In celebration of World Oceans Day, people crowded into the Baird Auditorium at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC last Friday afternoon. Dr. Sylvia Earle Skyped from the stage with team of scientists from the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation on their research ship, the Golden Shadow, anchored off of Darwin Island in the Galapagos.
Dr. Earle spoke with the research team about how coral reefs in the Galapagos cope with threats including temperature change, ocean acidification and bleaching events. Audience members learned about current studies looking at rare coral reefs and how some coral species in the Galapagos hold hope that corals have the resilience to cope with global climate change. Following the live Skype call with the Galapagos, Dr.…

In celebration of June 8th’s World Oceans Day, a new online database of global MPAs, www.MPAtlans.org, that is dedicated to bringing the importance of ocean parks into the public eye was announced. Behind the launch of the new online tool is the California based Waitt Foundation and the Marine Conservation Institute announced.
www.MPAtlas.org is an interactive and user-friendly platform that offers a comprehensive scope of data within an online digital map. The appeal of www.MPAtlas.org is in the global scale of the website. This project has compiled and synthesized information to help website users understand the level of protection, biodiversity, biomass, size, and management authorities of MPAs. It is expected that scientists, policy makers, conservation advocates and members of the public will turn to the online tool for comprehensive information.…

At last night’s National Geographic Explorers Live event, Explorer in Residence, Dr. Enric Sala urged people to “eat cows instead of lions.”
Speaking as part of a panel led by National Geographic journalist Boyd Manson, Dr. Sala explained the importance of eating lower on the marine food chain to ensure the long-term health of the world’s ocean.
Other panelists included National Geographic Fellow and bestselling author Dan Buettner as well as Emerging Explorers Lucy Cooke and Barrington Irving.
Through the evening Sala, Buettner, Cook and Barrington shared stories and lessons learned in the field — The Explorers spoke about licking frogs to determine if they were poisonous, encountering sand storms while flying solo around the world, and figuring out where the “happiest” people in the world live.…

Last week, marked a pivotal moment in the effort to establish a network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in California’s open coast waters.
After eight years, numerous public meetings, workshops, and input from the scientific community, the California Fish and Game Commission of California has approved the redesign and establishment of MPAs in five key regions along California’s coast: The Central Coast region, the San Francisco Bay region, the North Central region, the South Coast region and the North Coast region.
“These MPAs will be the biggest network of protection in the United States” said Stephan Wertz, Senior Environmental Scientist at the California Department of Fish and Game.
The MPAs were developed to be consistent with California’s Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA).…

Famed cartoonist Jim Toomey is best known for his comic strip Sherman’s Lagoon, which stars a lazy great white shark named Sherman and his undersea pals.
Recently Jim Toomey teamed up with the United Nations Environment Programme to create a series of six two-minute videos intended to raise awareness of the importance of oceans and the coastal environment.
We are pleased to present the first video in the series, “Two Minutes on Oceans: Blue Carbon” here.

The video was launched on World Oceans Day, June 8th, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History as part of a special World Oceans Day presentation, “Drawing Inspiration from the sea.” The presentation included a brief talk about why Toomey writes a comic about the ocean and where he gets his ideas.…

By Mera McGrew
Today is World Oceans Day — a day to celebrate and honor the oceans that connect us and provide us life. Oceans cover 71 percent of Earth’s surface and makes up 99 percent of the planet’s living space. The ocean is the blue heart of our planet. It plays an essential role in all life on earth, home to 97 percent of all life in the world. The ocean is also the lungs of our planet as it supplies the oxygen we take in every second breath. The ocean drives climate and weather and it also stabilizes temperature and shapes the Earth’s chemistry.
This year’s World Oceans Day falls at a crucial time as ocean advocates across the world seek to ensure that 2012 is a milestone year for the ocean.…