Ocean Champion to Head NOAA

President-Elect Obama has put forward Jane Lubchenco to head NOAA. This is awesome news for marine conservationists: a marine biologist herself, Lubchenco has frequently spoken publicly about the importance of restricting carbon dioxide emissions. Lubchenco has "a passion for improving public understanding of science." She would be the first woman to lead the National Oceanic […]

Legal protection for endangered corals in Florida

An Oct. 28 press release from the Center for Biological Diversity reports that the US government is now protecting two species of coral, elkhorn and staghorn.Found in Florida and the Caribbean, these corals were once the most numerous and important reef builders in this area. They have now declined by more than 90 percent in […]

Possible suit against EPA under Clean Water Act to address ocean acidification

The Center for Biological Diversity may bring suit against the EPA for not upholding water standards in the face of ocean acidification. The NGO will take legal action if the EPA fails to act promptly on a petition submitted last year, in which the agency was asked to "impose stricter pH standards for ocean waterquality […]

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.

NBC anchor Wendy Rieger couldn’t get into DC premiere of A Sea Change

This post would belong in the shameless self-promotion category, except that Wendy Rieger wrote the bulk of it; we're just quoting. Anchor of NBC4 in DC, and originator of the "Going Green" strand, she produced a lovely story on A Sea Change. Wendy decided the next day to attend our DC premiere in person, and […]

Washington Post reviews A Sea Change

Ann Hornaday reviews A Sea Change in today's issue of The Washington Post (March 12). An excerpt: "The story of a retired educator who becomes interested in, and finally consumed by, the declining state of the world's oceans, the film [A Sea Change] brings a crucial and little-known issue to the attention of filmgoers. The […]

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 […]

NBC DC reports on A Sea Change

Anchor Wendy Rieger produced a story on A Sea Change last week, leading up to our premiere Saturday in the DC Environmental Film Festival. Below is an excerpt. Wendy reports on environmental issues regularly in her series “Going Green” on NBC 4 in Washington.

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 […]

Oceans & climate change

James Baker discusses the impact of global warming on coral reefs, ocean acidification, chemistry of the atmosphere and ocean, and growing public awareness of the issues.  Formerly, Baker was NOAA's Undersecretary of Commerce/Administrator during the Clinton Administration. He currently serves as Director of the Clinton Foundation's Global Carbon Measurement Program.The talk was given at Cornell […]

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 […]

Plan B for climate urged by scientists

It’s time to implement Plan B, to use technology to address excess carbon in the atmosphere. That’s the feeling of a growing number of climate scientists polled by The Independent. The Kyoto Treaty has not served to limit the release of carbon dioxide. And recent research reports that the world’s naturally occurring carbon "sinks" are […]

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 […]

Pray for the pteropods

“The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” ~ Einstein Fluid, gorgeous little creatures – like winged angels of the sea. Thatʼs how these precious bite-sized beings, the size of a babyʼs fingernail, appeared to Sven Huseby when he first saw them. […]

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, […]

Shell weights reduced by ocean acidity

Reuters reported today (March 9) that a new study at the University of Tasmania in Australia shows that ocean acidification is reducing the shell weights of tiny creatures called foraminifera. Weights are falling between 30 and 35 percent. "William Howard of the University of Tasmania in Australia described the findings as an early-warning signal, adding […]

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 […]

Sneak Preview Tuesday night at National Constitution Center in Philadelphia

Come join us for a very special Earth Day Eve event at the National Constitution Center on Independence Mall in Philadelphia as we screen A Sea Change as part of the Red, White, Blue & Green series, presented by the Knight Constitutional Conversations series.  Barbara and Sven will take part in a panel after 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 […]

Support for A Sea Change from Dr. Spinrad at NOAA

“Ocean acidification is a significant part of the climate change story. A Sea Change does a unique and excellent job of conveying this complex scientific issue to the public.”—Dr. Richard W. Spinrad, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research

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, […]

Support for A Sea Change from Inside Cinema

“A Sea Change is really terrific! Great content, great visuals + love the message, process and results — It will be a big hit for our conference, especially the inter-generational dialogue and the power of one individual to explore and share and do something. It’s a really smart film and in the context of our […]

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 […]