Halibut Herald November 26

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ALIBUT HERALD November 26, 2009

National Geographic's International Photography Contest 2009

National Geographic receives the most amazing entries to their contests. Here are, yet again, more beautiful contest captures! VIEW MORE & READ HOW THEY GOT THESE SHOTS: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2009/11/national_geographics_internati.html

The Fair Food Project Tells Farmworkers' Stories (VIDEO) If you eat, you rely on farmers, but you also rely on the labor of 2.5 million farm workers in the United States who earn wages below the poverty limit ($10,000 per year) while risking their lives in the harshest conditions in order to bring us most of the food we eat on a day to day basis. Photographer and writer Rick Nahmias and the California Institute for Rural Studies have created a multimedia project called "Fair Food: Field to Table," allowing farm workers to tell their own stories, and featuring the voices of farm worker advocates and producers who are pursuing solutions to creating socially just conditions on the farm and in food businesses. READ/WATCH ON: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paulacrossfield/the-fair-food-project-tel_b_360916.html

The GOOD Guide to COP15: All You Need to Know About the Copenhagen Conference If you're late arriving to the COP15 party, and need to get caught up on what the political fuss is about, there's still time to get your head straight: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/goodhas-the-goods-on-cop15.php Or try out this “non-wonky crib sheet”: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/mostly-non-wonkycop15-crib-sheet.php Or the always reliable, Grist.org guide to COP15: http://www.grist.org/topic/copenhagen-climate-talks

Hermit Crab Finds Use for Ocean Trash, Calls Broken Bottle Home

We aren't sure if this is in the wild, or someone's pet crab to whom the owner gave an offering of a broken bottle as shelter. Either way, it's kinda cute and kinda frightening. READ ON: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/hermit-crabfinds-use-for-ocean-trash-calls-broken-bottle-home.php

Rare Megamouth Shark

Since being discovered in 1976, only a few megamouth sharks have been seen with 47 specimens known to have been caught or sighted as of 2009 and three recordings on film. WATCH VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVAbJoINVPo READ ON: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megamouth_shark

Evolution of Highly Toxic Box Jellyfish Unraveled Croc Nicknames With thousan ds of stinging cells that can emit deadly venom from tentacle s that can reach ten feet in length, the 50 or so species of box jellyfish have long been of interest to scientists and to the public. Yet little has been known about the evolution of this early branch in the animal tree of life. READ ON: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/11/0 91118151141.htm

Paul C. Sereno, a paleontologist at the University of Chicago, has fun naming the fossil crocodiles he dug up from the Sahara. BoarCroc, pictured here, with fierce-looking fangs and an armored snout for ramming. READ ON: http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2009/11/25/science/112509_SCIEN CEPIX_3.html

M&Ms Go Green

Alphabet Made of Glands

The Mars Chocolate North America headquarters building has undergone a green renovation and now features an 18-acre solar garden. READ ON: http://www.mnn.com/business/commercialbuilding/blogs/m-ms-go-green

Tree of Life Web Project

In light of this week’s evolutiona ry talks, here is a cool website dedicated to the Tree of Life READ ON: http://tol web.org/t ree/

3-D Solar Tsunami Video Shows the Extreme Waves Are Real

The annual Olympus BioScapes contest consistently yields amazing microscopic-scapes and this year a bonus: a glandular font. READ ON: http://www.boingboing.net/2009/11/23/alphabetmade-of-gla.html

What It Sounds Like to Be a Whale

To get a first-person sense of what it’s like to be a whale, plug some headphones into your computer, close your eyes, and listen to this humpback whale song. It was recorded in a noise pollution-free environment. Then listen to this song, recorded in the waters off New York Harbor. READ ON & LINKS TO SONGS: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/06/whalenoise/

New and Rare Bird Arrivals in Stanley Park

A 60,000-mile-high wave of super-hot plasma blazing across the sun’s surface at 560,000 mph? Yep. READ ON: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/11/solartsunami/

Photos c/o Stanley Park Ecology Society via Facebook: http://bit.ly/07OjY BT

'No Junk Mail' Campaign Slow to Catch On

A campaign to reduce junk mail launched in Vancouver has yet to go mainstream, especially in one Richmond neighbourhood. PASS IT ON SO IT CATCHES ON!! READ ON: http://www.cbc.ca/bc/newsday/nojunkmail.html

40 Facts About Water

Young 'Living Fossil' Fish Filmed

Japanese researchers have filmed a young coelacanth — a rare fish known as a "living fossil" — deep in the ocean off Indonesia. READ ON: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2009/11/18/tech-japan-fishcoelacanth.html

Cute New Chameleon Discovered While Being Eaten by Snake

A new species of chameleon, measuring just 6 inches from snout to tail, has been discovered in east Tanzania’s mountains. READ ON: http://www.wire d.com/wiredsci ence/2009/11/c ute-newchameleon/

I won’t list them all but here’s one example of these thought provoking facts: FACT #11: While basic needs vary, the minimum daily requirement for survival is about 5.28 gallons (20 liters) per person. Most of the 1.1 billion people categorized as lacking access to clean water use 1.3 gallons (5 liters) a day—one-tenth of the average daily amount used in rich countries to flush toilets. READ ON: http://blog.gengreenlife.com/waterconservation/40-facts-about-water/

Boycott Black Friday and Celebrate Buy Nothing Day Nov 27th, 2009 Debunking Our 'Fetish of the Fresh'

The environment al mess we are in is a direct result of over harvesting the planets resources to supply our consumptive society. There’s only one way to avoid the collapse of this human experiment of ours on Planet Earth: we have to consume less. READ ON: http://www.twilightearth.com/news/boycott-blackfriday-and-celebrate-buy-nothing-day-nov-27th-2009/

The local food movement has made waves among environmentally conscious consumers. But an ecological economist has revealed that the carbon footprint is much bigger than you'd think. His landmark findings apply to everything from milk to meat, posing a challenge for die-hard locavores. READ ON: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/debunkingour-fetish-of-the-fresh/article1375159/

A Decade of Discovery World Ocean Census Book: A Global Survey of Marine Life

New Antibiotic Bandage Dissolves When Wound Heals

Made from antibiotic-releasing fibers, the new bandage protects the wound until it is no longer needed, then simply melts away. READ ON: http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/health/stories/new-antibioticbandage-dissolves-when-wound-heals

Charles Darwin: Writing Origin 'like confessing a murder'

VanAqua’s Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST) Project have played a part in making this census possible. Check out the book review here: http://www.coml.org/resultspublications/worldoceancensus

Using Enzymes From Termites to Make Biofuel From Plants and Wood Waste

Death is no barrier to New Scientist. 150 years after the publication of On the Origin of Species, we have obtained an interview with its author.* READ ON: http://www.newscientist. com/article/dn18180charles-darwin-writingorigin-like-confessing-amurder.html

Cute Overload! Best Dancing Bird Ever: Cool Bird Loves Ray Charles!

A U.S. company has come up with a new way of producing biofuels from cellulosic feedstocks, such as agricultural waste: Using enzymes from the guts of termites to more efficiently produce ethanol. READ ON: http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/010791 .html

WATCH: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bt9xBuGWgw

Archival Photo

Narwhals at the Aquarium, circa, 1970.

Library News For more library news, book reviews, access to our online catalogue and much more, visit us on the aquanet: http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/default.aspx 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

Events

Thank you every one who has donated to help fight prostate cancer you are truly awesome and should feel giddy about what you have done to help those 1 in 6 men whom suffer this damaging cancer . I truly feel that we will know a cure for prostate cancer in our lifetime.To those who haven’t givin yet ,well there is still a little over a week to give, so far the mo-baleen,s have raised over 1000 bucks and quite frankly with such a stellar team, I believe we should be able to raise at least triple that .Cmon join the team or give a few bucks ,it’s a descent thing to do and youll be supporting your mo-bros and that makes you cool like cesar ramero (that guy had a great mo) DONATE HERE: http://ca.movember.com/mospace/members/search/q/mo-baleen%2Cs

From Earth to Ocean: Stories from Gwaii Haanas Parks Canada has identified the waters around Gwaii Haanas National Park Reserve and Haida Heritage Site (Queen Charlotte Islands) as a potential national marine conservation area reserve. To present the stories of Gwaii Haanas, Parks Canada has partnered with The Vancouver Aquarium to offer a unique speaker series open to the public. Participation is free, though seats are limited. Each engaging event allows audience members to explore a different aspect of the region and understand the benefits of its protection. Starting in September, join us to find out more about:

Session 4: Healthy oceans, healthy people Monday December 7 Whether it’s dining out or reporting a whale sighting, your actions can make a difference to our oceans. Join us for this special conclusion to find out what you can do to help Each session takes place at The Vancouver Aquarium from 7 – 9 pm. Please enter at the AquaQuest Administrative Entrance.

To

confirm

your

seat,

email:

[email protected]

or

call

604-659-3432.

Please identify which session you would like to attend. Seating is limited.

The VAHC meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Aquatic Planet classroom on the first Wednesday of each month. Meet at the Aquaquest reception entrance. Talks generally get going around 8 p.m. after a hobby club Q & A session. The talks/meetings are free to attend, but if you find yourself coming to quite a few, a membership to the club is always a great idea (a mere $20/year!) DECEMBER 2ND, 2009 – LECTURE @ AQUATIC PLANET CLASSROOM, AQUAQUEST Dolph Schluter from UBC will be doing a talk on African cichlid evolution. Check out his website here: http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~schluter/

This group has been working on a mosaic project to beautify an alley in the West End. If you are interested in participating in a public art project, here’s your chance!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UVy7uUceXw

Exploring the Depths of Generations Baby Boomer... Gen X... Traditionalists... Gen Y... For the first time in history, four generations are together in the workplace. Learn about each of the generational groups, their values and experiences, and their impact on the organization. This informative, engaging, and fun workshop aims to build community across generations and explore strategies to bridge generational gaps. Please join us the afternoon of November 26th from 2:30 – 4pm in the Halibut room for this interesting workshop open to all staff and volunteers. If you are interested in attending, please let Rene know @ 3766.