Archive for February 2nd, 2010

Saving BioGems : False Killer Whales Still in Danger in Hawaii

Last season NRDC announced it’s mission to save the Hawaiian island’s Whales, and now that this decision is facing the president we’re asking the Obama Administration to protect Hawaii’s false killer whales under the Endangered Species Act because the loss of even a few whales could endanger the survival of the entire population. These whales are among the most imperiled wildlife in the Hawaiian Islands with only 120 of them alive today. Help grant federal protection to Hawaii’s coastal population of false killer whales. Shown below is one of my letters urging the Obama Administration to protect Hawaii’s false killer whales. Read more of this story »

United States: In Bay Area, battle against crumbling coast

National Public Radio: Construction crews are battling the Pacific Ocean to save a cliff-top apartment building in Pacifica, a San Francisco suburb. It's the kind of scenario likely to occur up and down the West coast in years to come, as climate change and rising sea levels threaten oceanfront properties. Copyright (c) 2010 National Public Radio(r). For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. ROBERT SIEGEL, host: From NPR News, it's ALL ...

The Bigger Kahuna: Are More Frequent and Higher Extreme Ocean Waves a By-Product of Global Warming?

Scientific American: Armand Thibault looked out over the Pacific's rumbling winter waves from his balcony in Neskowin, Ore. "The predicted high tide today is a 10.1 [feet]," he relayed via YouTube on Friday, January 29. "I'm very glad we don't have a storm surge behind this one. Tomorrow is supposed to be a 10.2, so it should be interesting." Fortunately, Neskowin didn't experience a storm surge on Saturday either. But like a growing number of seaside towns along the Pacific Northwest coast, it is only a ...

Bloom and bust: How volcanoes suffocated ocean life

Times (UK): A spate of volcanic activity may have triggered environmental changes that led to widespread destruction of life in the oceans, according to a new report. Oxygen disappeared from much of the seas nearly 100 million years ago, wiping out one third of ocean life. Sulphur from volcanoes could have been the cause. Today's oceans may face a similar threat because of the warming of the seas and use of fertiliser. When the Earth erupted in a flurry of volcanic activity during the ...