Thursday, March 26, 2009

Penguins


Those little flightless, underwater swimming birds, the penguins. They have been depicted wearing tuxedos and as espionage spies in the movie Madagascar. Other than they live at the south pole what do we know about them? Here is some trivia about penguins:


  • Not all penguins live in the cold Antarctic area. One penguin species lives near the equator.
  • The Emperor penguin is the largest of the penguins and stands about 3 foot tall.
  • The Emperor penguin has been recorded to reach a diving depth of 1800+ feet that took 22 minutes.

Whale migration patterns


Whales migrate. They make seasonal trips from breeding areas to birthing areas. The birthing areas are typically warmer oceans than the breeding areas. If you plan on going to see the whales during their migration up or down the coastline you will need to know the whale species and the months they migrate. Just miss their migration period and you will have an easier time finding Ferrari parts then you would spotting a whale.

Along the west coast of the USA, gray whales migrate during the spring and fall months. They are traveling from the Alaskan sea to the warm waters off the coast of Mexico. They can only be spotted for a few weeks during their migration on their way along the coast.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Beach erosion


Drastic beach erosion occurs mostly during winter storms that can eat away at the soil under cliffs and cause dramatic landslides. The gradual type of beach erosion is a natural occurrence and has been going on since land met water.

The only time that people have become so concerned about beach erosion is when it involves property that they have purchased. When part of a cliff falls off into the surf in an isolated area of the world where humans do not live, it is called "nature". When a beach home is threatened to fall into the ocean or waves threaten to destroy the home it is called, "God's vengeance".

Instead of planning the building of homes away from the powerful ocean people try to construct the most ineffectual of barriers to keep the ocean at bay. Everything from rock sea walls to elaborate fence installations have been attempted. Almost all of them have failed.

When will people learn to live with the ocean instead of battling it?

Monday, March 2, 2009

Container ships add toxins to world's oceans


You would be surprised at the amount of modern container ships that are at the bottom of the world's oceans. Just last month a huge container ship collided with an oil tanker off the coast of China sending both of them to the bottom of the sea. Now those ships are not filled with any modern day treasures that will be valued highly in years to come from salvation operations. Those ships are filled with all sorts of wholesale tvs, radios, cars and other assorted items that fill the local Walmart.

Along with those items are often toxic chemicals such as lubricants and paint thinners. You can now see another contributing factor to the lower fish populations in the world's oceans.