The cost of carbon

Here’s an excerpt from James Hansen’s briefing on June 23 (courtesy Real News Network), 20 years to the day after his first testimony on global warming. Hansen advises the elimination of coal-fired plants and criminalization of CEOs of big oil and coal companies.

A Sea Change–Alaska vignette

Click to Play In which we start to get a sense of the deep economic and social implications of ocean acidification. The Exxon Valdez catatrosphe gives us a hint of what could happen. Includes comments from Verner Wilson,  III, Alaska native and youth activist. Formats available: Quicktime (.mov), Flash Video (.flv)

The ocean as a limestone dump

Here’s a solution to the problem of ocean acidification: dump in a bunch of limestone to neutralize it. Evidently it works, according to Danny Harvey at the University of Toronto. You’d have to dump in quite a lot, though. Try 4 billion tons. Per year. Over decades. Even assuming its ecological side effects are relatively […]

A virtual Sea Change

We were delighted to be invited to participate in a web conference for marine educators on Monday. Sven was our intrepid pioneer into virtuality. The event was put together by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, as a lead-up to the Fishers Forum in Honolulu. Moving forward, we’re eager to create more opportunities for […]

They get it in Europe

The European Union is stepping up to the plate. Even though the full ramifications of ocean acidification aren’t yet known, they’re not waiting around. Rather, they’re launching an EU-wide initiative to study the phenomenon. Ocean acidification is happening today and it’s happening on top of global warming, so we are in double trouble" stated [Jelle] […]

Al Gore

We found this originally on EcoGeek but went back to the source, TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design), an organization devoted to bringing together "the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes)." Al Gore was invited to deliver one of those talks this past March […]

Too close for comfort

Now it’s in the U.S. backyard: elevated pH levels in the Pacific, within 20 miles of the coast, documented for the first time. The data are reported in a study authored by Richard Feely, Christopher Sabine, J. Marting Hernandez-Ayon, Debby Ianson, and Burke Hales, summarized in Science Express. The area studied is known for its […]

Another sea change

This courtesy of economist Mark Thomas’ blog Economist’s View: "Americans consider global warming an urgent threat, according to poll,EurekAlert: A growing number of Americans consider global warming animportant threat that calls for drastic action, and 40% say that a presidentialcandidate’s position on the issue will strongly influence how they vote,according to a national survey conducted […]

Twenty years later

An eloquent statement from the man who first announced global warming in the U.S. Congress, James Hansen, director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, published in The Guardian. An excerpt: ". . . we have used up all slack in the schedule for actions needed todefuse the global warming time bomb. The next […]

Devil (fish) in the details

This week the European Union’s initiative for studying ocean acidification kicks off in Nice, France. The name’s a bit unwieldy—the European Project of Ocean Acidification (EPOCA)—but we’re just glad a governmental entity’s paying serious attention and putting some resources and publicity behind the effort. It’s truly an international effort focused on filling in "the numerous […]

What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger

Some organisms seem to be adapting to ocean acidification. Live Science is reporting on a study conducted by scientists at the University of Washington of tiny plants called coccolithophores. A kind of algae, they respond to increased acidity by building thicker shells. This does not mean go out and buy that Hummer you’ve been thinking […]

Green screen in NYC

We’re glad to see the New York City Mayor’s Office giving support to lightening the production footprint. The website offers tips and resources for saving energy while making movies in the Big A. Many of the tips apply more to big-budget features; however, those are the folks making the most waste, so it makes sense. […]

Will Bush turn blue? Possible blue legacy in the works

National Public Radio has just reported that President Bush is considering the creation of a number of marine reserves. If created, they would represent a huge conservation program, one of the largest ever. This would be cool, if it happens. Evidently it’s all still in the planning stages, and the Bush administration has not commented […]

National Ocean Month

President Bush has officially declared June to be National Oceans Month. So maybe it’s time to celebrate pteropods, some of the creatures most vulnerable to changes in ocean pH. They’re a kind of plankton. When you get up close and personal to pteropods they’re delicate, captivating animals, actually tiny molluscs and relatives of clams and […]

Will Florida lead the way?

A coalition of major conservation groups published a report outlining key steps the state of Florida can take to respond to pressing environmental concerns, including the big OA. The full report can be downloaded from docuticker. The summary alludes vaguely to "restoring coastal and marine ecosystems so they can better cope with the stress of […]

New Crew

DIRECTOR/CO-PRODUCER BARBARA ETTINGER‘s first film Martha and Ethel screened at the Sundance Film Festival and was distributed theatrically by Sony Pictures Classics. Her most recent film Two Square Miles was co-produced with her husband Sven Huseby. Two Square Miles aired nationally on PBS’s Independent Lens in November 2006 and again in January 2007. Sven and […]

On the radar screen

It seems that, just in the past few weeks, ocean acidification has come into focus in public awareness. We have a google alert going for the topic and are finding that each alert is jam-packed. Folks have been especially picking up on the upwelling issue blogged about earlier, the "corrosive" 50-year-old seawater. There’s expanding coverage […]

Republicans block U.S. Senate’s global warming bill

Last night Democrats failed to break the Republican filibuster of major global warming legislation. The bill would have capped carbon dioxide coming from power plants,refineries and factories, with a target of cutting greenhouse gasemissions by 71 percent by the middle of this century. Notably crossing the aisle was John Warner (R-VA), arguing that the bill […]

Subcommittee Reviews Legislation to Research and Monitor Ocean Acidification

(Washington, DC) th Today, the House Committee on Science andTechnology’s Subcommittee on Energy and Environment held a hearing toreview H.R. 4174, the Federal Ocean Acidification Research andMonitoring Act. Committee Members examined the current status ofscience on ocean acidification and research and monitoring activitiesfocused on ocean acidification and its potential impacts on marineorganisms and marine ecosystems. […]

A fledgling Sea Change in Florida

A 20-minute, work-in-progress cut from A Sea Change will screen in early July in the Educational Center at the 11th International Coral Reef Symposium in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Though the symposium is for scientists, the Educational Center is open to the public, so we’re hoping to get some feedback we can keep in mind as […]

Sustainable Filmmaking Video Blog

Click to Play Before production, Barbara Ettinger, Sven Husby, and Ben Kalina talk about how to go about green filmmaking. From the paper in the printer to lights on the set: we can’t take anything for granted any more. Especially not if we’re going to make a film about the consequences of excess carbon dioxide […]

A new use for the oceans

Holy smokes. There’s actually serious consideration being given of using the oceans, specifically the deep ocean or benthic area, as a dump for excess carbon dioxide. Even though we already have evidence that the extra CO2 in the atmosphere that’s dissolving in the ocean is causing serious problems. The Guardian just published article on what […]

Sustainable filmmaking–discussion begins

Before production, Barbara Ettinger,Sven Husby, and Ben Kalina talk about how to go about green filmmaking.From the paper in the printer to lights on the set: we can’t takeanything for granted any more. Especially not if we’re going to make afilm about the consequences of excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. As we got started […]

ABC News Covers Ocean Acidification

We were glad to stumble upon this report filed by Clayton Sandell for ABC News. The basics on ocean acidification in less than two minutes. Also amused to see corrosive becoming a meme, vis a vis seawater, hitting the mainstream.