A sea anemone hitching a ride on a crab
National Geographic has some new images of deep sea creatures found on an expedition last month off the coast of the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. NOAA has partnered with the Indonesian Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries in a multi-year program that will document Indonesia’s sea life and find ways to preserve the natural wildlife and the integrity and health of the water.
Stalked sea lily
Stalked sea lilies used to line the ocean floors, but have become a rare sight according to one of the scientists on the expedition. The good news is that there were many varieties to be seen in Indonesia.
A 10-armed sea star
I didn’t realize this, but most starfish species have five arms. This guy was found at at depth of 880 feet. The textures and the symmetry are fascinating!
A picture of a deep-sea chimaera
Also known as the ghost shark this guy senses changes in the electrical fields of his prey in order to accurately locate his next meal.
Free-floating sea cucumber
This free-roaming sea cucumber was found at 10,515 feet in freezing water temperatures.
[All images via National Geographic]
Hill of up-country Sri Lanka by dinusha123
Sometimes I have to search for images like this to remind myself that there are still places in the world that we haven’t managed to destroy yet.
[image via the world we live in]
Some of these have already made the blog rounds, but I couldn’t help but to add them here. A few years ago photographer Sharon Montrose opened her line of limited edition prints into a more affordable option so that we could all have the chance to own one (or more!) of these sweet photos.
Here are some of my favorites from the Baby Animals line. See more at The Animal Print Shop.
[All images via Sharon Montrose @ The Animal Print Shop.]
Lots going on this week, so this soothing video was a welcomed addition to my evening. I’ll never tire of underwater videos.
Galapagos from Darek Sepiolo on Vimeo.
Live it up! Today is the longest day of the year and the first day of summer. If only the weather knew this and was just a touch warmer.
I figured a good way to celebrate the sun setting at 8:34 PM here in SF was with some lovely images from National Geographic. (Seattle’s sunset time is 9:10 PM, you lucky dogs.)
See what time sunset will be in your city here.
Instabilities in the sun’s magnetic field led to an explosion visible as a loop in the lower left.
Plasma pushes and drags magnetic fields into lines that cause these loops that can reach as high as ten earths.
A quiet day on the surface of the sun, no storms, just these lovely loops.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Another one of my childhood heroes celebrates an anniversary today. A decorated French Naval officer, co-developer of the “aqua-lung,” the grandfather of underwater exploration, and a true conservationist, Jacques-Yves Cousteau would turn 100 today!
Joyeux anniversaire le Commandant Cousteau!
His Rights for Future Generations campaign is something very dear to my heart; it’s because of his work that I am so passionate about clean water and working to save our oceans from pollution. My heart is heavy recalling the day of his passing in 1997, but it’s most heavy knowing that on this day, in this year, we are fighting to save our oceans on a bigger scale than ever before.
I’ve been following his grandson Philippe Cousteau as he is leading cleaning efforts in the Gulf of Mexico (he was the first diver to enter the polluted water). Please visit his blog and his non-profit EarthEcho to see how you can help clean up the gulf, but also to see how the Cousteau legacy is still alive and well.
P.S. – Check out Google’s homepage today to see another great logo tribute.
National Geographic and photographer Joel Sartore present RARE: Portraits of America’s Endangered Species, the result of a three year investigation on the nation’s disappearing plants and animals. For over 2o years Sartore’s been photographing for National Geographic, focusing on endangered species and land issues, so this book promises to be amazing!
Have you seen the Planet Earth episode where the polar bear swims endlessly searching for food? I was a wreck at the end, but it reaffirmed why I choose to live as clean as possible. See the list that Joel has compiled below to help each of us make a positive impact. Oh, and by the way, if you’re still using chemicals to treat your lawn you should be slapped! (I’ll end it at that, although I could go on.)
Threatened – Polar Bear
NOW EXTINCT - Bryn, the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit
Threatened – Bog turtle
Want to know what you can do to help? Here are a few simple, concrete action steps that you can take to help save endangered species.
1. Be an informed citizen. Learn what the environmental issues are in your town, state, nation and even globally.
2. Reduce, reuse, and recycle whatever goods you buy. Try to leave the smallest ecological footprint that you can each day.
3. Drive a more fuel-efficient vehicle. Better yet, take public transportation or ride a bike once in awhile. If everyone did their part, there would be no need for us to drill in the last wild places left on Earth, including the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.
4. Don’t use chemicals on your lawn. They end up polluting the soil and water. And think twice before turning your sprinklers on. It’s a waste of water, something that is becoming scarcer every year. You’ll save time, money, and prevent pollution because you won’t have to mow nearly as often. Around the U.S., many citizens have planted native vegetation instead of bluegrass, resulting in a minimal need for water and care.
5. Support groups that are trying to do the right thing such as The Nature Conservancy, Conservation International and the World Wildlife Fund. Locally, the Conservation Alliance of the Great Plains does good work, supporting education and advocacy here in the Heartland. Joel Sartore is a founding member of this group.
6. Vote. We citizens tend to get the government we deserve. We elect politicians to represent our interests. Only when the majority of voters respect and care about nature will we begin to see the political changes needed to start saving the earth.
Threatened – Atlantic loggerhead turtle
Endangered – Hibiscus flower
- All images via Joel Sartore. Please visit his site to see more beautiful photos!
- Buy the book here.
Lots of decadence today with the Costume Gala and the Dubai fountain. A little glitz is always a nice thing, but thought I should balance it out with a reminder about the smaller things in life. Another remarkable image from The Conservation Report. (Also a great place to get updates on the gulf oil spill.)
Video of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull. In addition to the smoke and spewing lava you can see the shockwaves! This truly is a living planet, kinda gives you shivers.
It’s kinda funny, I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions, but for some reason Earth Day seems to bring out the best in me. We do pretty well so far, and to be honest most of it is second-nature now, and at the end of the day it makes me really happy.
More than a piece of trash - Thankfully we have mandatory recycling and composting, so this part is easy.
Landing strip - All of our lamps and electronics are plugged into power strips so that we can turn-off the strip when we’re done in a certain section of the house. Most electronics still pull small currents even when they are not in use, so this adds up when you consider how many things are always plugged in. It’s nice too…I just use my foot to switch of the power; save a little wear-and-tear on the back and knees. A stretch, I know, but this is a good one and I want you to try it!
Twice as nice - I’ve mentioned before that I usually wash all of our produce as soon as I get home. My trusty salad spinner and a large bowl are my staples for the washing process, so instead of streaming water constantly I’ll do a few batches in the bowls and take the dirty water out to the porch to water the plants.
Bag lady no-more - I’ve gotten so good at using my reusable bags that we’re often out of a good paper bag when we need it for random things around the house. Not a bad problem to have though.
Plastic beach- Boo to plastic water. (See here and here for more on this from me.)
Slow food – I can’t help it, I’m a farmer’s market ho! Local and sustainably raised food goes so far in leaving a greener footprint.
Now for the things that I hope to incorporate into my daily routine:
One day off – We usually end up having a vegetarian/vegan day sometime during the week anyway, but adding an official day regularly will go a long way in saving water, grain, livestock/poultry/fish, antibiotics, fuel, soil, and more. A lot accomplished in a single day, once a week, over the course of a year! I’m really excited for this one.
Pull the plug – Somehow my cell phone charger is the one plug (not on a power strip)that I can’t remember to pull when I’m done. I just need to get this to register in my brain; maybe now that I’ve written it down it’ll actually stick.
Beam me up – I’d love to figure out another way to get around instead of always using the car. I’d like to get a bike to run more errands, but the hills and traffic in the city are not great for the casual biker. For now I’ll continue to walk whenever possible.
In and out – Oh how I try to hop in and out of the shower! This one’s tough since I sometimes use a nice hot shower to warm up. (My sweetie’s almost too good at monitoring the heater.)
What about you, do you have any Earth Day resoultions?
[image via NASA. The most detailed image of Earth to date, taken by the Terra satellite orbiting 435 miles above our surface.]
