[outmywindow]

Not all is bleak, things are looking up on the Whale front...

Rare sighting of blue whales sparks optimism
Linda Nguyen, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, August 18, 2007
A scientific whale-spotting expedition has reported sighting five blue whales near the Queen Charlotte Islands -- the largest number seen in B.C. waters for half a century.

The five blue whales, including one calf, were seen near the southwest end of the Queen Charlotte Islands near Cape St. James last Saturday, Fisheries and Oceans Canada biologist John Ford said Friday.

The extremely rare sighting of blue whales is grounds for optimism they are making a comeback in B.C. waters, Ford said.

We [haven't] seen a concentration of five blue whales for a very long time," Ford said of the massive animals, which can grow to 30 metres in length and weigh 100 tonnes.

"It's very encouraging because they might be starting to recolonize off our coast again."

Ford, part of a 13-member crew on an annual 10-day mission, was doing a survey of ocean wildlife with U.S. company Cascadia Research when he spotted the blue whales, the largest animals ever to exist.

The team believes the whales, which are actually grey in colour, were feeding nearby.

They were able to spend more than five hours photographing the back pigment markings on the majestic animals in order to be able to identify them later.

"We came out to see these 30-metre-long animals in our tiny five-metre boats.

"Most of us were accustomed to seeing humpback whales, but these were just huge animals," he said.

"They didn't seem to mind us being there at all."

Three of the whales were seen again the following day.

The blue whale population has dwindled to near extinction due to commercial whaling.

The blue whale population was once estimated at 300,000 worldwide. Blue whales have been protected since 1965, but only 10,000 of them are now known to exist.

Off British Columbia, the blue whale population has never recovered, unlike off southern California, where it has grown to 2,000.

"They've come back strongly in California but we've always wondered: 'Why not along our coast?'" Ford asked. "We're going to try to link the ones we saw last Saturday with that [California] population, to see if they're moving back up."

In the past five years, the survey team has only seen one blue whale per expedition.

[DocRon]

That is superb news about the blue whales "outmywindow". Unfortunately things are not so great for the dolphins according to the following news exerpt:
"The Yangtze River dolphin is now almost certainly extinct, making it the first dolphin that humans drove to extinction, scientists have now concluded after an intense search for the endangered species. The loss also represents the first global extinction of megafauna—any creature larger than about 200 pounds (100 kilograms)—for more than 50 years, since the disappearance of the Caribbean monk seal (Monachus tropicalis).

The Yangtze River dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer) of China has long been recognized as one of the world's most rare and threatened mammal species.

"It's a relic species, more than 20 million years old, that persisted through the most amazing kinds of changes in the planet," said marine biologist Barbara Taylor at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Service. "It's been here longer than the Andes Mountains have been on Earth."

In 1999, the surviving baiji population was estimated to be as low as just 13 dolphins, compared to 400 known baiji in 1981. The last confirmed glimpse of a baiji was documented by a photo taken in 2002, although unverified sightings were reported as recently as 2006.

An international team of scientists conducted an intense six-week search for the dolphin in two research vessels during November and December 2006, covering the entire known range of the baiji in the 1,037-mile (1,669-kilometer) main channel of the Yangtze River. The researchers and their instruments failed to see or hear any evidence that the dolphin survives.

"It was a surprise to everyone on the expedition that we didn't have any sightings at all, that the extinction just happened so quickly," Taylor recalled.

This would make the baiji the first cetacean—that is, dolphin, porpoise or whale—to go extinct because of humans.

The species was probably driven to extinction by harmful fishing practices that were not even devised to harm the dolphins, such as the use of gill nets, rolling hooks or electrical stunning. The findings are detailed Aug. 7 in the journal Biology Letters.

"In the past, you had this out-of-control whaling that still didn't result in any extinctions, but these accidental deaths, which are much less visible to people, are much more insidious," Taylor said.

Even if any baiji exist that scientists did not find, the continued deterioration of the Yangtze region's ecosystem—home to roughly 10 percent of the world's human population—means the species has no hope of even short-term survival as a viable population, the researchers added.

"To help save the endangered Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides asiaeorientalis) that also live in the river, we'll likely have to keep them in lake preserves or raise them in captivity, because the situation in that river doesn't look like it can be controlled at this point," Taylor explained.

With the loss of the Yangtze River dolphin, the world's most critically endangered cetacean species now is the vaquita or Gulf of California porpoise (Phocoena sinus), of which 250 survive. The vaquita and other coastal dolphins around the world now face the same peril that claimed the baiji—accidental deaths from fishing.

"We have to find a way to let small-time fishermen put food on their tables that doesn't involve putting gill nets in the water that decimate these species," Taylor said. "Unless we figure out a way to deal with this problem, the baiji may be the first in quite a long line of animals to face extinction."

IMAGE GALLERY: Endangered and Threatened Wildlife
10 Species Success Stories
Top 20 Extinction Hot Spots
Original Story: Dolphin Species Goes Extinct Due to Humans:"
http://news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/...E1Ny0C4Xt4hMgF

[DocRon]

FP this one is for you, even though I disagree with your thinking that we humans have little impact towards global warming.

"OSLO (AFP) - A grown moose belches out methane gas equivalent to 2,100 kilograms (4,630 pounds) of carbon dioxide a year, contributing to global warming, Norwegian researchers said Wednesday.
That is more than twice the amount of CO2 emitted on a round-trip flight across the Atlantic Ocean from Oslo to the Chilean capital Santiago, according to Scandinavian Airlines.

"An adult moose emits about 100 kilograms of methane gas a year. But methane gas is much stronger than carbon dioxide, so to get the equivalent you have to multiply by 21," professor Odd Harstad at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences told AFP."

Ref:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070822...JdwgJyOs 0NUE

[catmando]

Originally Posted by DocRon

John Lenon once wrote " All we are saying, is give PEACE a chance!" I wonder what he would say about this global warming issue...possibly " All we are saying, is give the WORLD a chance"

I once read about a women that said each time she goes to the beach she tries to remove one additional piece of litter than what she arrived there with. Her motivation was that at least she left the beach in a cleaner state than when she arrived, even though she did not clean up the whole beach. What an amazing attitude she has toward life and our planet.

Maybe we can all become like her and each do our bit to lessen our human impact towards global warming. If every person made a small effort to prevent this crisis from getting worse, then our planet would be better. So switch to more efficient power sources, walk or cycle to work instead of driving those fuel guzzling vehicles, recycle waste, vote for politicians who are pro peace and pro environment....or if there are none around, run for office in your area....

Remember,we attract into our live what we focus on.

YOU can make a difference!!! Start today.

Excellent post!!

I just got back from the Alabama Gulf Coast where I spent two days watching Offshore racing. Each time I left the beach I found litter to dispose of. Sadly, I saw very few people doing that.

I drive a diesel truck that gets 23mpg. I recycle. I turn off unneeded lights in my home. I use the latest and greatest air conditioning system(helps to have sons in the business )

We all need to do our part to improve our immediate environment, but having said that, I believe the evidence for GW is overwhelming. It is clear that almost all the deniers have ties to Big Energy. I tend to believe those scientists who are impartial.

[DocRon]

Thanks catmando.

The world can certainly do with more people like you..... cool calm & efficient

I agree that 'Big Energy' controls the world and the politicians in it!!!!

Wow, this might spark off a new thread of conspiracy theories!!!




You can make a difference!! Start today!!!

[YachtForum]

Guys,

After considerable research and compiling an extensive amount of data, I'd like to submit the following chart as evidence of global warming...

[catmando]

Originally Posted by YachtForum

Guys,

After considerable research and compiling an extensive amount of data, I'd like to submit the following chart as evidence of global warming...

LOL bring on da HEAT!!

[DocRon]

Hey Yacht Forum, at least not all is bad concerning GW, LOL!!! 'Things' are really going to get heated up in years to come....lol

[outmywindow]

With the Antarctic ice thawing faster than predicted the International scramble to secure their piece of the pie is on:
__________________________________________________ _______
Rhetoric heats up as Arctic ice melts away
Randy Boswell and Mike De Souza, CanWest News Service
Published: Friday, August 10, 2007
Prime Minister Stephen Harper made two major funding announcements today to boost Canada's sovereignty in the resource-rich North as Denmark's science minister claimed his country has a strong case for ownership of the North Pole.

"Canada's new government understands that the first principle of Arctic sovereignty is: Use it or lose it," Harper said in Resolute Bay, Nunavut, as he announced that the community, about 600 kilometres from the magnetic North Pole, will be the site of a new $4-million military training centre. The centre is to be manned by up to 100 Canadian Forces personnel at a strategic site along the Northwest Passage.

Harper also confirmed that the government will spend $100 million to build Canada's first deep-water Arctic seaport at Nanisivik, on the northern tip of Baffin Island. The port would be key to shipping through the Northwest Passage, which is expected to provide a summer sea route to Asia within decades as global warming melts the ice floes.

The two initiatives will "benefit communities throughout the region by creating jobs and opportunities and enhancing the safety and security of the people who live here." And, along with a 900-person boost to the Canadian Rangers' 4,100-member patrol, the investments will "significantly strengthen Canada's sovereignty over the Arctic."

Meantime, however, Danish science minister Helge Sander was announcing that recent findings by his country's researchers suggest "Denmark could be given the North Pole."

His assertion comes on the eve of a Danish-led research expedition to the Arctic and amid intensifying interest among all northern nations in securing shipping and seabed rights in the oil-rich region around the North Pole.

The joint Danish-Swedish expedition, which will carry one Canadian scientist, will have its path cleared by a chartered Russian icebreaker. Its aim is to cement Denmark's claims to extended seabed territory north of Greenland, an island controlled by Denmark, Sander said in a Danish television interview.

Sander said "preliminary investigations done so far are very promising," suggesting the disputed Lomonosov Ridge - a 1,500-kilometre undersea mountain range that runs past the Pole between Siberia and North America - is a geological extension of the northern coast of Greenland.

"There are things suggesting that Denmark could be given the North Pole," he said.

Canadian scientists, however, believe the Lomonosov Ridge could be seen as a continuation of Ellesmere Island, giving Canada a strong counterclaim against potential Russian and Danish land grabs.

In Ottawa, the Danish ambassador to Canada, Poul Kristensen, told CanWest News that "it's no secret that Denmark, on behalf of Greenland" has interests in Arctic resources and "of course, potentially, we can make claims."

While scientists from the five polar nations continue to collaborate on research aimed at mapping the Arctic sea floor, the governments of Canada, Russia, the U.S., Denmark and Norway remain at odds over an area thought to contain one-quarter of the planet's untapped petroleum reserves.

Earlier this month, Russia ruffled feathers by dropping a Russian flag on the North Pole seabed at the end of a deep-sea expedition to claim the mineral riches of the Arctic.

Today, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahs Stoere called Russia's move "show business more than political reality," adding that: "What is important is that the Russians follow the international legal regulations in force, as they are doing."

Harper said last week that Russia's flag-planting trek to the Pole shows that "sovereignty in our Arctic is going to be an important issue as we move into the future."

Now the Danes - still at odds with Canada over the ownership of tiny Hans Island in the boundary waters between Ellesmere Island and Greenland - are again pressing their claims to the potentially lucrative sea floor around the Pole.

The Danish government first stated its intent to vie for possible North Pole riches in 2004, when its Hans Island feud with Canada - now being dealt with quietly by diplomats - was still prompting heated public exchanges over the remote and icy rock.

When it comes to potential Arctic oil, "we are speaking of values in the billions," said Denmark's Kristensen, "and therefore the area, of course, is of interest to us."

University of British Columbia professor Michael Byers, Canada's leading expert on Arctic sovereignty, said in an interview that "all the other Arctic countries are fully committed to claiming the maximum amount of seabed to which they're entitled under the law of the sea convention."

Byers added that "chartering the Russia icebreaker is a particularly inspired move and should send a strong signal to Ottawa" to make sure this country does everything possible to "secure all the seabed that is rightfully ours. The only thing holding us back right now is a lack of political will."

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the five polar nations could acquire huge swaths of Arctic sea floor if they can prove the claimed areas are linked to their continental shelves.

Canada and Denmark have been collaborating over the past two years to gather data on the Lomonosov Ridge. Russia claimed ownership of the ridge in 2001, but the UN sent its scientists back to the Arctic to gather by 2009 more evidence to support the claim.

Canada has until 2013 to submit its territorial claims, but the federal scientist leading the sea floor studies, Jacob Verhoef, said earlier this week there's a chance the research mission could be in jeopardy because of the tight deadline, strained resources and unpredictable Arctic ice conditions.

On Thursday, a top U.S. climate researcher announced that the Arctic ice cover is shrinking faster this summer than at any time since reliable satellite images of the polar cap became available in 1979.

© Vancouver Sun 2007

[catmando]

Funny how this works, but rising temps and melting ice in the Arctic causes sea levels to rise in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. Alost all the South Sea Islands are reporting advancing sea levels. Also in the South, several years ago an iceberg the size of Rhode Island broke off from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

Arctic ice is melting as well, causing polar bears to drown because they can't reach ice before they tire out. The ice melt is threatening the Ice Road to ANWR oil drilling sites. Ironic isn't it?

[outmywindow]

Yes, there is no shortage of disasters out there one could easily misinterpret any news broadcast for the ‘The Disaster Channel’.

What I find interesting or frightening is the upcoming scramble for the last frontier (arctic), and as mentioned the estimated ¼ of earths petroleum resources.
Since our dependency on oil isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, with only baby steps being made in the western states and provinces of North America with mandatory cut backs and alternative fuel propositions, the world by and large is geared for a full assault on the environment for years to come.
Think China, India and Russia that still follow environmental laws dating back to the 1950’s.
When push comes to shove in land claims in the Arctic and mapping the ocean floor to establish who owns what, the world governments may have finally found something worth fighting over.
Tom Clancy, if you are lurking here please jump in anytime

[DocRon]

Originally Posted by outmywindow

Since our dependency on oil isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, with only baby steps being made in the western states and provinces of North America with mandatory cut backs and alternative fuel propositions, the world by and large is geared for a full assault on the environment for years to come.

This is simply due to "Big Energy" & big money being transferred between them and politicians. There is too much (money) to lose by switching over to more efficient sources of energy. The fat cats want to0 get fatter!!!!

[airship]

Think China, India and Russia that still follow environmental laws dating back to the 1950’s.
When push comes to shove in land claims in the Arctic and mapping the ocean floor to establish who owns what, the world governments may have finally found something worth fighting over.
Tom Clancy, if you are lurking here please jump in anytime

My respect for Tom Clancy just about evaporated once he started to do those "branded" novels written by other authors...

Russia is apparently best-placed to take advantage in any thawing of the Arctic ice. They're the only nation that currently possesses the gigantic nuclear-powered ice-breakers necessary, whether it's to keep open shipping lanes or allow eventual access to Arctic-resources. (I can just about imagine the furore if any other western-nations decided to build nuclear-powered ice-breakers tomorrow...?!)

But I don't really comprehend why India or China even, should want to take the serious steps to acquiring these until-now, unattainable resources?

After all, it's quite clear to me that over the last 500 years or so at least, it's always been the white men, who've waged the wars (amongst themselves) and decimated native populations in other places in order to control global economic resources. This opportunistic and combative strategy, something I can only ascribe to genetics at this stage. It's why the white man, from a tiny European base 500 years ago, has managed to install its hegemony in places as far apart as Australasia, southern Africa and north / south America upto this day. Leaving aside the white man's most recent undertakings to regain control of the oil supply in the middle-east. And the bickering amongst themselves today over whether 1 section of white men - the Russians, should be allowed to now have the control and influence they undoubtedly have over certain European countries because they finally possess sufficient oil and gas resources in a nation surprisingly enlarged over the centuries...?!

Just because China (and maybe India) are today investing huge amounts of capital and some development aid in African nations to secure their raw material and energy demands for the future (something we in the west did "way back when" but we got used to friendly and corrupt dictators - the difference today being that these corrupt dictators are now being given a "market price" for their nations' resources ...?!), does not mean that China or India will tomorrow be building the ice-breakers and other technologies in order to steal "our" Arctic resources. Or maybe that's just how our politicians would like us to feel...a few hundred million western Europeans / north Americans / Russians / Chinese and Indians who lost their lives in some near-future nuclear-exchange would probably do wonders for the many countries' forth-coming pensions / ageing-population crises.

Be fore-warned! Little has stopped the white man's progression to world dominance up until now. Remember, in the past, that whole native populations were once decimated, not because of modern armaments or murderous intentions, but because the invaders brought with them various ailments that were hitherto unknown to the natives. Cough cough...?!

[outmywindow]

Originally Posted by airship

But I don't really comprehend why India or China even, should want to take the serious steps to acquiring these until-now, unattainable resources?

China and India were never mentioned as being in a position to claim a stake in the Arctic bonanza, but only as leading industrial countries that don’t abide by today’s environmental standards.
In turn being major energy consumers they will be a very profitable client to whoever owns the said resources.

Can Canada slake China’s thirst for oil?
By Wenran Jiang
- As the second largest oil consumer in the world after the United States, China's state-controlled energy companies have reached out to every corner of the world, searching for more energy and resources, and signing deals worth tens of billions of dollars.
Canada's huge oil sands may have finally caught Chinese attention. According to the latest estimates, Canada's oil reserve stands at 176 billion barrels, second only to that of Saudi Arabia.
With current Alberta oil production at three million barrels a day, and half of that going to the U.S., there is still a surplus available after satisfying domestic needs.
Last year, China and Iran signed energy contracts in the range of $100 billion, which will ensure Iranian supplies to China for the next 25-30 years. The year before, Chinese President Hu Jintao signed energy deals worth up to $40 billion during his trip to Australia.
Some estimates claim that potentially a third of Canadian energy could go to China in the future. What is good for Canada or China may not be good for the U.S.

[catmando]

>Last year, China and Iran signed energy contracts in the range of $100 billion, which will ensure Iranian supplies to China for the next 25-30 years. The year before, Chinese President Hu Jintao signed energy deals worth up to $40 billion during his trip to Australia.
Some estimates claim that potentially a third of Canadian energy could go to China in the future. What is good for Canada or China may not be good for the U.S.<


^^The main reason bu$h and Cheney are going after Iran. Israel is just a convenient excuse.