How Species Save Our Lives

I read a wonderful article today in the New York Times about the importance of protecting the great diversity of life on Earth, called How Species Save Our Lives. Although the article mostly focuses on terrestrial plants and animals, it's a good read.

The field of bioprospecting (the search for potential medicines in the wild) may be even more pertinent in the marine world, as less of it is destroyed. Bioprospectors may not always have the best reputation in the conservation community, being generally known for sticking anything new they can find in a blender, they have their place. New cancer drugs are being developed from sea sponges. Our ability to copy DNA (one of the biggest advancements in biomedicine in the last 30 years) comes from finding an enzyme in hydrothermal vent communities.

The article ends with with a few things you can do to save our planet, and I thought I would share those with you here:

1. Reduce meat in your diet and stick to sustainable fisheries. (Find a pocket guide for your region.)

2. Buy less stuff, or buy it used.

3. Favor companies and countries that value the environment. (But beware of greenwashing. BP used to tout itself as environmentally aware.) Check the green rankings of top companies.

4. Add up your annual energy consumption (including air travel, gasoline, electricity, and heating fuel) and set a program to cut back by five percent a year. Be clever and you may hardly notice. Start by making a one degree change in the thermostat, and replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent lights. (Some energy audit programs will do it for you and you will spend less for the service than you will save in utility costs in the first year alone.)

5. Walk, bike, or take public transportation. The exercise will do you good (and you might see an interesting bird or bug on route).

6. Get acquainted with some of our weird, delightful fellow species. Any book by Gerald Durrell, for instance, “My Family and Other Animals,” is a fine place to start,

7. Learn to identify 10 species of plants and animals in your own neighborhood, then 20, and onward.

8. Stop using lawn pesticides and fertilizers. They contaminate nearby waterways. For the same reason, don’t dump old prescriptions down the toilet.

9. Reduce water use, particularly for lawns; it depletes a limited resource, sometimes directly damaging habitat.

10. Plant trees, and since maintaining them is the hard part, stick around to be a tree steward.

11. Lobby public officials to do smart things like installing more sidewalks, limiting carbon emissions, and investing in conservation of threatened species.

12. Adopt a species that needs help and actively support its conservation. Groups exist focused on tigers, rhinos, chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutans, frogs, and so on.

13. Encourage your local zoo to focus on species conservation.

Hot Topics in the News

Student cruise offers lessons on ocean life
staradviser.com

Since 2005 the NOAA research vessel Sette has designated a week out of the year so students can learn what type of work the crew and scientists do. Students collect oceanographic data, and participate in Monk seal research and marine debris removal work to reduce the threat to marine life.


NOAA Begins National Survey of the Economic Contributions of Saltwater Angling
noaa.gov
NOAA is again surveying saltwater anglers across the nation to update and improve estimates of the overall economic contributions of saltwater recreational fishing to the U.S. economy.


New study shows marine 'networks' can protect fish stocks
eurekalert.org

University of Miami (UM) Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science faculty were part of an international scientific team to show that strong links between the corals reefs of the South China Sea, West Pacific and Coral Triangle hold the key to preserving fish and marine resources in the Asia-Pacific region.


Surfers transform plastic into fuel
surfertoday.com
Surfers Without Borders have presented the results of the "Plastic to Oil" demonstration, held at the Orella Stewardship Institute. The new technology allows everyone to transform normal everyday plastic into gasoline, kerosene and diesel for your surf trips.



BP reneges on deal to rebuild oyster beds, repair wetlands, Louisiana officials say
nola.com

BP has reneged on promises made in November to negotiate early payments to Louisiana to help rebuild oyster beds, repair damaged wetlands and build a fish hatchery to allow the state to respond immediately to the collapse of commercial fisheries in the wake of the BP Gulf oil spill, state officials said Monday. Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority chairman Garret Graves and Department of Wildlife & Fisheries director Robert Barham said the state will instead scramble to find millions of dollars to begin the work itself, then bill BP for the costs.

World's Coral Reefs Facing Serious Threats

photo credit: J Maragos, USFWS

World's Coral Reefs Facing Serious Threats

A new survey of the world's coral reefs finds that they very much in trouble. Current human activities like overfishing and pollution continue to grow as threats. Also, coral reefs' future existence is not certain because the world's oceans are getting warmer and more acidic largely do to human activity. Read all about it here.

Marine Conservation in the News!

Here are just a snippet of marine conservation newsclips for this last week for you all to enjoy. We would benefit from hearing your thoughts on these issues...so chime in below!

Liquid Robotics Lures BP, Navy, NOAA with Wave-Powered Glider, bloomberg.com

The Wave Glider, a robotic ocean-monitoring device that can go anywhere on the sea for a year without recharging its battery, has attracted government agencies and private companies as an alternative to costly research vessels.

Sen. David Vitter to block another nominee over drilling, politico.com

Sen. David Vitter is renewing his practice of blocking votes on Obama administration nominees in order to force the Interior Department to hurry up and issue offshore drilling permits.

The Louisiana Republican Tuesday said he’ll place a hold on Dan Ashe, the nominee to head the Fish and Wildlife Service. He’s already blocking the nomination of Scott Doney to be chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

House science chairman seeks to block funding for new ‘Climate Service’, thehill.com

Rep. Ralph Hall (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, is seeking to block funding for the overhaul of major federal climate change research and monitoring programs.

PSU scientist assesses damage from Gulf Coast oil spill, centredaily.com

A team of Penn State researchers has been working for eight years to discover and characterize deep water coral sites in the Gulf of Mexico. That put them in an ideal position to be the first to monitor the impact of the April 20 blowout on coral life. They continue to lead expeditions to record coral damage from the spill that could ultimately be used in one of the biggest environmental lawsuits in history.

Congresswoman Bordallo Re-introduces Coral Reef Conservation Bill, pacificnewscenter.com

Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo has reintroduced a bill that would reauthorize and enhance the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. The legislation, H.R. 738, is entitled the Coral Reef Conservation Act Reauthorization and Enhancement Amendments of 2011.

Proposed Rise for Oceans' Agency Budget as Satellite Costs Mount, sciencemag.org

Although 2012 budget documents for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) are still being vetted by the Department of Commerce and the White House, the big picture has emerged: NOAA's expensive array of environmental satellite systems are hoping to receive the lion's share of the president's generous increase for the agency. But getting that requested hike through Congress won't be easy.

Underwater living

A new study recently came out on the potential effects of rising seawater levels on the coastline of the United States. The scientists' projections show that sea level could rise one meter (about three feet) by 2100, resulting in the loss of land for some of the coastal states like Florida, Louisiana, and Virginia. Rising sea levels is not a new problem to island nations like Tuvalu and Kiribati, whose existence is in much more peril than the U.S.

This is a serious problem and will not be solved quickly or easily. For many, the reality is they will lose their homes and their livelihood. And there are scientists trying to solve the problem and heads of government trying to prepare for the worst.

The science fiction nerd in me wonders if we could find a way to live underwater. Teams of scientists have done it before for research, something I have always wanted to do. In my imagination, my underwater home would be a large transparent structure so I could constantly watch the sea life around me. I realize the reality of moving people underwater is very difficult (if not impossible). But if we are truly going to start running out of land someday, be it hundreds to thousands of years from now, why not start investigating the idea? People talk about creating colonies on the moon; why not on the seafloor?

Why Everyone Should Wear Red Boardshorts and Put Zinc on their Noses

Courtesy: K38Rescue

On February 8^th the San Jose Mercury News ran a story about a surf-photographer who rescued a drowning surfer at Mavericks, a surf spot near Half Moon Bay, CA. There is no doubt that surfer Jacob Trette, who had lost consciousness, would have drowned if the photographer hadn’t swiftly entered the impact zone on a PWC (Personal Water Craft) and extracted him from the 30-foot surf.

Trette is fortunate that his rescuer, Australian surf-photographer Russell Ord, borrowed the PWC from his friend Kenny Collins, another surfer, on the day of the incident. But now Collins, not Ord, could be facing a $500 fine for operating a PWC in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. PWCs, also known as jet skis, are prohibited in the sanctuary because they harm marine life, including protected marine mammals and endangered species.

I’m no expert on PWC-marine life interactions, but I would speculate that an animal that is struck by a fast-moving jet ski will be seriously injured or killed. Furthermore, it’s entirely conceivable that the noise from these vehicles harasses marine life. I worked as a California State Parks lifeguard and PWC deckhand (riding on the rescue sled, not driving) in Monterey, CA, and let me tell you—those engines are LOUD.

The PWC ban is a topic of contention between NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the surfing community. I find points in both NOAA’s and the surfer’s arguments with which I can agree. Marine sanctuaries exist to protect marine ecosystems, and the adverse impacts from jet skis definitely undermine this objective. However, as a lifeguard, I know that using a PWC is the fastest and safest way to make a rescue in the heavy winter surf of Northern California.

So do I believe that the PWC ban should be lifted in the sanctuaries? Well… no. The Northern California coast is a place of wild and rugged beauty that is rarely found elsewhere. To allow the widespread use of these machines would detract from that natural value in an irreplaceable way. At the same time, I recognize and respect that for those who surf to discover and push their own limits; those towering waves are the ultimate challenge. And in the inevitable event that limits are pushed beyond the brink, there will be a need for rescuers—be they lifeguards, or a cameraman in the right place at the right time—with the means to quickly and safely extract people from the waves.

Lifeguards and all Ocean Rescue personnel are exempted from the ban, and a well trained PWC operator can make a rescue with limited environmental damage. So what is the solution to this dilemma? Hire more lifeguards of course!