Halibut Herald July 23

H

ALIBUT HERALD July 23, 2009

Exploding Water Balloons Crystallized in Time

In light of the approaching heat wave this week, here are some photos to remind you of how much fun summer can be (despite the heat). Snapshots of water-filled balloons bursting figure as amazingly frozen moments in time. Granted, they also bring back memories of when you were a young scamp, mischievously dropping water bombs on hapless cyclists from overpasses, or soaking whole streets in drive-by drench-athons – but those days of innocence are gone now. So, it just leaves us to sit back and wonder at the beautiful physics of the things – as well as the devilish uses to which they can be put. READ ON & MORE PICS: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/exploding-water-balloonscrystallized-time/13557

What Is The Carbon Footprint of The Space Program? Is it smart to continue Space studies? Should the resources be put toward learning more about our vast & little known Oceans instead? Thinking about space today, one wonders- what is the carbon footprint of the space program? At first glance, not that bad; one source says 28 Tons of CO2 per launch. Other aspects are worse, like the 23 tons of particulates from the ammonium perchlorate and aluminum solid rocket boosters, and the 13 tons of hydrochloric acid. READ ON: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/07/carbonfootprint-space-program.php Then again, what can we learn about ourselves from exploring space? “Apollo Changed Human Perception” http://www.canada.com/technology/Apollo+changed+h uman+perception/1808042/story.html

David Gallo Shows Underwater Astonishments

David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a color-shifting cuttlefish, a perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a Times Square's worth of neon light displays from fish who live in the blackest depths of the ocean. WATCH VIDEO: http://www.ted.com/talks/david_gallo_shows_underwater_astonishmen ts.html

Extreme Sheep LED Art

Short, totally random WTF worthy, and possibly made out of boredom, here’s a short video that will make you smile. WATCH VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw

Awesome Life Size Blue Whale on the Web

The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society have an extraordinary photograph online: a life size image of a Blue Whale. You can travel leisurely over the entire leviathan for as long as your dreams allow. CHECK OUT THE PHOTO: http://www.wdcs.co.uk/media/flash/whalebanner/content_pub_en.html

"Shrink and Save" $2500

With a minimum of effort, the average American can Shrink their carbon footprint by 30% and Save $2500 in a year. Now that's money in the bank! SHORT, SMART VID: http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#6JeABy/current.com/items /90518438_shrink-and-save-2500.htm/

Do Nothing – And Call it Green

It all sounds a bit confusing, doesn’t it? Greener, Green, Recycling, Precycling. Are we making things harder than they need to be? Stop. Let’s take a deep breath and get back to basics. We’re not talking about Climate Change here. What were talking about is getting back to basics. Sometimes, the Greenest thing to do, is to do nothing at all. READ ON: http://www.twilightearth.com/consumerism/donothing-and-call-it-green/

Ocean Champions

Not sure if there is a Canadian version of these folks, but it is good to see a strong group of people making sure their voice is heard! OFFICIAL SITE: http://www.oceanchampions.org/blog/?p=812

Schweeb: Is The Human-Powered Monorail The Islands Leading the Way - Bill Transportation Of The Future? (PHOTOS, VIDEO) McKibben's Dispatch From the Maldives

The result is the most efficient vehicle on earth, the most inexpensive infrastructure of any proposed urban transit and one of the highest capacity systems available - potentially delivering thousand's of people per hour in a very small airspace. All this with zero carbon emissions and no parking worries or cost! READ ON: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/07/23/schweeb-is-thehuman-powe_n_243195.html

The bright side is that the Maldives is a nation full of incredibly bright and committed people, many of them young, who have already led a democratic transformation in their own land and are now ready to lend their talents to the global fight. READ ON: http://www.350.org/about/blogs/islandsleading-way-bill-mckibbens-dispatch-maldives

[Type a quote from the document or the interesting point. You can position the text anywhere in the document. Use the Box Tools tab to change the formatting of the pull quote text box.]

summary of an box Text

Come in to the Gift Shop this week and check out our brand new DVD games at an unbeatable price! Regularly $49.99 Now ONLY $19.99 Great interactive games for families and children! See you in the store!

30 Workers Now Occupy Ill-Fated UK Wind Turbine Plant

More Information on Plastics and our Oceans

There’s so much to learn about our oceans, good & bad, here is a short list of interesting articles compiled on the Oceangybe blog: http://www.oceangybe.com/index.php?option=com _content&task=view&id=191&Itemid=9

The planned closure of a wind turbine manufacturing facility on England’s Isle of Wight moved several workers to seize control of the plant on Monday night. READ ON: http://planetsave.com/blog/2009/07/21/facing-closureworkers-occupy-uk-wind-turbine-plant/

Daring Rescue of Whale Off Farallones

Keep the Oceans Clean Game

Oldie, but goodie (2005): Humpback nuzzled her saviors in thanks after they untangled her from crab lines, diver says READ ON: http://www.sfgate.com/cgibin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/12/14/MNGNKG7Q0V1.DTL#ixzz0MCM99lHj

Finalists named for '7 Wonders of Nature' poll

The Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef are competing with 26 other spectacular natural landmarks in the final phase of the global poll to choose the "New 7 Wonders of Nature," organisers said today. READ ON: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/finalists-namedfor-7-wonders-of-nature-poll-1755347.html

Great online game for kids and parents with links, ecards, other games & helpful information on how you can do your part in saving the oceans ☺ PLAY HERE: http://www.keepoceansclean.org/intro/

The Soliloquy of the Blue Whale

My species is the largest that ever lived, with one of the longest life spans on record – 150 years or more… and you nearly killed us all! That’s right, I’m a giant blue whale, over 100’ long, and if you had a scale that could handle me, I’d weigh about 170 metric tons. Nothing that big that ever lived on land can match this. The giant South American, Middle Cretaceous dinosaur – plant eating Argentinosaurus – is a worthy second place with maximum length of 110’ and weight up to 100 metric tons. READ ON: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/ecology/soliloquy-blue-whale/12417

Archival Photo

Crocodile Pool with Caiman, 1975.

Library News Get your up-to-the minutes news via RSS feed from the library’s What’s new pages. Currently, there are two What’s new pages running a variety of interesting news feeds What’s New – Animals and Nature – for news about birds, reptiles, marine mammals, and places such as the Arctic http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/WhatsNewAnimalsandNature.aspx What’s New – Business and General – for news about business, finance, tourism, visitor experience and marketing http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/What%27sNewBGN.aspx News on Environmental conservation and education will soon be available via the Conservation Current http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/ConservationCurrent/Pages/Default.aspx Did you know that the Library has access to over 100 journals and magazines?? At least 80 of these are available full text online. For a complete hyperlinked list, visit the library journals page on Aquanet: http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/Journals.aspx As well, you can find new books and movies listed on this page of Aquanet: http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/LibraryCatalogue.aspx

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR WHALE RESEARCH

I’m a Masters student and Straitwatch volunteer looking for help with landbased whale/boat traffic observations in the Johnstone Strait area. Tasks include helping to collect and record data on whale activities and vessel traffic from a cliff-top observation point. While out there we will be camping at Kaikash for 3 to 4 days at a time. I’m looking for someone who enjoys spending time outdoors, has camping experience and is interested in learning more about whales. This is a great opportunity to gain field experience. This position is based out of Alert Bay so you will need to arrive the day prior to the volunteer dates listed below. From Alert Bay a small boat will take us to Kaikash where we will camp and the boat will pick us up on the last day. There is minimal cost involved with this opportunity as you only need to be a member of Cetus Research & Conservation Society ($20 membership fee) to participate. However, you will need to provide your own camping gear and food while we are out there. Volunteers are needed for the following dates: July 21-23 July 27-29 July 31- August 3 August 5-8 If interested in any or all of these dates, please contact Robyn Walker at [email protected], or Straitwatch at 250-974-7056

Classified

NEXT BOOT CAMP SESSION STARTS JULY 21 2009 Are you looking to challenge yourself physically? Increase your strength and endurance? Tone up for summer? If so….join us for boot camp! Program Description : This boot camp is a fun, functional, innovative and interactive workout session. The exercises will challenge one’s strength and endurance, improves general well-being while burning lots of calories. The workout moves quickly going from one exercise to the next with little or no rest. Open to anyone who is interested in achieving their desired health and fitness level. Participants will be taught on how to progress the exercises to meet their fitness level. Program Details : Fee : $40 per month Number of sessions : 8 sessions for 4 weeks ( 2 sessions per week) Time : 4.30 – 5.30 pm or 5.30 – 6.30 pm (choose one) Day : Tuesday & Thursday Venue : Stanley Park If you would like to join, contact [email protected], ext. 3558 or [email protected], ext. 3587. Equipment Required : Bring your own mat, dumb bells and resistance tube.

http://www.cov erealty.ca/listin g_detail2995255.html

Events

Reminders for safe and secure biking:

•

• • •

Location of staff bike racks: o Secure storage near the Aquarist Entrance o Aquaquest – near the staff entrance in front of the classrooms o Interps Trailor – on both sides of the front door o Gate Six – near the exterior of Beluga Habitat Shower and Locker facilities are available in the Aquaquest basement washroom facilities. Contact Security for access to lockers Bicycle Safety – make sure you know the rules of the road – a great resource is Bike Sense, available here: http://bikesense.bc.ca/Bike_Sense-Nov05.pdf Route Planning: o Cycling Route Planner (Google Maps): http://www.cyclevancouver.ubc.ca/ o Vancouver Cycling Maps are available at my desk – come and grab one! Fits nicely in your pocket J

Happy cycling!

http://www.canadahelps.org/GivingPages/GivingPage.aspx?gpID=4311 http://www.focuschallenge.org/focus.html

If you or anyone here at the Vancouver Aquarium would be interested in making a donation (tax receipts available, and 100% of your donation goes to those in need!), please please PLEASE do so! So far, I'm at $0 here at the Aquarium :( I've set up a CanadaHelps GivingPage where you can make donations towards the 2009 FOCUS Hike4Life Challenge. The link is above, as well as a few other informative links as well. And please remember that every little bit helps, and 100% of your contribution will go towards FOCUS to help those in need! I will also be doing something special for all of those who have contributed towards this wonderful cause. I'm not sure yet what this will be, but it could be along the lines of a large, high-quality photographic print, taken by yours truly, from the Hike4Life expedition

http://www.naturechallenge.org/dmg09/

http://fishopolis.com

http://eatsnaprepeat.ca/2009/05/31/chinatown-market/

More exciting events here: http://www.vanevo.ca/event s01.html Check out videos of past lectures here: http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/ science/darwin.htm

ENTER CONTEST HERE: http://www.marineph otobank.com/resour ces/OceaninFocusP hotoContestHome20 09.php

http://www.thebigwi ld.org/summerfriends-contest