Tsunami trash due to hit West Coast of the USA by Christmas

If you ever wanted to go to the beach just to pick up trash then your day is almost here. The floating trash that is from the huge tsunami that hit Japan after their earthquake is due to start washing up on the west coast before Christmas gets here.

Just think of all the plastic that will be washing up on our shores. Everything from toys to cable covers will be embedded in our sand and wedging in between our rocky beaches.Couldn't someone think about putting up a net to isolate this stuff before it started to travel across the Pacific ocean?

Think before you buy something that is not biodegradable

We all know that plastics do not deteriorate very rapidly. The same can be said for many man-made products. Batteries, or going cordless, can put a strain on our ecosystem once the batteries no longer hold a charge. They end up in dumps, land fills or worse yet, in our oceans, lakes and rivers.

There is good news on the technology of batteries. One company, Vendum, has filed a patent for a biodegradable battery. The battery is carbon based and is using nano technology. The entire thing is said to be non-toxic. They are being designed for personal cell phones and small electronics for now, with the aim for electric cars in the long run.

So the next time you go shopping to buy batteries, think about where they will end up once you are done with them.

Fresh water fish threatened

It has been a few months since I last posted here. My summer so far has been inland and not near any coastal areas. That is a bit of a change for me. Family functions and me with a summer job selling  ATV Accessories has kept me busy. Normally there is enough oceanic news to report but this time I want you to be aware of the inland oil spill in the Yellowstone River.

The oil is slowly destroying fish habitats for catfish, walleye and trout. There are several native and non-native species of fish that call this area home. I am sure that the area will recover but the question is, how many years will it take?

Discovering marine biology news

I love finding out new research studies about the ocean. Just recently at sciencedaily.com there was an interesting article about how over the past 100 years, larger fish have declined in numbers while smaller fish have increased in numbers. So I sat down in a comfy chair, grabbed a couple of mini cheesecakes and read some more.

It appears that scientists are blaming overfishing to the cause of the larger fish disappearing and when those fish disappeared, the smaller fish thrived. This they estimate will contribute to the end of many larger fish like tuna.

If you get a chance, pop on over to the science daily website and read some of the interesting articles they have on marine biology.

Baby dolphins dying

Are the baby dolphins that are washing up on the Gulf Coast shorelines the result of the BP oil spill or is something else going on? That is the question that is currently circulating through the news wires. On the NBC nightly news, the reporter claimed that the oil was the possible cause due to the contaminated fish that the mother dolphins were eating while pregnant. Since the gestation period for a dolphin is close to a year long, it would be almost impossible to determine if the mother dolphin was in the oil spill area for that entire time or even part of the time.

What we have to wait for is the toxicity results of the autopsies of the baby dolphins to be completed and that will take a few more weeks. Knowing that us humans also use the rivers that flow into the gulf waters as sewer lines, I would not be surprised to find that other factors would be in the report.

Antibiotics, those nasty best weight loss pills, household cleaners and all sorts of other chemicals could have contributed to the deaths. We also have no idea what is going on in Mexico and the other countries that also border the Gulf.

Nothing says Merry Christmas like the sound of gunfire

While most of you are enjoying your Christmas morning surrounded by the sound of children giggling with delight at opening toy gifts or adults sharing stories about those odd custom made corporate gifts they received at the office, I am subjected to the sound of gunfire.

No I am not spending Christmas Day in a war zone, nor am I located in a high crime inner city. I live in what most people consider to be the peaceful countryside in rural America. The gunfire is made by children who's parents and relatives have given the gift of a rifle for Christmas.

All I ask is that no animals are harmed but in my heart I know that the rifle was bought to kill and not for shooting at hay bales with targets on them. Tomorrow I will read about all about the injuries or listen to the neighbors boast about their 7 year old's target practice.

Have a Merry Christmas.

Gifts for a ocean lover

If I can't go to the coast and frolic on the beach in this frigged, cold winter weather then I can shop. Let's see, what would an ocean loving person want? Something interesting perhaps persnonalized gifts or a travel DVD, underwater travel of course. I would stay away from anything that was made from sea life. Don't buy preserved seahorses or something made from a sea turtle shell. Think before you buy that gift.

Think about using non-toxic products first

Did you know that many of our household products are not biodegradable? I am not talking about plastic bottles and grocery bags, but the actual creams, lotions and other chemicals that we use. Take for example prescription pills, did you know that you should NEVER flush them or put them in any waste water system? Antibiotics do not break down but end up as a biological soup in our waterways. Fish and other creatures are exposed to dissolved pills, lotions for acne treatments, shampoos and a whole list of other chemicals that water treatment plants cannot handle.

The results are fish that now have possible genetic problems, people and animals eating fish that have been exposed to those chemicals and the food chain becoming highly unstable.

So think before you flush or pour anything down the drain. You can take back any unused pills to a pharmacy or doctor for disposal.

Kelp can be good for you

Kelp is one of the most common salt water plants. Commonly known as seaweed, because of its rapid growth rate, kelp is found in most of the world's oceans. Large areas of kelp growing are called kelp "forests." Sea otters just love making their home among the long strands of kelp and humans harvest kelp for a multitude of products.

Kelp is dried and eaten, it is added to supplements, weight loss pills, pet foods and even cosmetics. Kelp is high in vitamin C as well as lesser known trace elements.

Kelp also has another very important role in the world's ecology. It helps oxygenate the worlds oceans so that ocean life can survive and it gives off oxygen into the atmosphere.

Shoreline trash

Have you been to the beach lately? Was it pristine and clean? I am betting not. Put aside the oil washing up on the Gulf coast beaches and what other bits of human trash do you see? I think I have come across more can and bottles than anything else. A close second is used diapers and broken up Styrofoam coolers. I thought that Styrofoam was being outlawed? The most unusual item I saw in the last few months was a king size mattress that someone tried to set on fire and only burnt part of it. The mattress could have come from an off shore ship wreak or brought to the beach to be dumped. You guess is as good as mine for that one.

The one burning question I have always had: If people come to the beach to enjoy its beauty, then why do they trash it?

Sea salt cures

It is nice to know that the salt water on our Earth is a massive cleansing fluid. It dilutes much of the toxic waste that flow down our streams and rivers. In a concentrated form we eat it (table salt) or use it to preserve our food. In a slightly diluted stage we float on it (The Great Salt Lake in Utah) or use it to treat eczema. Sea mammals that have wounds are more quickly healed by their watery environment than a similar land mammal would. Without our oceans to keep this planet moist and cool enough for us to survive where would we be? Non-existent that is where.

My true feelings about the oil spill in the Gulf

Warning: this post may offend some of you

Ok, I have heard just about enough news on the TV about the oil spill in the Gulf and I am pissed. What I am pissed off about is the fact that almost all of the coverage is about how people are affected by the spill. The TV news is covering how people are losing their businesses and work. Well boo who. People can move, find other lines of work, start other businesses. Damn it, what about the sea life that can't move, are having their homes destroyed and some of them will not live through this disaster to continue their species. Instead of the TV news continually covering the economic part of the disaster just to sell commercial air time to viagra and sleep aids, why don't they cover what the Sierra Club, The National Wildlife Federation and other conservation clubs are doing.

I am sorry if I offended some of you but I just had to say that.

Day 72 of the oil spill in the Gulf

It is now over 2 months after the pipe broke on that BP oil rig and we are not any closer to shutting it down than we were at day 1! What the hell is wrong with this picture? I have heard of all kinds of solutions from burning it off (which is what they tried at first), enzymes, using stainless steel drums and of course that famous "cap" that didn't work. Apparently BP does not have any scientists on its payroll otherwise they would have figured out how to shut it down or make it less harmful to the environment. We shall see what happens next.

Hurricane season has just begun in the Gulf

It is June first and it marks the beginning of the hurricane season in the Gulf of Mexico. With the oil disaster still going on, I wonder how a hurricane will affect the situation. I still find it amazing that the amount of oil that has spilled into the Gulf would amount to what the entire US population would use in 3 hours.

As always I would love to read your comments on the subject, just leave a comment. Of course all comments are moderated due to the fact I keep getting spammy comments that have links to diet pills or other junk websites. I really can't understand why someone would sign their comment with a product name like Acneticin instead of a real sounding one like Joe or Tammy. It just makes you wonder where they get the time to do stuff like that. Oh, wait a minute, aren't they the ones making government policy regarding off shore oil drilling? Now it makes sense........or does it?

Why is really important news swept under a rug?

I am talking about huge ecological disasters, the ones that make the news briefly then disappear, never to be heard of again. Oil spills are notorious for being ignored by the major news organizations. One of those huge container ships sinks every few days yet nothing is even mentioned about them.

Then you have that on going floating garbage patch in the Pacific Ocean that was mentioned a few years ago - well that thing has not disappeared. That was one disaster that could have been preveranted.

I often wonder if big business is not only controlling our government but also what we see and hear via the main stream media. I am so grateful that we have Twitter, where news is instant and almost viral.

The ocean holds human health secrets

The future of human medicine might just hinge on discoveries of the deep. We all know how to lower bad cholesterol, by eating fish. There is something about fish oils that are beneficial to human health. Kelp also has been found to help digestion. Algae has been used in countless remedies.

I can see that many of the cures of human ailments will be found in the world's oceans, that is provided that us humans don't destroy the oceans first.

Technology and the outdoors

I never thought that having a cell phone would become such an informational device. Recently a local high school was on full alert when a text message went viral throughout the entire student population. A sexual predator had been spotted in the area and not only was it a text message but it came complete with a picture of the suspect.

With Twitter now on cell phones it is becoming a very fast way to communicate such ecology news items such as oil spills in real time but also the progress of whale hunting on the high seas.

I praise such technology improvements but I still can't get use to people wearing those Bluetooth headsets in the grocery store. I remember a time when you had to wait to you got home to make or receive a phone call.

Quit raping the ocean for your own greed

I am simply fed up with companies coming up with a "secret" ingredients that involves a rare form of sea life. How many whales, dolphins, rare fish and other life need to die for the greed of man? I have read so many off the wall claims of rare enzymes found only in certain rare fish that are being touted as natural fat burners or sexual enhancers. It makes me sick.

Seahorses are still ground up and used in medicines in the far east but there is no real medical use for seahorses. That is a photo (above) of dried seahorses for sale. When will this stop?

End of 2009 and what have we discovered?

I guess everyone looks back over the year and wonders if we are any better off now, compared to when 2009 began. My biggest new discovery was finding out about that huge mass of floating garbage in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It has been around for years (I think I first heard about it in 2007) and it only starting making the major news this past year. Oh, yes, it was reported before but the national news seemed to ignore it. Stupid stories of Micheal Jackson's lifestyle tended to take up the allotted air time and serious news was left to the internet for people to find out about.

Meanwhile back out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean the mass of plastic junk like water bottles, shrink tube, the discarded child's toy, plastic twine by the mile and non-descriptive little bits of plastic torn apart by the ocean currents all floating together in one huge mass seem to remain in place with no one doing anything about it.

I can't wait for the reports to come back in 10-20 years about how those toxic plastic bits found their way into every organism on the planet. Happy 2010 everyone.

Polar Bears and the melting ice

This photo reminds me of how the melting polar ice caps will be affecting the Polar Bears. The bears need the ice to be able to hunt and rest on the ice and eat their catch. If they can't hunt on the ice they won't be able to gain enough weight to help them survive their hibernation. They can't afford to have a fast weight loss before their hibernation ends because there is nothing around for the to eat before spring.