It’s ironic that the northern elephant seal’s worst nightmare was the human mammal–not its natural predators the great white shark and orca. In the 1800s oil hunters slaughtered nearly the entire northern elephant seal population…
Plastics in Ocean
Medical Waste Foul Beaches, Cruise Ships Foul Waters
When a friend returned from her Hawaiian holiday she called me in near tears. “We didn’t stay in a resort this time, where the beaches are always clean, so when I took a beachside walk and found mounds of… Read More ›
A North Pacific Gray Whale Obstacle Course
If he skips entanglement, then our garbage still threatens him. Last year, a necropsy on a near-adult gray (so it wasn’t Skippy) discovered 20 plastic bags, small towels, surgical gloves, sweat pants, plastic pieces, duct tape, and a golf ball in its stomach.
A Flick of a Filter Feeds A Fish–Then Poisons It
There’s a myth that cigarette filters biodegrade. Not so much. The plastic (acetate) filter can take years to decompose. They also resemble tasty morsels of food to passing by fish and other marine life.
Cruise Ships–Still Lightly Regulated–Still Big Ocean Polluters
August 15, 2010 States struggle to curb pollution by cruise ships Discharge rules, some voluntary, are easy to skirt Lee Van Der Voo InvestigateWest Tags: cruises cruise ships environment pollution After a week aboard the Carnival Spirit, its passengers can’t help but… Read More ›
Crumpling Oceans, Like Dominos Falling
Dominos. It’s like 150 years of stacked dominoes collapsing in four directions from Rugby, North Dakota, North America’s geographical center and from every geographical center of every continent on Planet Earth—with the final dominos landing in every sea that touches every continent. Collapsing dominos. That’s how I envision the condition of our seas today.
Simple Ways We Can Help Save Our Seas
Our oceans provide every other breath that we take. Healthy oceans are essential to our overall well-being, but they are in crisis and frantically dial 911.
The Great Garbage Patch — Time to Think Beyond Plastic
“(The Great Garbage Patch)… is roughly the size of Texas, containing approximately 3.5 million tons of trash. Shoes, toys, bags, pacifiers, wrappers, toothbrushes, and bottles too numerous to count are only part of what can be found in this accidental dump floating midway between Hawaii and San Francisco.”
Trash We Left At The Beach
I dumped four-pounds of trash at Hearst Memorial State Beach this morning. That doesn’t include the dozen recyclable drink containers and food wrappers. I left them there too.
Neptune’s Nightmares: Lawns, Green Algae, Plastics & Medical Wastes
Current Conditions updates on the toxicity of hissing lawns, deadly green algae on French beaches, plastic trash and medical wastes growing along shorelines.
Neptune 911! 