That pesky elephant in the room–wait, there’s more than one
Courtesy of Google alerts (yet another reason to be grateful to Google, and I’m wondering when they’re going to ask for my first-born child), I discovered the Gerry’s Elephantine Blog. Loving the name and the writing. Intelligent analysis laced with dark humor: my favorite cocktail. Gerry recently posted on climate change and ocean acidification. To […]
US to lead the world in climate change effort?
Well, we had to read that headline twice. Awesome how much a day can change things: from denying climate change, the US government may be doing an about-face and now leading efforts to diminish emissions. Senator John Kerry, speaking in Poznan, Poland, at the current climate conference, said the USA will take the lead, if […]
Valerie Burgener sums up Sailing to Barcelona
Click to Play Valérie Burgener was instrumental in coordinating the activities of Sailing to Barcelona, one of the initiatives of the IUCN World Conservation Congress. Here she sums up the successes of the initiative. One big problem: the boats were a 40-min. metro ride away from the bulk of the Congress activities (at the Forum). […]
What we don’t know about the ocean is most of it
We know nothing about the ocean, so we don’t care. Which means we don’t act to protect it. Here three ocean lovers discuss the pteropod (yes, our gorgeous old friend), and move on to our ignorance of the ocean. OliviaChantecaille is creative director for ChantecailleCosmetics and a major supporter of ocean conservation. Gwen Alston is […]
“Brave New Ocean”
If this lecture doesn’t scare you straight, nothing will. Dr. Jeremy Jackson discusses human-created ocean impacts: habitat destruction, overfishing, introduced species, warming, acidification, toxins, and massive runoff of nutrients. We’re facing major extinctions. Just for starters, he says that, because of ocean acidification, “some day we’ll have no seashells on the beach.” Definitely a downer. […]
A Sea Change reviewed by Prof. Jeff Levinton, Stony Brook University
"The feeling that we have stolen something from our children falls heavy on the old, who wonder whether they have done right by themselves, their family, and their society. Sven Huseby feels this deeply as he discovers that his generation has profoundly changed the atmosphere by adding carbon dioxide. The ocean will acidify and perhaps […]
A Sea Change screened at AGU
A Sea Change had its own session at the AGU Fall Meeting on Dec. 16. We screened an excerpt of the fine cut, with Q&A following. Here science journalist Christina Reed introduces the film.
A Sea Change segment on C-Span
Director Barbara Ettinger and co-producer/protagonist Sven Huseby appeared on "Washington Journal" March 21 to discuss A Sea Change, the first documentary on ocean acidification. Here's the complete segment.
A Sea Change World Premiere Mar. 14 at DC Environmental Film Fest
It's official: A Sea Change premiers Saturday, Mar. 14 at the DC Environmental Film Festival, at 3:30 pm. In a fabulous venue: the Baird Auditorium at the National Museum of Natural History, in downtown Washington at the intersection of 10th Street and Constitution Ave., NW. And admission is free! You'll get to meet director Barbara […]
A sea riddle
What did the beach say when the tide came in? (2 possible answers!) 1. "Hi (high) Tide!" 2. "Long time no Sea!" Today's riddle is courtesy of Elizabeth Eubanks, teacher, St. Mark Catholic School in Florida.
A taste of the World Premiere of A Sea Change at DC Environmental Film Festival
What an amazing night for A Sea Change! We couldn’t have askedfor a more appropriate venue, one floor beneath the Smithsonian’s newlyunveiled Sant Ocean Hall, with an introduction by coral expert Dr. NancyKnowlton, who holds the Sant Chair in Marine Science at the museum. The room was overflowing with what was rumored to have been […]
Alaska youth come to the fore in ocean acidification awareness
Ocean acidification may be a winning topic for some Alaska high school students. Four of them, from the Kodiak High School Tsunami Bowl team, have focused on the subject for a state science competition coming up in early February. If they win at the state level, they’ll go on to Washington, DC, in April to […]
Bacteria turn excess clean energy into methane for storage
Penn State researchers have found a possible solution to the problem of storing alternative energy. It's a bacterium able to convert electricity into methane gas when combined with CO2. The Cleantechnica blog reports that: "Any surplus power from wind, solar, or tidal sources is fed into thebacteria and combined with CO2 from the atmosphere to […]
Bush confirms blue legacy with creation of marine protected area
In his last days in office, President Bush has created the world’s largest marine protection area in the Pacific Ocean. The legislation he signed bans commercial fishing and mining in a vast area (195,000 miles) including the Mariana Trench, Rose Atoll in American Samoa, and seven equatorial islands in the Central Pacific. The Times Online […]
Climate change naysayers
We discovered this on YouTube, in a series called "Climate Denial Crock of the Week." The video maker is Peter Sinclair, an advocate of environmental awareness and energy alternatives. Here's what he has to say about it: "Climate Deniers S. Fred Singer and Dennis Avery make their livingby confusing and obfuscating the science of climate […]
Concrete as a cure for climate change?
A Scientific American article is reporting on what sounds like a revolutionary technique for partially solving the greenhouse gas problem: using it to produce cement. A new company called Calera claims that, by passing carbon dioxide through seawater, it can produce cement. For example, the waste gas from power plants, now released into the atmosphere, […]
Coral growth declining in Great Barrier Reef
Coral growth in the Great Barrier Reef has slowed in the last 20 years. Specifically, the coral are less able to absorb calcium from the ocean water. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide is the cause. “The data suggest that such a severe and sudden decline in calcification is unprecedented in at least the past 400 years,” the […]
EPA seeks scientific data on ocean acidification
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is responding to a petition filed by the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) last year by requesting information from scientists and policy makers on ocean acidification. The information will help the EPA decide whether to revise their current pH water criterion, a move which might lay the groundwork for […]
Factory farms & greenhouse gas
Just heard this factoid on "The Leonard Lopate Show." The guest was Mark Bittman, talking about the environmental impact of the meat we Americans eat. (The rest of the world can prolly go to sleep right now, unless you want to know more about the stupidity of our agro-business/food culture. Wait, I was wrong. Unfortunately, […]
Fertilizing ocean to combat climate change
In apparent defiance of international law (and possibly commonsense), scientists are planning to start an experiment with iron fertilization. The Independent is reporting that the proposed location is the Southern Ocean. The plan: to create a plankton bloom big enough to be visible from space. “The researchers – mainly from Germany and India, but including […]
Fish & climate change
It turns out that fish play an important role in mitigating climate change. But it wasn’t known til now. A study published in the Jan. 16 edition of Science reports that fish help maintain ocean chemistry, specially the ph balance. In other words, they are natural allies in combating ocean acidification. Villy Christensen, fisheries researcher […]
Take Action Today to Address Ocean Acidification
Our elected representatives will only vote for change if we, theirconstituents, make it clear that strong action is needed now. Urge them to vote infavor of strong protections for the world’s oceans through dramaticreductions in CO2. Here are just a few of the things you can do about the urgent problem of ocean acidification. Please […]
The other CO2 problem
Have we mentioned that claymation is one of our absolute favorite things? You can imagine how thrilled we were to hear about a new film which uses that medium to teach about ocean acidification. Made by kids! Students from Ridgeway School in Plymouth created The Other CO2 Problem, which debuted in Copenhagen before 100 internationalscientists […]
US Now Largest Wind Power Producer in the World
The United States has overtaken Germany to become the largest producer of wind energy in the world, generating enough capacity to eliminate the burning of 91 million barrels of oil per year. The American Wind Energy Association (AWEA) reports US windproducers experienced a record year of growth in 2008—the third in arow. America now has […]
Using A Sea Change to raise awareness about ocean acidification, COP-15, World Ocean Day, or your kitchen sink
We're definitely wanting to make this site more useful to visitors. In the not-too distant future we'll be adding more functionality. Like an interactive map so you can locate a nearby screening (will you be in Australia for World Ocean Day? We might.) And something like a "Get Busy" tab so you can take immediate […]