #8100ff;"> </span>environment.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Introduction</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Tidal currents flow from the Straight of Juan de Fuca through Admiralty Inlet and into Puget Sound bringing water, plastic, and other debris from the Pacific Ocean into Puget Sound. Similarly, an outgoing tidal current brings water, plastic, and other debris from the Tacoma/Seattle area back out to the Pacific Ocean. Since Admiralty Inlet lies to the north and to the east of Marrowstone Island, many of these tidal currents also bring plastic and other debris to the shores of Marrowstone Island (Features of Puget Sound). Plastic and debris enters the Pacific Ocean from the land of surrounding countries and states as well as from transportation from international industries. Much of this plastic and debris from the Pacific Ocean builds up on the Hawaiian islands. Similarly, plastic and debris from the Seattle/Tacoma area as well as from the Pacific Ocean builds up on Marrowstone Island beaches and on nearby beaches. The plastic pollution affects the wildlife and the surrounding environment.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Most of the plastic items found in the nineteen samples on or near Marrowstone Island were small items such as foam pieces, pellets, push-pins, and even microplastic (plastic less than 1 mm in diameter). Most of these items are not recyclable. While some of this debris is litter left on the beach by visitors to the beach, it is likely that many of these products washed up on the beach from the Puget Sound waters. The plastic debris could have entered the water by falling off transportation ships or by being swept up by rain water and carried down storm drains.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Many of these plastic items and the smaller plastic debris can be, and are ingested by the wildlife on the islands or surrounding waterways. In Puget Sound there are whales which end up eating these plastic fragments and becoming sick from plastic intake. Research has shown that many animals that eat plastic also face nutritional loss, some internal injuries, blockage in the internal organs and starvation (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Baird, R.W., Hooker, S.K</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blight, L.K., Burger, A.E</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and Hirschi and Mallory). Various types of plastics were found in different types of fish and birds (Pierce). The plankton that live in the ocean can also ingest the small particles of plastic. Many of the fish and larger aquatic animals eat plankton so this could also be very unhealthy for many of the sea animals (McDermid). The prevalence of plastic in these small samples taken from beaches in Puget Sound helps us understand why plastics are affecting the health of Puget Sound ecosystems.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Materials and Methods</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Nineteen samples of sand and debris were collected from Marrowstone Island and two nearby locations. There were samples from the following locations: Point North, Mystery Bay, East Beach (8 samples), West Beach, Marrowstone Point (2 samples), Point East (3 samples), Indian Island, and Irondale Beach. (See the map below where arrows mark the locations where samples were taken.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Samples were collected at each location by Mr. Ron Hirschi at the first spot where he saw plastic in the sand at the high tide line. The samples were taken at the high tide mark with a sideways scoop horizontally.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/" name="_GoBack"></a> Each sample was approximately 40 ml in volume due to the fact that some had slightly more debris than others. </span></div>
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Mr. Hirschi brought the samples to The Bush School where it was handed out to Eighth Grade students. The samples were sent through a series of sorting:</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Visual collection: </span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">First students collected the large pieces of plastic with their hands. They counted those to see how many large pieces of plastic made it to Marrowstone Island and nearby beaches.</span></div>
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<b>Sifter: </b>Then the samples were sifted with a testing sieve that had two mm holes. This was to take out all small pieces that may be hiding in the sand and be able to identify plastics.</div>
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<b>Wet sort: </b>Then the remaining sand was put through a wet sort. A wet sort is where you put the sand in a plastic container that contains two inches of water. All plastic floated to the top. This also showed us the microplastic.</div>
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<b>Microscope:</b> Finally students took all the unusual plastics or pieces of debris and looked at them under a microscope to determine their identity.</div>
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The data table below shows the results of this sorting process for each of the nineteen samples from beaches on or near Marrowstone Island and also shows the results for the one sample from Hawaii. </div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Results</span></b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our class found that fourteen of the nineteen samples contained microplastic (plastic smaller them 1 mm in diameter) and we found 42 pieces of plastic (significantly larger than microplastic) in the nineteen samples. Comparing this to the sample in Hawaii, we discovered that this was a small amount. The one sample from Papaa Bay, Kauai had 31 pieces of plastic in the sand and debris sample. In the nineteen samples (not counting Hawaii) we found 21 fragments and 21 pieces of larger, identifiable plastic. We identified these larger pieces of plastic and grouped them into categories including: bottle caps, pellets, pen parts, and shotgun shells. In total we found 21 fragments, 7 bottle caps, no pellets, 2 pen parts, and 1 shotgun shell. (See the data table for more details about our results.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">These nineteen samples were all gathered from different areas on Marrowstone Island (Point North, Mystery Bay, East Beach, Marrowstone Point, Point East) or nearby on Irondale Beach and Government Cut on Indian Island. Although there were a lot of pieces of debris in these small samples, there are many more in the sample from Hawaii. In the sample from Hawaii, there were 31 total plastic pieces.</span></div>
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<b>Discussion</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">In the nineteen samples that were collected at or near Marrowstone Island there was a large number of fragments. There was a large number of bottle caps found (7 caps) and there was also a large amount of microplastic found in the samples. There were many large, recognizable pieces of plastic including: a balloon, bottle caps, a lighter, toys, a pin, and a rope. Compared to Hawaii, the individual samples of approximately 40 ml of debris and sand collected on Marrowstone Island had fewer total pieces of plastic. This could be due to the location of Marrowstone Island.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Marrowstone Island is located in the Admiralty Inlet, near the straits of Juan de Fuca that run off into the Pacific Ocean. This could explain why it might get items that had fallen off shipping boats on their way from places in Asia to the U.S. and other countries with industrial needs. There also are strong currents that lead from the Pacific into Puget Sound and flow near Marrowstone Island which causes the island to collect large amounts of trash and other rubbish from overseas on its beaches. Marrowstone Island is fairly close to other land forms which causes plastic to be trapped between these land forms. This also made it useful to have samples from neighboring beaches like Irondale Beach and the Indian Island Government Cut which both presented similar features as the samples from Marrowstone Islands. Marrowstone and Indian Island have a ‘U-shape’ which causes plastic to get trapped in the long crescent shape. The plastic fragments have resulted in many harmful effects on the ecosystem.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The harmful effects include diminished food consumptions, internal injury, loss of nutrition, starvation, intestinal blockage and death of the native animals. Plastic also has a large effect on marine life and the Puget Sound as a whole. A main cause of death in marine creatures is due to this debris. An animal will consume plastic debris because the debris will appear like fish or something other that they would eat or a normal basis. This can and most likely will kill the animals as plastic can’t be digested especially in large proportions for most animals. There are many toxins in and related to plastic that will result in diseases of the animals. Animals can also become caught in larger amounts of plastic and then will not be able to consume other foods leading to starvation. There have been many cases of animals dying from plastic ingestion (</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Baird, R.W., Hooker, S.K</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blight, L.K., Burger, A.E</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> and Hirschi and Mallory). </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> If one species becomes extinct or endangered, other creatures that live closely with that species will be affected as well. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">The amount of plastic debris in the Marrowstone samples is less than the amount of debris found in the Hawaiian islands, but it is still very noticeably negative. Our research shows that there is a significant amount of plastic pieces and microplastic on and near Marrowstone Island.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
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These pieces of microplastic were found in nearly all the collection sites and they help give us an understanding of the prevalence of plastic pollution in the Puget Sound and in the Pacific Ocean. The Pacific is a highway for trade, a resource, many ecosystems, and more recently in history, a dump. At the rate at which plastic is making its way into the ocean (14 billion Pounds a year) (<a href="about:blank"><span style="color: windowtext;">www.whoi.edu)</span></a>, it shows that we must do something before all life in the ocean is hindered by pollution. This data we were given is incredibly minute in the large scale of beaches and islands in the ocean, but it serves as a representation of what is, and what will further come to be. We must act now to stop plastic pollution before it is too late.</div>
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<strong>Acknowledgements </strong></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Our class room study was made possible by samples collected by Ron Hirschi and his dedication to making the world a better place. We want to thank our teacher, Ms. Gimelli Hemme, for helping us in the study of the plastics and sands and answering our questions. Additionally, we want to thank Ron Hirschi for sending our paper to his colleagues to review and we want to thank Goffinet McLaren, George Matsumoto, Wes Nicholson, Patricia Pierce, and Jason Schmid for taking time to review our paper and give us feedback. Finally, we want to recognize Brandon, Brooke, Camille, Cole, Deahna, Ellis, Erik, Greyson, Hal, Kaeley, Kellen, Kevin, Jackson H, Isabel M, Libbie, Maddi, Matheus, Ruby, and Sophia for their work making edits to the paper. </span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">References</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><sdtpr></sdtpr></span></h1>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Baird, R.W., Hooker, S.K. 2000. Ingestion of plastic and unusual prey by a juvenile harbour porpoise. Marine Pollution Bulletin 40, 719-720.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Blight, L.K., Burger, A.E.1997. Occurence of plastic particles in seabirds from the eastern North Pacific. Marine Pollution Bulletin 35, 323-325.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Hirschi, Ron. 2012. Obstruction and starvation associated with entanglement and partial ingestion in an adult harbor seal. Unpublished Field Notes, Marrowstone Island, Washington State. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #444444;"><a href="ftp://dnr.metrokc.gov/dnr/library/2001/kcr762/PDFELEMENTS/SONR03.pdf">Features Of Puget Sound Region: Oceanography And Physical Processes</a><span class="reference-text">, Chapter 3 of the </span><a href="http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/watersheds/puget/nearshore/sonr.htm,">State of the Nearshore Report</a><span class="reference-text">, King County Department of Natural Resources, Seattle, Washington, 2001.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span class="reference-text"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Mallory, et al., 2006. Marine plastic debris in northern fulmars from Davis Strait, Nunavut, Canada. Marine Pollution Bulleting 52, 813-815.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">McDermid, K. J., & McMullen, T. L. (2004). <i>Quantitative analysis of small-plastic debris on beaches in the Hawaiian archipelago.</i> Retrieved April 2012, from Science Direct: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025326X0300482X<sdtpr></sdtpr></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Pierce, et al. 2004. Obstruction and starvation associated with plastic ingestion in a northern gannet and a greater shearwater. Marine Ornithology 32: 187-189.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Plastics in Our Oceans." <i>Home : Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</i>. Web. 04 May 2012. <http: b="" kamaral="" people="" plasticsarticle.html="" science="" www.whoi.edu="">.</http:></span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", "serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<br /></div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-83997647659893152652012-05-04T12:33:00.002-10:002012-05-04T12:33:58.151-10:00Ship Pollution and A Southern Albatross, Soaring.......<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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It's always amazing to me, watching seabirds fly...........and what they must fly through these days must have some affect on their abilities to survive..........See for example, the following link to an image of "trails" left behind by ships off the coast of California:<br />
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<a href="http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=77345">http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=77345</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9AKwear38gIEEZJ0nwhAkHIW1IdTwtDQsv2HFWfbN9Af4sRDcHV1isVRNRzktydb9svgYsWEYmTIjyUdHK7cH6RQNyOH60_cM_QI55RKNKcxYewLAX_1_LnZKnl2Crdrfdh7pyd0CdHvM/s1600/Buller's+Mollyhawk+b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9AKwear38gIEEZJ0nwhAkHIW1IdTwtDQsv2HFWfbN9Af4sRDcHV1isVRNRzktydb9svgYsWEYmTIjyUdHK7cH6RQNyOH60_cM_QI55RKNKcxYewLAX_1_LnZKnl2Crdrfdh7pyd0CdHvM/s320/Buller's+Mollyhawk+b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Buller's Mollyhawk. A Southern Hemisphere Albatross. </div>
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Most common near New Zealand</div>
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and</div>
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suffering declines in recent years due to </div>
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longline fishing. </div>
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</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-82853405560061813972012-05-02T12:22:00.000-10:002012-05-02T12:22:53.912-10:00Small Worlds of Seagrass Meadows<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJhEmNjR-7uyawA1y-j1Ar-0Z1MUE5UrRfOfjhSRGn64rFNzxq2908RWPGyOIcVsqlhQiv7kL3lSmVlc-S5ibWvEZr0dgBieUaK5p9IpPuNROVOqjS9uCqWwvQG8kVrPW1-sTdk2aE8Ql/s1600/hansville_beach_trip_040.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmJhEmNjR-7uyawA1y-j1Ar-0Z1MUE5UrRfOfjhSRGn64rFNzxq2908RWPGyOIcVsqlhQiv7kL3lSmVlc-S5ibWvEZr0dgBieUaK5p9IpPuNROVOqjS9uCqWwvQG8kVrPW1-sTdk2aE8Ql/s320/hansville_beach_trip_040.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A sampling of the small world, including juvenile pink salmon</div>
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caught in our net at the Nature Conservancy Preserve last week.</div>
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Kids from Gordon Elementary began a study here on a low tide,</div>
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seining in seagrasses where we caught ONLY juvenile fish, including</div>
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many larval and just post-larval species difficult to identify.</div>
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Our list included pink salmon, three flatfish (one with dazzling blue dots), </div>
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penpoint gunnel, diamondback gunnel, staghorm sculpin, buffalo sculpin,</div>
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snailfish spp, and some of the tiniest sand dollars you can imagine (3mm).</div>
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Nice to NOT FIND much in the way of marine debris, although those pesky Penn Cove Mussel discs were present along with small amounts of other aquaculture debris. </div>
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That is Hood Head over this young naturalist's left shoulder at the north entrance</div>
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to Hood Canal. Thanks to the Nature Conservancy and their many volunteers who keep this and other beaches so free of plastics! And, thanks to TNC for helping preserve marine life by protecting areas where we take only photos. </div>
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We will return to the beach next month, hoping to monitor changes and think</div>
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more about how to help protect local waters while thinking about the bigger problems facing the ocean. </div>
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Oh! did I mention Fred came along..........He spent much of the time swinging from branches in the Madrona woods bordering this beautiful beach. </div>
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</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-34029111242001577152012-04-23T15:27:00.001-10:002012-04-23T15:27:17.839-10:00Marrowstone Island Beach Plastics. Sources and Solutions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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The lighters in this photo were all collected on the northern end of Marrowstone Island, Washington State in the past several months. They are mostly intact, but show signs of breaking into smaller and smaller fragments to join the ocean's abundance of small and micro-plastics. Lighters, bottle caps, toys, and other objects are all a part of the growing problem associated with marine debris that has been shown to be in greater abundance than plankton (Moore et al., 2001). </div>
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In an effort to understand the sources and possible solutions to marine debris on Marrowstone, I partnered with Bush School in Seattle, Washington. Students in science classes at Bush will be analyzing small plastic and sand samples collected in 2012. Samples were collected following protocols established by Corcoran et al., 2008 and McDermid and McMullen, 2003.</div>
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Our experimental approach will be more fully discussed after analysis of the first set of samples and discussions related to how we might find solutions to the marine debris stream entering the Salish Sea, especially from sources in Puget Sound where students of Bush live and attend school. Our hope is to shed more light on ways young people can do hands on science while making a difference in the ocean.</div>
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</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-44157636587984113262012-03-18T11:23:00.000-10:002012-03-18T11:23:49.873-10:00A bottle, a distant war, and a Hungry Fish..........<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUMUiiQBf2BZENRzy937MzUibXy0-wT4awJ_yVqBjHuRIs_FhF7BtkZz70Hyx0SzLWX4yaGSYxrmCrYnzi2S8r4MJv1hN8JGzVu6_uwxaTP0cZfk_2qm46P2fMCPVWGtX2x1cBHWwVy-W/s1600/tsunami+likely.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIUMUiiQBf2BZENRzy937MzUibXy0-wT4awJ_yVqBjHuRIs_FhF7BtkZz70Hyx0SzLWX4yaGSYxrmCrYnzi2S8r4MJv1hN8JGzVu6_uwxaTP0cZfk_2qm46P2fMCPVWGtX2x1cBHWwVy-W/s320/tsunami+likely.jpg" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Plastic pump spray bottle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Found on beach along Northwest side of Marrowstone Island</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">17 March 2012</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I've been doing a lot of sand sampling lately and came across</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">this piece last night. It washed ashore after several days of strong, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">March storms with winds out of the west and north.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The bottle is unusual in several ways.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">First, it is coated with a dense layer of Bryozoan colony, algae, and several </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">gooseneck barnacles. This indicates a long sea voyage. I haven't seen </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">gooseneck barnacles on debris from local sources in a long time -- for example,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the many crab buoys I find.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The bottle has raised lettering, Chinese or Japanese. Will let you know</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">when I learn more.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Just wanted to post this in case anyone is intrested in learning more</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">about where possible Tsunami debris ends up.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I've placed it for now in a kind of shrine on my desk. It rests in a basket </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I brought back from Morocco and tucked alongside a </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">WWI emblem from my Grandpa's time in the Canadian army,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">many of my favorite shells, as well as an old 'opihi gathering tool, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a glass float from Kauai, and some parrotfish teeth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A poem is fitting, but later on that.............imagine.........the parrotfish</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">dropped at my feet from high surf after I saw it bitten cleanly in two by</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a huge ulua.....down at the General's Beach at Mokapu on Oahu in April of 2009.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Somehow, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">all these pieces fit together and rest here so I can think about their connections.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The bottle, a distant War, and a hungry fish..........</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I can imagine a young woman, holding this bottle in her hand an ocean away, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">spritzing her hair one year ago........and then, it washed into the sea......</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Just as I have wondered about the 'opihi tool..........I've always hoped it simply</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">slipped from the gatherer's hand out there near Anahola........</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-55895738870831431822012-03-15T17:18:00.001-10:002012-03-16T12:38:21.645-10:00As Seen by the Octopus<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAL-RevDrS6XDYti7Hy12gDQvc4WfQtnJLB1-MBiH0XlG6PSX_nLVWKGMl2uackXW2v5rFGvUVk3jpBvhwE1Lh8ZwCEGjG_Rjwanip_OsRbiUot44EyehP0iXJXudMDrpKXwJ9ZwAU4KZ_/s1600/octopus_005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img aea="true" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAL-RevDrS6XDYti7Hy12gDQvc4WfQtnJLB1-MBiH0XlG6PSX_nLVWKGMl2uackXW2v5rFGvUVk3jpBvhwE1Lh8ZwCEGjG_Rjwanip_OsRbiUot44EyehP0iXJXudMDrpKXwJ9ZwAU4KZ_/s320/octopus_005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Octopus</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Marrowstone Island</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Ides of March 2012</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I went to the beach tonight to collect sand samples.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'd scooped some for a project with kids in a Seattle school,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a new protocol, collecting where I first observe small plastics</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">to see if there is more nearby in the substrate around the found pieces.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'd read a journal article earlier about PCBs in albatross</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and found myself thinking of those birds...........mainly becasue PCBs are carried into the ocean by plastic, among other means.......As I was scooping my last sample, I saw an eagle up ahead, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">on something bigger than the usual flounder or sculpin.........The eagle was feasting on</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a still living Octopus.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">So, I leashed Monsoon and hurried up to see.......the Octopus was clinging to life, I am pretty</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">sure......even though most of its arms were gone. Its eye was so clear and when I touched it,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the body moved, elegantly as they do.....funnels opened. But so much of the body was already gone.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I've gotten to swim with these amazing creatures and have held tiny baby octopuses in my hand,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">little ones stranded in tidepools clinging to me with their tiny suction discs.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">But tonight, there was no saving this beautiful creature. The eagle had done far too</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">much damage and I can only imagine I was the last thing it ever saw in that eye.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If I remember correctly, that eye is much like our own and I do know for sure,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">these creatures of the Pacific Northwest are not only the largest of their kind, </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">but also vastly intelligent. Playful even. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And so, I scooped up the body and shared with some kids and interested</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">island adults............I wish I could have saved this one.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Amazingly, in my life here on the coast, this is only the second octopus I've found stranded.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The other was just last week.........</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">To learn about our Pacific Giant Octopuses, visit:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://marine.alaskapacific.edu/octopus">http://marine.alaskapacific.edu/octopus</a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Where David Sheel of Alaska Pacific University shares his many years of experience and much more!</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-72537645008407663942012-03-06T18:01:00.000-10:002012-03-06T18:01:36.186-10:00Possible Tsunami Debris on Marrowstone Island<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYGyCJs02JNyvg78NRhoRuqB5qujIKR807rCGW7xX9ZII1SWdz2ST7hY7D3AsMFiizudF-CwLieofKyULLWDm_55h6snnUqm0NMFnAOlBDFjB1s6_okGnXNP3xpfWrue_t97-7hUseXRw/s1600/tsunami_debris_maybe_007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioYGyCJs02JNyvg78NRhoRuqB5qujIKR807rCGW7xX9ZII1SWdz2ST7hY7D3AsMFiizudF-CwLieofKyULLWDm_55h6snnUqm0NMFnAOlBDFjB1s6_okGnXNP3xpfWrue_t97-7hUseXRw/s320/tsunami_debris_maybe_007.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Marine Debris. Marrowstone Island. 6 March 2012.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Crab Buoy. Rope. Mesh Clam Bags. Foam.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Blue Toy Sieve. Many small unidentifiable plastic pieces,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">including one with Japanese writing............appears to be a piece of a</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">narrow fishing float like those I found on Midway.........but possibly a</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Tsunami relic?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It is the small piece inside the sieve.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">If interested, I can send a close photo or the actual object.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I hold it now, thinking of where it has been..........seems small consolation</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">that an albatross will not ingest it and yet, I am glad to have removed it </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">from the ocean. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mana'o Akamai</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">The Spirit of Wisdom</div><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-7196597391788506812012-03-04T10:25:00.000-10:002012-03-04T10:25:57.998-10:00PLASTIC BEACH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBS8UW2PLdjLaiApfPrC6AZu9GFA2Q9DuDIYpj7X_T44iOyG8zu3fqjoRHUR9A_fCCG7OZq0EUb1e5C9wgLVlRHeQqF-vSlhNT_nSph8vZJAI3-yZ9MM7EvfpFCGPYBYw5vE7_5AI6ANx/s1600/plastic_beach_011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkBS8UW2PLdjLaiApfPrC6AZu9GFA2Q9DuDIYpj7X_T44iOyG8zu3fqjoRHUR9A_fCCG7OZq0EUb1e5C9wgLVlRHeQqF-vSlhNT_nSph8vZJAI3-yZ9MM7EvfpFCGPYBYw5vE7_5AI6ANx/s320/plastic_beach_011.jpg" uda="true" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's Sunday. We watched CBS Sunday Morning and a nice piece of</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">reporting about PLASTIC OCEAN's author and his cause.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Charles Moore will be sailing soon to offer all of us live views</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">of marine debris, including what is washing away from the tsunami.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Be sure to keep up with his work.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In the meantime, here is a very small sample of what I picked up from the beach</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">today............Yes, I was inspired to do a brief beach cleanup after listening to</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the CBS report and seeing Charles at sea........</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Our Plastic Beaches are filling fast with trash of many kinds, from many places.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">In the photo, you can see a toy car, plastic hose of some kind, a straw, a Sunkist Orange drink cap,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">a chunk of rope, a shipping strap, a hot drink lid, and a shotgun shot cup/wad.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">It's easy to imagine how some of this got into the ocean.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">My hope is that with more awareness of what does end up in the sea</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and on our beaches, YOU ALL WILL find time to clean up a stream, pond, lake,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">or beach.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm also sending out a complete set of small plastic samples from Tracy McMullen's</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">2004 journal article study to Bush School. The sample was kindly donated to SOAR</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">by Tracy in hopes kids will look closely at micro-plastics and wonder:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Where did they come from?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What were these bits when they first entered the sea?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What impact do they have on sea life?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How can we safely remove micro-plastics from beaches and oceans?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">See Tracy's study:</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">McDermid and McMullen. 2004. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Quantitative analysis of small-plastic debris on beaches</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in the Hawaiian archipelago. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Marine Pollution Bulletin 48 (2004) 790-794</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I hate to add this, but our Plastic Ocean is lined with a Plastic Beach, one long</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">encircling strip of sand increasingly becoming painted in red, yellow, and blue.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thanks to CBS, Charles Moore, and Tracy McMullen Page</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div></div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-46276266712312753152012-02-21T14:09:00.001-10:002012-02-21T14:16:42.046-10:00Pressure Treated Wood as Marine Debris<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I've focused most of my beach cleanups on plastics, but have noticed a large increase in PRESSURE TREATED WOOD along the beaches of Marrowstone Island. And so, I sent out an all call to the National Marine Educators Association on Scuttlebutt..........<br />
<br />
Several people warned NOT TO ALLOW CHILDREN TO PICK UP THIS FORM OF DEBRIS. <br />
and NEVER BURN THIS TYPE OF PRESSERVED WOOD. <br />
<br />
The following information from a fact sheet of the Ecology Center <a href="http://www.ecologycenter.org/">http://www.ecologycenter.org/</a> offers good explanation for its toxic qualities. High levels of arsenic are a major concern. Here is a brief section of their review:<br />
<br />
By far the most common type of pressure treated wood is designated PT CCA (Pressure Treated Chromated Copper Arsenate). The basic elements involved are copper, chromium, and arsenic. In CCA treated wood, the chromium acts as the bactericide, copper as the fungicide, and arsenic as the insecticide. Even though all three are toxic, the chromium and copper don't raise many concerns (although maybe they should). If we don't inhale it, chromium is not particularly harmful, and copper is not very toxic to mammals, although it is to aquatic life. It's the arsenic that is worrisome. All of these compounds are stable and do not break down into other, less harmful substances in the environment.<br />
<br />
<br />
Pressure treated wood has been in common use for about forty years and much of that is coming out of service and becoming a waste product. The companies that produce this product claim that the compounds are chemically locked to the wood itself and therefore not a hazard to human health and the environment. This statement is mostly true as far as it goes. What they don't tell us is that leaching does occur and that leaching is accelerated by acidic conditions such as is produced by acid rain or occurs during the composting process. A study by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station found an average arsenic concentration of 76 ppm under old CCA treated decks. The state limit is 10 ppm.7 In another East-coast study, soil under an 8-year old deck was found to have 7.7 times the copper concentration, 3 times the chromium concentration, and 31.4 times the arsenic concentration as samples taken at least 15 feet away. It is clear that leaching does occur, at least in areas with high levels of acid rain.<br />
<br />
The EPA has developed the Toxic Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) to set threshold levels for the toxicity of 39 different chemicals, including chromium and arsenic. If the measured leaching from a waste product exceeds these limits it is considered a toxic waste and regulated accordingly. Arsenic-treated wood such as CCA does not have to pass this test. "Why not?" you ask. It turns out that this obviously questionable product enjoys a special exemption from the TCLP rule in 40 C.F.R. 261.4(b)(9). This is likely the result of strong lobbying pressure from the manufactures of these products.9 Because the point is legally moot, actual data is hard to come by, but results of one test obtained by EBN show that CCA-treated wood actually fails the test for arsenic and only barely passes it for chromium.10<br />
<br />
There is evidence of leaching from PT CCA structures into the surrounding environment, but the disposal of this product is by far the more serious environmental problem. It should never, ever be burned! The chemical companies don't tell us is that these compounds, and particularly the arsenic, are released when the wood is burned. Some of these compounds are released directly into the air where the can be inhaled and some remain in the ash where they are highly leachable.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
I will keep you updated as I discover more, but it appears that few studies have been conducted to determine impacts on marine life. And a lack of regulation by the EPA is troublesome to be sure. <br />
<br />
Removing it from the ocean is important, but I think there is another alarming situation..........Beach fires are very popular along our shores. Burning treatedwood releases the toxic chemicals and the ash remains toxic as well.<br />
<br />
Hopefully, more information is made available for campers and others who enjoy toasting marshmallows on a fire. While it is theoretically illegal to collect wood for fires on some beaches (State Parks for example), firewood is often gathered. Sadly, milled lumber is fast becoming one of the major components of wood along our shorelines as natural sources decline due to clearing of marine riparian woodlands. Ironically, this toxic woody debris may serve some of the same valuable functions as the branches, stumps, and tree trunks once so prevalent on backshores. Will we see the day when arsenic soaked wood is protected because it is helping to protect our shores from erosion? I know from experience that a lot of creosote soaked wood remains in place along our beaches. It continues to leach toxins, but the large size of this debris makes it nearly impossible to eliminate...........A lot to think about and much work to be done!<br />
<br />
Thanks to all who helped me with the immediate concern. I won't be asking kids to pick up any form of treated wood!</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-1659403042320284102012-02-17T11:29:00.000-10:002012-02-17T11:29:49.979-10:00FRED RETURNS TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. JUST IN TIME!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWIA_1-7bE-IDb6cdAUQNvXj4E1eb1b0nD_x8uvaZqL7G4VndKCyuK5eylEha6gToHv4iLXKg1ym5yYBWuFjA2v6m9wWwq9C7JQZpKyFXRICIR9Kwn7SXYztWu4c2GezoMLMc62Omm_A0/s1600/fred+arrives+at+Bush+School.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEWIA_1-7bE-IDb6cdAUQNvXj4E1eb1b0nD_x8uvaZqL7G4VndKCyuK5eylEha6gToHv4iLXKg1ym5yYBWuFjA2v6m9wWwq9C7JQZpKyFXRICIR9Kwn7SXYztWu4c2GezoMLMc62Omm_A0/s320/fred+arrives+at+Bush+School.jpg" width="320" yda="true" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fred and Friend (Laysan Albatross from Kilauea on Kauai)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">returned to the Pacific Northwest this week.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fred has been with students in Ohio and will now</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">help many people focus on marine debris in the Pacific Northwest, first </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">with kids from Susan Barrett's North Kitsap High School Transitions class </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">students at many grade levels at Bush School in Seattle.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Contents of his Teaching Kit were enriched</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">by Debbie Charna's students. The Pacific Northwest additions</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">will include results of beach cleanups, study of all forms of marine</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">debris, including toxins from treated lumber, and the responses</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">NK and Bush kids add as they consider earlier SOAR projects.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">THANK YOU OHIO</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for all you have done to enhance learning</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">here in the Pacific Northwest. It is late winter </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and our beaches are now receiving their annual high doses of marine debris</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">from inland waters. At the same time, erosion of many beaches is accelerating</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">due to poor protection of coastal riparian habitat</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and a diminishing amount of large woody debris (natural wood that acts to buffer </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the shoreline from wind driven waves). </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We also hear from our friends at NOAA</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">that marine debris from the Japanese tsunami will arrive on our shores</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">at any time. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We will keep everyone posted as results of our beach cleanups and research</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">continue to expand. </div><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-24101204795176566302012-02-08T17:06:00.001-10:002012-03-04T10:33:13.348-10:00WISDOM<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEB_O7xQc1KxMltnRRNQSqDLqXkFybb-Z800tfpjJjnrXFARiu77myxoFD7sqDtRDIS69KWip05ILELy5CAxjj-HCqY34mbsPv_fAuwoEDMpAJbHh-2q1F7fbZ1AiEMwUluaZSQzcAsHsm/s1600/wisdom+keeper+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEB_O7xQc1KxMltnRRNQSqDLqXkFybb-Z800tfpjJjnrXFARiu77myxoFD7sqDtRDIS69KWip05ILELy5CAxjj-HCqY34mbsPv_fAuwoEDMpAJbHh-2q1F7fbZ1AiEMwUluaZSQzcAsHsm/s320/wisdom+keeper+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">John Klavitter, USFWS, holding an albatross, ready for banding.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I took this photo on Midway in 2009 when I first learned about Wisdom.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Since that time, I've worked on a book about her while teaching kids around</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the world about albatross issues, especially dealing with plastic that kills so many of them.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I learned yesterday, that someone else has gotten a book out about Wisdom and so,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I have to rethink what I will do with all the information so many have provided and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">that I've written about Wisdom, albatrosses, and ocean problems.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I'm posting this image of John to thank him for his many kindnesses as I've</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">worked on Project SOAR with kids.......He has helped in so many ways</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and is the one person I am calling WISDOM'S KEEPER..........</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">One who cares so deeply and never asks for much in return, like</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the kids who originally inspired what I do.........The kids of CSG and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">other schools around the planet who are trying to find ways of</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">helping the ocean.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Maybe I will write a book called Wisdom Keepers. For John.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And, by all means, check out the new book,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Wisdom, The Midway Albatross.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">I hope it is a good book and helps Wisdom in ways needed by all ocean creatures.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Mana'o Akamai </div></div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-81837900810282614012012-02-01T16:53:00.000-10:002012-02-01T16:53:10.631-10:00Palau Sea Turtle Story Shell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQkXSKpQurPPUBVpA_o9SD-7eb99Yz80eNNKegKVkz7rn7Poot5hVeQuMFwyVKqZfUW5-NSSkgxmSWGHEy8vhsMIESXJQlT1oYc3jEcbxO87NqSBtW8FRvksduABnUWckZzHnh-l6a0gT/s1600/turtle_shell_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" sda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWQkXSKpQurPPUBVpA_o9SD-7eb99Yz80eNNKegKVkz7rn7Poot5hVeQuMFwyVKqZfUW5-NSSkgxmSWGHEy8vhsMIESXJQlT1oYc3jEcbxO87NqSBtW8FRvksduABnUWckZzHnh-l6a0gT/s320/turtle_shell_002.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center">honu ea photographed at Marrowstone Point. 2012.</div><br />
My cousin Tom Rice introduced me to the science of the oceans when I was quite young. I collected sea shells for his Of Sea and Shore Museum. At the time of its opening, it was the largest collection in the United States and is still open in Port Gamble, Washington. <br />
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Tom recently moved to Thailand and scaled back the museum's displays. I inherited some treasures when he moved, including this Honu Ea or Hawksbill Turtle "shell"........The carapace of this beautiful sea turtle is etched with a story from Palau...........Tom brought it home from one of his many travels around the world and has since forgotten the legend or folk tale being told in the many etchings on each of the "Moons" or shields on the turtle back. <br />
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Each of these pieces of the back fit together like a puzzle and over the years, they have slipped apart a bit so that it is difficult to transport and share in my workshops about marine debris.<br />
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But as a piece falls out of the back, I can carefully hand it to a child so they can hold it to light and see the beauty of the transparent shell............No wonder people killed these creatures for the shell, turning them into sunglass frames, jewelry, and other fashion pieces..........<br />
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Ironically, the shell is a kind of pre-plastic and today, the turtles, like so many sea creatures, suffer from entanglement in nylon netting, fishing line, and other debris. Saved from harvest, they now must swim seas filling fast with plastics created to replace the more natural shell and other materials of earlier times.<br />
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I wonder if people of Palau would want this turtle returned.<br />
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If you know anything about picture stories etched into these shells, do let me know. I have also put out a question to list serves and so, will keep posting any information. In the meantime, I will bring this to all my presentations in coming years...........Kids are so inspired and enchanted on holding and touching and imagining this sea turtle's past. They seem more eager to help the turtles and the ocean on experiencing the gift from Palau!</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-68039946069411764742012-01-29T13:53:00.000-10:002012-01-29T13:53:59.071-10:00Project AWARE --- Taking More Action to Clean the Seas Beneath the Surface<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">For those of you who dive or know someone who does, please share the following:<br />
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Project AWARE is adding more enthusiastic ways people can get involved in cleaning the seas AND in educating others about marine debris, especially the tons of trash beneath the surface. They are moving away from those single day dives to do a cleanup. To learn more visit their site:<br />
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<a href="http://www.projectaware.org/">http://www.projectaware.org/</a><br />
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The Project AWARE website offers divers some tools and information kits for collecting data on marine debris and for educating people about sharks, as well as posting events in which divers can participate.<br />
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from that website:<br />
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"Project AWARE Foundation is a growing movement of scuba divers protecting the ocean planet – one dive at a time. <br />
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"Over the past two decades of underwater conservation we’ve learned that divers are true leaders in ocean protection. We’re ocean heroes numbering in the millions across the globe. We believe together our actions will make a huge impact and will help to rescue the ocean.<br />
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"With new programs and more online resources than ever before, Project AWARE supports an unprecedented global movement of divers acting in their own communities to protect oceans and implement lasting change.<br />
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"We’re focusing in on two major ocean issues –Sharks in Peril and Marine Debris, or trash in our ocean. Truly, there are many conservation issues converging on our ocean planet at once, but we’re concentrating on these serious problems where scuba divers are uniquely positioned to directly and positively affect real, long-term change in these two areas."<br />
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</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-46217050494922572302012-01-16T12:52:00.000-10:002012-01-16T12:52:15.958-10:00Clean Energy Solutions Lecture by Vicki Osis..........<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I am sharing this with all of you. Since I can't post a multiple page document it is all printed here. <br />
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Vicki OSIS .... and Thanks so much for your interest. You give me hope. <br />
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There is consensus among scientists that we can no longer halt climate change but can only work to slow its progress and lessen its impacts.<br />
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• Our current situation, C02 concentrations in the atmosphere are at their highest levels since 1961 when the announcement was first sent out by Charles David Keeling, who produced data showing that carbon dioxide levels were rising steadily in what became known as the "Keeling Curve".<br />
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• The US has not signed the last three IPCC protocols to reduce emissions and currently has no national policy to reduce emissions.<br />
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James Hanson, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies notes that if we replace all our coal fired electric power plants with emission free energy sources we can reduce C02 emissions enough to save us from the worst effects of climate change. (there are 600 coal plants in the US) We must act now as we have only 10 years left to try to slow C02 emissions to levels that will reduce the worst effects of climate change. (he made his statement in 2010) Hanson goes on to say “It is extremely irresponsible to make the assumption that efficiency and renewable energy sources are all that will be needed to save us from the worst of climate change and will provide the energy to run our nation.<br />
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Solution: 1. Our biggest need is a public who is aware of the risks that we are facing by not reducing out C02 emissions! We need a public that is willing to speak out and demand change. Only with a knowledgeable public can we bring pressure to bear on our governmental officials to make the transition away from coal and oil as our main energy sources. <br />
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Solution 2. We need to use every possible emission free source of energy we have and demand that funding be made available to do the research to develop the high intensity energy sources we need. Some experts say it will take an effort comparable to the effort to put a man on the moon or maybe a better comparison is the effort and dollars we put into winning the 2nd world war. <br />
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Solution 3. The public needs to know the risks and drawbacks with each energy choice and be able to make intelligent choices based on the best information that scientists can provide. <br />
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Solution 4. Switching to electric cars. Electric cars are now on the market. Since we do not shut down our electric generating plants at night, by recharging the cars at night, energy will be available to meet the recharging demand. We must develop a public who is willing to transition from a gas powered cars to electric. <br />
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The following provides information about the energy choices we currently have and the pluses and drawbacks of each. <br />
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Comparison of the generating capacity of green energy compared to nuclear energy.<br />
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Power generated by a power station is measured in multiples of watts, megawatts (10 to 6th watts or gigawatts (10 to 9th) <br />
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• Wind farms: A large wind farm with 44 turbines produces 101 megawatts<br />
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• Solar Power : One of the largest solar powered plants in the world in the Mojave Desert of California produces 354 megawatts.<br />
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• Gas Powered- Medway Power station in Kent , UK makes 700 megawatts. (gas plants release half the amount of C02 that coal plants emits) <br />
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• Hydroelectric - Aswan Dam in Egypt has a capacity of 2.1 gigawatts.<br />
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Wind Farm largest is in Oregon (to be completed 2012) 889 megawatts (has 300 wind towers.) <br />
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• Nuclear : Three Mile Island Nuclear Plant 802 megawatts<br />
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Wind and Solar do not have the energy intensity to meet our energy demands. Solar units for homes in cloudy northern states currently only produce about 1/3 of an average home’s energy needs. (source solar energy agent) Promises of more efficiency and cheaper units are still being developed but have yet to be brought to market. <br />
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We have 104 aging nuclear plants built in the 1950’s that need replacing and we have no energy policy to dictate what energy source to replace them. These conventional Nuclear plants only burn 1% of energy in the fuel rods; the remainder is left in the fuel rods leaving them with high levels of radioactive toxicity. These "spent" rods must safely be stored for 10,000 years until that toxicity has depleted. *The spent rods are currently stored on site in pools in the existing plants. On-site storage of spent fuel in dry casks has become increasingly popular among licensees needing additional capacity for storing spent fuel. Fuel that has been stored for at least five years in water has cooled sufficiently, and its radioactivity decreased enough, for it to be removed from the spent fuel pool and loaded into casks for dry storage. This frees up additional space in the pool for storing spent fuel newly removed from the reactor. (source US Nuclear Regulatory Agency)* the spent fuel rods stored in the Fukushima plants in Japan was one reason their melt down was so horrific. <br />
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What are our options for emission free energy sources.<br />
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Bloom Boxes Fuel Cells http://tinyurl.com/82bst5h<br />
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These are fuel cells that use natural gas as fuel, but do not burn the fuel therefore less emissions. (see problems with mining for natural gas) Bloom boxes are on the market and being used by companies such as Google. <br />
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Nuclear produces electricity with no C02 emissions. <br />
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Arguments in favor of nuclear power (from Hanson Book. Storms of my Grandchildren.). <br />
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•Fast Breeder Reactors (FBR) , the new improved ones, called "Third Generation" do not depend on mining more uranium.<br />
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• FBRs use spent fuel from old conventional nuclear reactors, and nuclear wastes from nuclear weapons production. That spent fuel is toxic for 10,000 years and no permanent storage site has yet been found. <br />
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• Conventional reactors only burn 1% of energy in the fuel rods; the remainder is left in the fuel rods which is the reason for their radioactive toxicity. <br />
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• FBRs burn 99% of the remaining fuel rod’s energy. They multiply the fuel as well as produce electricity. Hanson estimates we have 1000 years of energy using the FBR technology. <br />
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• The spent fuel rods from the Fast Breeder Reactors is toxic for only 2 centuries during which they decay and becomes non toxic. A great improvement over 10,000 years.<br />
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• The technology is available and they can be built now.<br />
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These are large powerplants that will take years to site and build. <br />
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Small scale nuclear reactors. All the nuclear accidents, Fukushima Daiichi complex, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl all occurred because of pump failure. Pumps are needed to provide a constant supply of cooling water for the nuclear reactors. If the cool water supply is halted the nuclear core over heats and melt down occurs. <br />
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Nuclear has the energy intensity to meet our needs, but the fear aroused by the Fukushima has resulted in Japan shutting their nuclear plants and now are bringing back on line their oil and coal fired plants. Germany has also started to shut down its nuclear plants and replace it with coal. <br />
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In the US small modular nuclear reactors are under development and soon may be available including NuScale. NuScale does not use pumps but rather convection currents for cooling the core reactor. NuScale offers small separate modules and many modules can be added to a site. They can be installed on coal plant power sites and hook into the existing grid. These are expected to be ready for installation soon. http://www.nuscalepower.com/ot-Scalable-Nuclear-Power-Technology.php<br />
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The other small-scale nuclear reactor currently under development is Terra power. (ready maybe by 2030). These units use waste uranium (spent rods) for electricity production and also do not use pumps for cooling. Bill Gates is investing in this research and development. See Gates Ted Talks Terrapower. They researching ways to burn more of the energy left in the radioactive wastes. Reduce the time the rod must be stored and supply us with emission free energy that we need. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JaF-fq2Zn7I and http://tinyurl.com/2b5nzd5 <br />
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Examples of small nuclear reactors. <br />
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NuScale- http://www.nuscalepower.com/ot-Facts-NuScale-System-Technology.php<br />
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TerraPower http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/24/bill_gates_and_terrapower/<br />
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Toshiba Mini nuclear reactors <br />
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toshiba_4S<br />
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Hyperion mini nuclear plants. <br />
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperion_Power_Generation<br />
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All our energy choices come with issues. Wind and solar are emission free but are not energy intensive, Natural gas releases half the C02 of a Coal plant but mining for natural gas involves fracking. “fracking” (pumping water and chemicals under high pressure into shale to release gas from rock strata). This has contaminated ground water supplies in many states. In Arkansas, spring 2011, fracking, released uranium present in the rocks, contaminating ground water with radioactivity. Lousiana and in other states fracking liquids have contaminated ground water supplies ruining fresh water supplies for towns, cities and wells for household use. <br />
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(New York Times Feb 2011 from EPA study)<br />
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As for reducing our dependency on oil, electric cars are now on the market. Since we do not shut down our electric plants at night, by recharging the cars at night, the reduced demand in energy would meet the recharging demand. <br />
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</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-63862483450914529762012-01-13T13:01:00.000-10:002012-01-13T13:01:49.343-10:00More From Vicki Osis......Climate Change Links and Lecture Notes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">These two URLS will lead you to information provided by Vicki at Scuttlebutt today..........Vicki is passionate about the need for people in all walks to learn and then talk the talk of climate change to others. Her lectures at Oregon State University are also available, but please think about how valuable these are and send Vicki something, even though she asks for nothing in return.........I will check on her interests in, say, Chocolate? At least return mail envelope................THANK YOU VICKI, for the oceans and for future generations! <br />
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1. A compilation of teaching websites to teach climate change issues. It includes comprehensive websites <br />
as well as teaching activities that address specific issues of climate change such as impacts on coral reef, forests etc. <br />
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I am sure there are other good sites out there but these are the results of days of searching the web. <br />
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<a href="http://www.members.peak.org/~laimons/climate_Change/urls2011.pdf">www.Members.peak.org/~laimons/climate_Change/urls2011.pdf</a><br />
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2. The other URL will take you to a discussion of the recent numbers of extreme weather events and how these are tied to the drivers of global weather such as the Arctic Oscillation and El Nino and La Nina which have also reached record levels of strength.<br />
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<a href="http://www.members.peak.org/~laimons/climate_Change/urls2011.pdf">www.Members.peak.org/~laimons/climate_Change/urls2011.pdf</a><br />
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NOTE both of the above are PDF files. On my computer it does not open but will download them into my downloads files. <br />
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And finally I have the online course I taught for Oregon State University on a disk. It contains 20 "lectures" on different aspects of climate change from impacts on coral reef, forests etc. Each lectures has links to teaching materials on each topic. The list above is a compilation of that. If you would like a copy of the disk please send me your mailing address. <a href="mailto:vjosis@yahoo.com">vjosis@yahoo.com</a> and I will get them into the mail, but it will be early February before I can get to it. There is no charge for the disk, its not worth my time to try to bill you for postage. <br />
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Thanks for your patience with my posts. My concern about teaching climate change sometimes brims over. <br />
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Vicki Osis <br />
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Again, Thank you Vicki for your work and for sharing with others!<br />
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</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-84260724871896860622012-01-11T13:55:00.001-10:002012-01-11T13:59:59.743-10:00OCEAN ACIDIFICATION.......Some sources and People Who Care Deeply<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Here are some recent conversations and posts from Scuttlebutt, National Marine Educators Association list............follow links to good educational materials and awareness building stuff for any talk or classroom discussion. This issue is so very critical as we attempt to bring global climate change and ocean conditions back to a healthier state of being. Read and view:<br />
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Everyone,<br />
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Please go to, and download or read Elizabeth Kolbert's article from the November 2006 New Yorker Magazine. From that please show the YouTube video<br />
"The Acid Test". 21 minutes. And PLEASE see and show this film to your<br />
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adults/everyone: "A Sea Change" a film by Barbara Ettingger<br />
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<a href="http://www.seachange.net/">http://www.seachange.net/</a> <br />
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Elizabeth Kolbert, Annals of Science, "The Darkening Sea," The New Yorker,<br />
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November 20, 2006, p. 66<br />
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Read more<br />
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<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/11/20/061120fa_fact_kolbert#ixzz1ihl1dGk5">http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/11/20/061120fa_fact_kolbert#ixzz1ihl1dGk5</a><br />
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We are inundated with references to Ocean Acidification. I believe it is<br />
exceptionally well understood and still does not get anyone excited. As<br />
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Pogo said "We have met the enemy and he is us."<br />
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Find some way to act. There are now lots of labs that demonstrate the process. Some are simplechemistry and others more involved.<br />
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Steve Bartram<br />
Oceanography and Biotechnology Teacher<br />
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It probably should be noted that the intertidal does see large swings in pH daily - This is a nice (perhaps I'm biased though) article on intertidal pH and the overall issue of ocean acidification along with some links at the bottom of the article. The science can be a little confusing - there are researchers who have found increased calcification with lower pH in some organisms. This is not to detract from the importance of the issue - just to point out that, like most science, the data is still being gathered and analyzed.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mbari.org/news/homepage/2011/Chavez-intertidal/pHsensor.html">http://www.mbari.org/news/homepage/2011/Chavez-intertidal/pHsensor.html</a><br />
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Dr. George I. Matsumoto<br />
Senior Education and Research Specialist<br />
Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute<br />
7700 Sandholdt Road<br />
Moss Landing, California 95039<br />
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<a href="http://www.mbari.org/">http://www.mbari.org/</a>; <br />
<a href="http://www.mbari.org/education">www.mbari.org/education</a><br />
<a href="http://www.mbari.org/staff/mage">www.mbari.org/staff/mage</a><br />
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Here is ocean acidification as explained by Vicki (Osis), I am quoting her here:<br />
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Ocean acidification is a drop in pH on that scale. Scientists report there has been a decrease of pH in all ocean waters from 8.25 to 8.14 since the onset of the Industrial Revolution. That change represents an increase of 30% in the hydrogen ion concentration. This is the biggest change to ocean pH in the last 20 million years. Like the magnitude scale of earthquakes, one unit on the pH scale reflects a change of a factor of 10. The 0.1 pH change means there are now 30 percent more hydrogen ions in the water. <br />
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Scientists also warn that unless we quickly reduce our C02 emissions the acidification will continue and we will experience an increase of .3 - .4 points on the pH scale. That would mean a 90-120%, other sources predict an increase of up to 140% increase. Without action to reduce C02 scientists warn that we can create an acid spike more intense than the earth has seen in the past 8,000,000 years. The change we are currently experiencing is happening too quickly and too intensely for ocean animals to adapt.<br />
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Source: Real Climate <br />
<a href="http://tinyurl.com/y44sg3">http://tinyurl.com/y44sg3</a><br />
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Although ocean pH has not dropped into the acidic side of the pH scale, the change has been enough to disrupt shell formation in sea creatures as the carbonic acid chemically changes calcium carbonate to the point that shelled organisms can no longer utilize it. This is a threat to tiny, fragile-shelled zooplankters, as well as the microscopic larvae of shelled creatures including clams, mussels, crabs and oysters. The second problem is the acid may become 6 eventually become strong enough it will dissolve the shells of adult animals and become a threat to corals, as well as a many other economically important animals.<br />
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On Tue, Jan 3, 2012 at 1:25 PM, Vicki Osis <vjosis@peak.org>wrote:<br />
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Find a teaching activity for teaching ocean acidification here<br />
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<a href="http://members.peak.org/~laimons/teaching_acidification/TeachAcidification.p">http://members.peak.org/~laimons/teaching_acidification/TeachAcidification.p</a><br />
<br />
Teaching Ocean Acidification.<br />
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Ocean acidification is defined as the drop in pH that occurs due to the absorption of carbon dioxide by ocean waters, C02 +H20 creates carbonic acid. The change in ocean pH we have already experienced is the biggest change to oceans in the past 20 million years and the change is happening so quickly marine organisms cannot adapt. The information from the teaching activity can be adapted for grades 5-12. Grades 5 -6 provides an introduction to plankton and its role in ocean food chains. Grades 8-12 can explore plankton and its role in food chains, plus learn about the problems ocean acidification is causing. Also included is a pH testing activity and a list of various student friendly energy conservation measures to reduce C02 emissions. The last piece is step-by-step outline of the chemistry of acidification that could be used with high school students.<br />
If it does not open and I have that problem with my Mac computer....go to<br />
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the Å,downloadsË file and search for TeachAcidification.<br />
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It is a 7 page document.<br />
<br />
Vicki Osis Retired Marine Education Specialist OSU Hatfield Center.<br />
<br />
Rob Moir<br />
Ocean River Institute <a href="http://www.oceanriver.org/">http://www.oceanriver.org/</a><br />
12 Eliot Street<br />
Cambridge, MA 02138<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.oceanriver.org/">http://www.oceanriver.org/</a><br />
Twitter OceanRiverRob<br />
7 min Video: Rob on Winter Island Salem Sound with Ducks Saving the Ocean<br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/5QuribfZPw0">http://youtu.be/5QuribfZPw0</a><br />
and calling for a vacation from lawn care during the rainy season when green slime algae s hungriest.<br />
<br />
Moir's Environmental Dialogs, Ocean River Shields of Achilles Internet Talk Radio<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/55373/working-towards-a-greener-and-healthier-british-virgin-islands-and-the-benefits-of-sustainable">http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/55373/working-towards-a-greener-and-healthier-british-virgin-islands-and-the-benefits-of-sustainable</a><br />
<br />
Episodes listing and descriptions (free on iTunes):<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.oceanriver.org/AchillesShieldsRadio.php">www.oceanriver.org/AchillesShieldsRadio.php</a><br />
<br />
ORI all together now, sing along<br />
<a href="http://www.oceanriver.org/05-SPOT-Moir-07-10-09.mp3">http://www.oceanriver.org/05-SPOT-Moir-07-10-09.mp3</a><br />
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<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-84662523980563404742011-12-23T17:33:00.000-10:002011-12-23T17:33:52.359-10:00WISDOM RETURNS............To Mother Once Again in these Troubled Seas, these Troubled Times<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I've just gotten word from John Klavitter of the US Fish and Wildlife Service that Wisdom is not only alive and well, but that she is back on Sand Island within Midway Atoll..........also within Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument............AND, she is attending to her new little one.<br />
<br />
She is on an egg and will spend the next six months watching over the egg and chick, once it hatches. Together with her mate, of course. They will take turns flying more than 1,000 miles a week to fetch squid, flying fish eggs, and an occasonal fish to feed the little Laysan Albatross. <br />
<br />
She will return to the nest and take a bit of a rest. Then, off again to fly and feed. Like all adult Albatrosses, Wisdom can upchuck solid pieces of squid beak or plastic trash. but her chick must wait for a once only regurgitation between now and July, hopefully ridding itself of any debris that clogs so many young seabirds these days...........<br />
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Currently, I am working on two different drafts of a story about Wisdom and the ocean world she has inhabitated just about as long as I have been alive...........As I work on the book, I think back on how much our world has changed since the early 1950s. Plastic has replaced glass and in just a simple way, I remember what that meant and means to me. As a kid, I was kind of poor and got a lot of change by picking up beer and pop bottles along the highway. I got a penny for each beer bottle. Three cents for a coke bottle...........I can't remember seeing my first plastic bottle along the road, but when it happened to become all too pervasive, the plastics just seemed to fill the ditches. When it rained, they washed into the sea and now, our ocean is home to more than we can deal with.<br />
<br />
Wisdom. She somehow moves around all the debris and has found a way to feed herself and her offspring without swallowing too much plastic. If only we could find a way to speak with her, to communicate directly............She could help us save the world. </div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-20492077062587631402011-11-30T16:32:00.000-10:002011-11-30T16:32:15.453-10:00Project SOAR Mapped and Soaring from Ohio<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaATjOp805BdSzZRIpijq5Irx95Llw8w_wDyBgHQJJ-SIG5bqxekt0bNM2nRoex-eeYfQbeM8QY5PHnY1wm7S_HL00_Tvp1hZC0ubP09TDnDMRK_mEPBPBaMoOL5God5Cvg4kRXdHFpIa/s1600/soar+bulletin+board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" dda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQaATjOp805BdSzZRIpijq5Irx95Llw8w_wDyBgHQJJ-SIG5bqxekt0bNM2nRoex-eeYfQbeM8QY5PHnY1wm7S_HL00_Tvp1hZC0ubP09TDnDMRK_mEPBPBaMoOL5God5Cvg4kRXdHFpIa/s1600/soar+bulletin+board.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Debbie Charna and her SOAR Team recently mapped</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Fred's travels around the world. Her room now includes this map and so, if you visit, Columbus, Ohio</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">do stop in to see where Fred might appear next and where he has spread his wisdom about</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">marine debris, ocean issues, and Papahanaumokuakea and other marine protected areas.</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Of course, we could add here, a digital map, but it would be more fun for you</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">to see the original...........originals.......so rare these days!!!</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">While our project may not be the largest or most highly funded, it has a lot of heart and as you</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">can tell from the smiles on these faces, it is also a lot of fun to learn, teach, and share </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">in ways that will save the earth, one bit of info at a time........ </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Project SOAR has reached England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Switzerland, South</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Africa, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Hawaii, New York, Ohio, Wyoming, Montana, Washington,</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Oregon, Midway Atoll, and other locations around the planet. </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Thanks in large part to pro bono efforts, SOAR</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">continues to move people to act in fun ways..........cleaning beaches, making art,</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">teaching about recycling and reusing, and sharing creatively so that</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">plastic pollution may someday be forgotten.</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Please see the December issue of CURRENT, </div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">the journal of Marine Education</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for an article about SOAR!!!</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And do be in touch to receive a SOAR teaching kit</div><div align="center" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">so you can be more actively involved! </div></div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-35156303064562888932011-11-07T16:35:00.000-10:002011-11-07T16:35:51.165-10:00RESPONSE TO SENATOR CANTWELL: EDUCATION IS KEY TO OCEAN HEALTH<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">I just sent the following letter to Senator Maria Cantwell in response to her call for funding to help cleanup the trash washed into the Pacific from Japan, following the earthquake and tsuname last spring.<br />
I felt like it was a moment worth leaping on to help call attention to the ever present problem of ocean debris..............to remind her and others the problem is not something new and that the trash from Japan, sad as it is, will not simply land on our shore and be easily dealt with in a short period of time.<br />
<br />
I go to the beach each day, picking up trash endlessly...............sorry to say, sometimes I am a bit down and don't bother since there is so much to deal with........Tonight was the worst since winter storms have already arrived. With the cold and early darkness, it is never easy to have a good walk, haul off some junk, play with the dog, and try to make a dent in the endless stream of junk.<br />
<br />
Actually, I had ignored a huge chunk of rope for several days. Tonight, I just had to remove it and it was all I could do to haul it up and over the logs to remove it from the sea. Who knows where it originated! Multi-colored, it had to weigh more than 200 pounds. No matter, it will not wash back into the sea where it could actually re-circulate in the ocean and find its way in the currents to Japan!<br />
<br />
Anyway, here is my letter to Maria Cantwell. I suppose I could have composed a better letter, but I wanted her to know about schools making a difference. Schools like Sharon Buda's Wyandont where kids learn about their connection to the ocean even though they are a couple of thousand miles from the sea. And, for sure, Debbie Charna's kids who helped create this Project SOAR! And, Lisa Keller's students at Bush School where she helps teachers guide projects that make a difference.<br />
<br />
All I can hope for is that some funding finds its way to schools at which kids can ACT not just read about issues like this one. Education only matters if the world becomes a better, healthier place because of what kids learn. I'm not saying we should put kids in the seats of bulldozers and put them on the beaches.......I am saying we could have kids designing creative ways in which the plastics and other debris headed our way is dealt with in ways that first, do no harm to ocean life..............How about it kids? Any ideas? <br />
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<br />
Dear Senator Cantwell,<br />
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<br />
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I just returned from the beach near our home on Marrowstone Island in Jefferson County. As often happens, I spent more time removing several hundred pounds of trash from the shore than tossing the stick for our Labrador. Tonight, it was mostly in the form of a 2-300 pound chunk of nylon hawser and some tires. <br />
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<br />
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On my way home, I listened to an NPR report about a bill you are sponsoring to deal with the trash washing our way from the spring tsunami in Japan. The sadnesses visited upon Japan remain in all our hearts and that huge input of plastic, etc will be a serious problem to be sure. But I hope you are aware of how long it will persist and how it impacts the Pacific, wildlife, and people all across the ocean.<br />
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<br />
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We know, based on studies, that the world's one ocean was already filled with about 50,000 pieces of plastic per square mile prior to the tsunami. <br />
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Here on Marrowstone, we receive trash from Hawaii and the distant west as well as tons from Seattle and Tacoma. I pick up several tons each year, including large quantities of bottle caps, and other items not recycled in Seattle. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
According to NOAA, flip flops I find on our beach may well have washed away from beaches on Oahu or the Big Island. And so, it will not be a surprise to begin to find "new" pieces from Japan in the weeks and months, and years to come.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
That is why I write. This trash heap will not simply fall on our shores in a single or even in ten or twenty events. It will not be an easy to manage clean up fundable by a quick vote and a rush of equipment aiming to scoop up and return or recycle items.<br />
<br />
<br />
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It is going to be a problem for generations to come. And so, I urge you to include in your funding, efforts to educate and involve young people who are already working hard to reduce plastic and other trash sources. <br />
<br />
<br />
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According to the USFWS, as many as one million seabirds already die each year due to plastics in the ocean. Whales are entangled in trash, sea turtles die, seals are threatened as well. All the while, kids in grades k and above are finding ways to solve the problem.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
This moment, this pressing problem from Japan, this fundable issue can be a time when you and other lawmakers decide education is a key to the ultimate solution. <br />
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All that trash will be churning and washing and mixing with other debris for decades, if not centuries. Kids I now work with in grade school will be in college by the time good solutions are found to deal with the problems of clean up, recycling, and repurposing the trash. <br />
<br />
<br />
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Please consider ways in which you can fund educational efforts that put kids in place to help deal with the issues. No workers in machines can match the kids who think, consider, and act creatively. I know this based on experience as a biologist who works with them on the pressing problems of ocean pollution. <br />
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Kids have helped me find ways of dealing with ocean issues in the past. I know they can help you. <br />
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I suggest you help support projects at the Bush School in Seattle; Wyandot Elementary in Dublin, Ohio; North Kitsap Schools in our home state; Fishing Cove Elementary in Rhode Island; Columbus School for Girls in Ohio; and many schools in the Hawaiian Islands where the trash will first wash ashore. <br />
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I've worked with many wonderful teachers who can bring creative solutions to the forefront if you help them inspire their students to come up with ways to deal with this enormous problem.<br />
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I am sending a copy of this letter to teachers and others who can help you. Thank you for responding to the crisis, and thank you for thinking of it as a longterm problem with needs for educational efforts that involve kids directly in finding solutions.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Ron Hirschi<br />
<br />
Project SOAR<br />
<br />
http://soaronhirschi.blogspot.com<br />
<br />
www.ronhirschi.com </div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-18487209539837463272011-11-03T12:25:00.000-10:002011-11-03T12:25:49.116-10:00GLOBAL INTEREST IN OCEAN PLASTICS........Some New Literature and Research<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">Global interest in Marine debris, microplastics, and the overall problem of plastics in our oceans has increased greatly in the past few years.<br />
<br />
For my part, I've been sharing the problem and potential solutions with young people. I'm also at work on a book about Wisdom, hoping her life story brings attention to the issue. She has lived through the worst problems related to longline fishing and drift nets. Wisdom also survived her early years on Midway when rats were a plague. A little known cause of death on Midway was also avoided by this remarkable albatross-- that of lead poisoning from paint flaking off old military buildings. As many as 10,000 albatrosses die on Midway each year from this ongoing source of pollution according to the USFWS.<br />
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Wisdom has survived 60 years of ocean and island life, reflect the positive and potential for other birds. But many scientists have little hope for solutions to the growing crisis in plastic pollution and its associated problems related to PCBs, PBDEs, and other organics that "attach" to plastics in the sea. The following is a link to one of the best sources for finding literature on research into the problems and potential solutions, from SEAWEB. Be sure to check out the report on biodegradable plastic grocery bags:<br />
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<a href="http://www.seaweb.org/science/MSRnewsletters/msr_CandP-MarineDebrisPlastics_11-2011.php#one">http://www.seaweb.org/science/MSRnewsletters/msr_CandP-MarineDebrisPlastics_11-2011.php#one</a><br />
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Follow their newsletter and you will be rewarded with a great deal of information on this and other ocean issues. I urge you to support them financially too!<br />
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Thank You !!!</div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277613710798227130.post-20991750439413251922011-10-20T16:29:00.000-10:002011-10-20T16:29:06.183-10:00Fred and His Albatross Friend About to Travel<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzF8ypQpjEarKZCyV-zRzZV2iLOCL-h6CypqzT8bRixlhvdSGHukL7EBDcb7_xWgmZp8Ji6Vl2FdWhVw_zrrX3fnhBb08F67BVCqCmi1gvTz1IV70wKwg-31Q5sA4YS24LKG-77Vg4iywG/s1600/fred_z126_009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzF8ypQpjEarKZCyV-zRzZV2iLOCL-h6CypqzT8bRixlhvdSGHukL7EBDcb7_xWgmZp8Ji6Vl2FdWhVw_zrrX3fnhBb08F67BVCqCmi1gvTz1IV70wKwg-31Q5sA4YS24LKG-77Vg4iywG/s320/fred_z126_009.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Always smiling, Fred is about to set off on a new adventure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Debbie Charna and her students are preparing to send him and</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">his little Albatross buddy to a school......maybe in Florida? Or with new</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Friends of Fred in Seattle, the Big Island of Hawaii, Kauai, or down in</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">La Jolla............all possible places where Fred will bring much news about</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Papahanaumokuakea, Ocean Issues, and what kids of Columbus School for Girls</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">have been doing lately to help Project SOAR take flight!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Be watching CURRENT, the Journal of Marine Education</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for a story about SOAR.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">And, be watching SOAR to see where Fred Z126 and his little albatross visit next.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">At the same time, be in touch to learn about the arrival of Albatrosses at</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Kilauea National Wildlife Refuge on Kauai and, of course, out on Midway</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">and other locations within Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Here on the mainland, it may be Fall, but out in the nesting islands of the Pacific,</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">it is a kind of springtime...........when our seabirds find a nesting place, safe</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">for their young ones. We will be hoping Wisdom returns to nest once again. To be sure.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Wisdom. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">She is constantly on our minds and in our hearts. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Wisdom, the Oldest Known Wild Bird on Planet Earth.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Her story will soon be in book form, so watch for this as well! </div></div>ron hirschihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06517029971414213248noreply@blogger.com0