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No Blue, No Green

Earth, the name of our planet, comes from Old English meaning “ground, soil, dry land”. Since humans are terrestrial creatures by nature, it’s no surprise we chose to name our planet by the feature we knew best. Yet, only 29% of the planet surface is the greens, greys, browns, clays of earth; the remaining 71% is our shimmering ocean, representing 139 million square miles of planet surface and billions of tons of biomass.
Vital water gives us the blues, azures, cobalts, teals, grays of the ocean. Back to etymology, the word water comes, in part, from Sanskrit meaning “to animate.” Indeed, the dynamism and vitality of all life on Earth owes itself to the ocean. We often hear about how many millions of years ago, the first creatures emerged from the ocean to populate the land.…

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Dr. Earle Visits South Africa to support Sustainable SeasTrust Tour

“No ocean means no life, no blue means no green,” said ocean conservation champion, Dr. Sylvia Earle at a public talk at the Lawhill Maritime Centre in Simonstown held on April 14. Apart from being an esteemed oceanographer, explorer, author, lecturer, National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, founder of numerous research foundations and chairperson of the Advisory Council for the Ocean in Google Earth, Dr. Earle is also the patron of Grahamstown based charity, the Sustainable Seas Trust (SST). The SST along with the South African Maritime Safety Authority (SAMSA) are currently on the SAMSA SEA Pledge Saldanha to Sodwana Tour.
For four weeks the team will be touring South Africa’s coastline and spreading the word of coastal conservation to everyone from young school children to the various mayors and dignitaries along the way.…

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Oceanographer Sylvia Earle’s warnings about Gulf deserve prime-time attention

By now most of us have seen those feel-good television spots featuring a Louisianan, an Alabaman, a Mississippian and a Floridian, all smiling and boasting good-naturedly about the relative advantages of their home state as a tourist destination. With a clear emphasis on the many pleasures of the coastline of the Gulf of Mexico shared by all.
The object is to draw visitors to spotless beaches and crystal waters, along with historical attractions, golf courses and, of course, food! Endless buffets of mouth-watering dishes served fresh from the bounty of the Gulf.
The message to prospective tourists is that the widely publicized miseries brought by the April 2010 BP spill are a thing of the distant past. A homegrown BP spokesman proclaims that things are better than ever, and urges one and all to come on down!…

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Bay Area Teens Moonlight as Marine Photographers

This past weekend in San Francisco a group of 20 students from San Francisco’s Downtown High School and Stockton Collegiate International Secondary School in Stockton learned to use photography to document their journey from the Delta to the San Francisco Bay, learning about environmental issues related to the students’ water supply and the ocean, during a National Geographic Photo Camp. The project is a collaboration between National Geographic Mission Programs, Full Circle Fund, Restore the Delta and America’s Cup Healthy Ocean Project.
NGS Lead Instructor Kip Evans commented, “We spent four incredible days with these teens and I hope that we inspired them to use their cameras as a way to experience and see the world around them in a new way.”…

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‘I am Eco-Warrior’ Mini-Series ~ Sylvia Earle

Roger Moenks is a celebrity and fashion photographer who has called New York City home for almost 20 years. In his ‘I am Eco-Warrior’ Video mini-series, he highlights the life’s work of individuals, from Ted Turner to Richard Branson and Sylvia Earle, who are working to protect the environment and save the planet.
In his 2012 book, ‘I Am Eco-Warrior,’ in-depth interviews reveal the stories of people who inspire and lead the world in the areas of environmentalism and corporate sustainability. Moenks hopes that by featuring these inspirational figures, he will encourage all of us to play a greater role in creating a better, more sustainable planet.

Sylvia Earle – i am eco warrior by Roger Moenks from Roger Moenks on Vimeo.…

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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.…

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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.…

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Aquarius Habitat

Aquarius is an underwater ocean laboratory located in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The laboratory is deployed three and half miles offshore, at a depth of 60 feet, next to spectacular coral reefs. Scientists live in Aquarius during ten–day missions using saturation diving to study and explore our coastal ocean. Aquarius is owned by NOAA and is operated by the University of North Carolina Wilmington (NOAA, 2012)
As Mission Aquarius, a celebration of 50 years under the sea, winds to a close, the Mission Blue team in Florida is filled with hope for the future of Aquarius. Dr. Sylvia Earle, her team of Aquanauts and everyone working to support and highlight the mission pulled together into a cohesive team that has made a clear statement to the world – Aquarius must be saved.…

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Bahamas

Consisting of over 3,000 islands, islets and cays, and covering an area of over 14,000 square kilometers, the nation of the Bahamas contains several priceless marine habitats, and thus has been designated by Dr. Earle as one of Mission Blue’s global Hope Spots. In cooperation with The Nature Conservancy, the expedition was concentrated in the Exuma Cays, a Marine Protected Area that has been managed as a no-take marine fishery reserve since 1986, allowing populations of commercially important species such as queen conch, Nassau grouper and spiny lobster to thrive. Sea turtles and sharks swim throughout coral reefs teeming with marine life.…

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Gulf of California – Pangas Cruise

The Gulf of California is a large body of water that separates the peninsula of Baja California from the Mexican mainland. It is bordered by the states of Baja California, Sur, Sonora, Baja California and Sinaloa with a coastline of approximately 2,500 miles (4,000 km). The Gulf of California is also called the Sea of Cortés, which is preferred by most local residents. Jacques Cousteau dubbed the Gulf of California, “the world’s aquarium,” because it boasts approximately one-third of the world’s total number of marine mammal species, nearly 900 fish species (about 90 of which are endemic to the area) and more than 170 seabird species.
In 2010, Expeditions Director Kip Evans joined the Panagas program for a week long cruise through the Gulf of California.…

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