fbpixel 2013 - Page 15 of 24 - Mission Blue

Yearly Archives: 2013
Act Now

There is time, though not a lot, to take action to stabilize and reverse the global decline of the natural ocean systems that keep us alive. Although humans pose grave danger to the health of the ocean, we also represent hope.

Experts agree the major threats facing the ocean are overfishing and destructive fishing practices; trash pollution, especially plastics; habitat loss due to development; acidification; dead zones; and insufficient protection of sensitive areas. The Sylvia Earle Alliance focuses on increased protection because it offers hope for alleviating many of these issues. While approximately 12% of land is protected through national parks and reserves, less than one percent of the ocean is under any kind of protection. More than 99 percent is under threat.…

Posted in Uncategorized |

Leave a comment
Mesoamerican Reef – Swan Islands Expedition – Participants

Dr. Sylvia Earle
Founder and Chair of The Sylvia Earle Alliance
Sylvia A. Earle, called Her Deepness by the New Yorker and the New York Times, Living Legend by the Library of Congress, and first Hero for the Planet by Time Magazine, is an oceanographer, explorer, author and lecturer with experience as a field research scientist, government official, and director for corporate and non-profit organizations including the Kerr McGee Corporation, Dresser Industries, Oryx Energy, the Aspen Institute, the Conservation Fund, American Rivers, Mote Marine Laboratory, Duke University Marine Laboratory, Rutgers Institute for Marine Science, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Research, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, Ocean Futures, and Ocean Conservancy.
Formerly Chief Scientist of NOAA, Dr. Earle is a National Geographic Explorer in Residence, Founder of SEAlliance, Mission Blue, and Deep Ocean Exploration and Research, Inc.,…

Posted in Uncategorized |

Leave a comment
Young Explorer Series ~ One Simple Question

Last summer Ben and I set out on an ocean voyage once again, but this voyage was a little different for two reasons. Our destination this time was not a specific harbor. It wasn’t even a fixed location. Instead, we were on a quest to see something roving, something that’s location can only be described in one word: North.
We looked forward to departing Long Island. After all, the water is always bluer on the other side, and Long Island was experiencing a blistering heat wave. I was cranky from the heat and being steeped in my own sweat. On June 8th, replete with all the equipment necessary for making an independent film, a motley crew of four boarded Elizabeth, a 28’ Channel Cutter.…

Posted in Uncategorized |

Leave a comment
A blog to save the Earth 8. Exclusive interview with the two-headed shark

Our guest writer today is Elliott A. Norse, founder of our partner organization, Marine Conservation Institute. ~ ed.
As an observer of the sea and its life, I always want to report on the latest ocean stories while they’re hot. Yesterday the media learned that a fisherman had found a two-headed pre-term bull shark (Carcharhinus leucas). Realizing that it had a most unusual perspective on the world, I managed to obtain the shark’s cell phone number and recorded the following interview.
EN: How do you want to be addressed?
Bull shark: We agreed to come out as what we are.  Heads matter more than bodies or tails, so we want to be addressed as SarahJean.
EN: How does it feel to be a shark?…

Posted in Partner Stories |

Leave a comment
The Coral Triangle Hope Spot: Valuable and Vulnerable

The Coral Triangle is a Mission Blue Hope Spot, an area of particular importance to the oceans that we must strive to protect. These Hope Spots are the seeds of tomorrow’s healthy ocean. With this feature by Brett Garling, we are launching our series on Mission Blue’s growing network of Hope Spots. 
The global heart of coral reefs, the Coral Triangle, is located in the Pacific and touches the marine waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands and Timor-Leste. Called “the Amazon of the seas”, this global treasure covers 5.7 million square kilometers of ocean, contains 75 percent of all known coral species and sustains the lives of approximately 130 million humans. There are over 3000 kinds of fish in this area — more than twice the number found anywhere else in the world.…

Posted in Uncategorized |

Leave a comment
Infinite Scuba Game Partners with Mission Blue

Last week, Seattle game designers Cascade Game Foundry launched ‘Infinite Scuba’, partnering with PADI, DEMA, Mission Blue, SCUBAPRO, Body Glove, Oceanic, BARE and more to launch the new Windows PC and Mac platformed game. Infinite Scuba™ is the first product in their portfolio of next-generation simulation games. Infinite Scuba helps players of all ages experience the beauty, mystery and serenity of scuba diving in breathtakingly recreated dive sites from around the world.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with world authorities on scuba diving and environmentalism to create Infinite Scuba,” says Kathie Flood, Managing Director at CGF and a 17-year veteran of the video game industry.
“We are incredibly fortunate to work with Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue on Infinite Scuba and we are eager to use the game to help to raise public awareness about the importance of ocean health,” says Kathie Flood, Managing Director at CGF.…

Posted in Partner Stories |

Leave a comment
The Natural Numbers Behind the Sardine Fishery in the Gulf of California

How many fish are in the ocean? How much water does a wild river carry? How much oxygen does a forest produce? These are the kinds of questions posed by “Natural Numbers: The Value of the Planet in Minutes.” This new project is producing a series of short – three-minute – documentaries on a range of topics from fisheries to rivers, mining to marine reserves, in an attempt to explain the value of ecosystems to humans and the planet.
We use video, photography, and animation to illustrate, in a simple but visually attractive way, the value of our natural capital and the inadequate ways we use it. Simultaneously, Natural Numbers will use social media to help capture the attention of decision-makers, teachers, scientists, conservationists, and the public, in order to raise awareness of these important issues and encourage action in support of solutions.…

Posted in Uncategorized |

Leave a comment
Photo of the Day ~ Belize Reef, Mesoamerican Reef Hope Spot

Facebook follower Tony Rath sent us this vision of paradise from a Belize Reef, part of Dr. Sylvia Earle’s Mesoamerican Hope Spot.
“Sometimes I come across a photo that makes me look twice. At first I thought ‘this looks like a heck of a low tide, all that coral is exposed.’ But looking closer, I noticed a slight break of waves over the top of some of the coral heads.”
“In fact, the water is so clear, that it is an illusion that the coral heads are above water. This photo provides a clear view of what our barrier reef in Belize is – not rubble and dead coral skeletons – but a living, growing, healthy organism.”
Credit: Tony Rath Photography / http://www.facebook.com/belizephotography…

Posted in Photo of the Day |

Leave a comment
Photo of the Day ~ Water Bears

Is this an alien? No, but of all the animals on Earth, the Tardigrade might be the best candidate. That’s because Tardigrades are known to be able to go for decades without food or water, to survive temperatures from near absolute zero to well above the boiling point of water, to survive pressures from near zero to well above that on ocean floor, and to survive direct exposure to dangerous radiation. The far-ranging survivability of these extremophiles was tested in 2011 outside an orbiting space shuttle. Tardigrades are so durable partly because they can repair their own DNA and reduce their body water content to a few percent.
Some of these miniature water-bears almost became extraterrestrials recently when they were launched toward to the Martian moon Phobos onboard a Russian mission but stayed terrestrial when a rocket failed and the capsule remained in Earth orbit.…

Posted in Photo of the Day |

Leave a comment