Hell in a Handbasket | The Beachings

There is a disturbing trend that I've been noting, for which I have no explanation. Sometimes, animals that live in the oceans end up beaching themselves, running themselves up onto land, sometimes in massive numbers.

Sometimes it is a lone animal, as was reported Wednesday, December 26, 2012 when an endangered finback whale was found washed ashore on the bay side of Rockaways, Queens, New York. [cbc] In these cases, I am content to believe the animal is sick or somehow already close to death.

I stopped following these cases for a while. There were too many, it seemed. The last time I made special note of such an occurance was in January, 2011, when "large numbers of dead herring washed ashore" on a Vancouver Island beach. It had both fishery officials and local fishermen looking for answers. (Unfortunately, the Vancouver Sun has an absolutely terrible online archival system and the story is no longer accessible.)

I noted a story on November 7, 2010, about 35 whales that beached and died off the coast of County Donegal in Ireland, on Rutland Island near Burtonport. (The BBC has a much better archival system: the story can be found here: [bbc]) The article notes that 60 whales died off the "west coast of Kerry" in the 1960s and "35 to 40 animals died in north Kerry in 2001."

On September 22, 2010, I noted at least 40 out of 80 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a remote northern New Zealand beach (Spirit Bay beach) had died, with officials saying more whales were joining them on land. [cbc] The article notes this was the second mass beaching in the region in a month, when in mid-August 58 pilot whales were stranded at nearby Karikari Beach. (Which I also noted: [bbc]) The September article also notes 101 pilot whales were stranded on the same beach in 2007, and that since 1840, the Department of Conservation has recorded more than 5,000 strandings of whales and dolphins around the New Zealand coast. "New Zealand has one of the world's highest rates of whale strandings, mainly during their migrations to and from Antarctic waters, one of which begins around September." Despite this, the article clearly states scientists have not been able to determine why whales become stranded.

On July 20, 2010, scientists were still trying to figure out why about 500 penguins washed up dead in the previous 10 days on Peruibe, Praia Grande and Itanhaem beaches of Sao Paulo state in Brazil. [bbc] Starvation (perhaps by overfishing or cold temperatures driving foodsources away) was a possibility, as autopsies revealed their stomachs were completely empty, though strong currents and/or colder-than-normal temperatures were also considered. The article noted in an average year about 100 to 150 penguins normally show up on the beaches (they get lost while migrating), with only about 10 of those dead. [cbc]

On May 11, 2010, marine biologists were trying to figure out why eight harbour porpoises washed ashore near Victoria, BC, Canada, in the previous week. While not unusual for harbour porpoises to wash ashore, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said it was "strange to see so many." [cbc] The article states the animals were healthy, and suggested death was caused by the stress of being hunted by killer whales. It further noted the body of a newborn killer whale washed up near Victoria the previous week.

On Monday December 28, 2009 I noted an article about 125 pilot whales that died on Colville Beach on the New Zealand's North Island Coromandel peninsula, with rescue working managing to coax 43 others back out to sea. [cbc] Meanwhile on South Island, the article goes on, 105 stranded long-finned pilot whales died the previous Saturday.

On Friday October 9, 2009 an article mentions two great batches of Humboldt squid washed ashore, one in August then another in September, near the town of Tofino on Vancouver Island, BC, Canada. [cbc] John Payne, a marine biologist with the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking Project (POST), said the events show that oceans are changing, and "I think we're going to see a lot more strandings."

I think this is the August event mentioned above, though I can't confirm it is the same or a different event, as it's from this terrible Vancouver Sun collection. On August 8, 2009 I noted an article with the synopsis: "Thousands of dead fish and squid have washed up on beaches in and near Pacific Rim National Park in the past week, Tofino-based biologist Josie Osborne said Friday. It was not immediately known what caused their deaths."

Though I do also have an article from Thursday August 6, 2009 that indicates the above-mentioned event is in fact seperate... the article begins "Just days after decomposing squid washed up on the beaches near Tofino, BC, hundreds of dead pilchard and herring came in with the high tide along the same beaches." [ctv]



On Saturday May 30, 2009 I noted 34 pilot whales were euthanized on Kommetjie Beach near Cape Town, South Africa, with rescuers managing to push 20 whales back into the water. [cbc]

On April 17, 2009 I noted an article from National Geographic where the synopsis states: "In the same Chilean town where 1,500 penguins had washed up a week-and-a-half ago, thousands of dead sardines mysteriously turned up on beaches. (The link also goes into a bummer-can't-find-this non-archive at National Geographic, which I am now very disappointed in as well. Vancouver Sun, New York Times, and National Geographic: I am going to stop following you.)

And that ends the events I have tracked, and I am quite certain to have missed some, probably several. I'll end with this: In February 2009 the CBC put together "FAQs: Whale and dolphin strandings and beachings."

Hell in a Handbasket | The Warlord Problem

By now quite a few people have seen the "Kony 2012" campaign, the Facebook, Twitter, YouTube meme by which Joseph Kony, war criminal and leader of the Lord's Resistance Army has been hefted into the internet limelight for the stated purpose of making him famous, to bring him to justice.

There are supporters and detractors on both sides of this issue. Much of the controversy revolves around the manipulative manner in which the subject is presented by the filmmakers, to elicit an emotional response rather than to offer good journalism.

To me, this is one of the most eloquent: Patrick Kigongo "Don't Reduce Uganda to a Meme." [good]

Mr. Kigongo writes with a healthy dose of skepticism (perhaps even resignation) that Mr. Kony's sudden noteriety will last within the Meme-Cycle to do more than scratch the surface of "American" apathy toward world events and injustices. I get the impression he feels Mr. Kony is littered across Facebook pages right now, but will quickly fall off the radar when the next 'cat-playing-saxifone' video hits the tubes.

He's probably quite right.

But the point is not that attention will shift from Mr. Kony to some other distraction, but that Mr. Kony, for a brief time, is in the consciousness of individuals previously unaware, and spoken of by individuals that perhaps didn't even know this sort of unacceptable behaviour still exists.

Though we may not agree on the method of delivery, I would like to think we can all agree that "this sort of thing" is unacceptable behaviour. Anywhere. By anyone.

A problem can only be solved by starting a discussion, and using this time to educate others as to what the problem is.

Because the problem is not Joseph Kony. We have to include practices in the DemRep Congo and other African nations, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and other armed groups in the Phillipines, the... well, you get the idea... individuals within these and other groups are not necessarily even indicted by the International Criminal Court yet. But they should be. (Here's another GOOD article about who the "next 6 Konys" should be. [good])

And then, one by one, we should make a plan, if we are dedicated to avenging unacceptable behaviour in resolving conflict, to finding these individuals and bringing them to justice.

But before running off with righteousness we need to know what to do the day after that. The underlying problems that created the situation will still be there. What do we do to rehabilitate and re-introduce these children back into "normal" society?

And further questions of another line: is this our problem to solve, or are we over-simplifying the situation at the expense of African capability? The idea this may be little more than new round of "The White Man's Burden" has been circulating among the discussions.

The point of all this: take the controversial Kony 2012 video as the conversation-starter, and get into the conversation already under way. It's good to talk about things on a global basis, rather than regionalizing problems. But it's not like suddenly we know about this Joseph Kony guy, or that child-soldiers exist -- it's just that you do now. And that's a good thing. [UN]

ThreatWatch | Global Warming and Rising Seas

This has been a ThreatWatch trend I've been following for a while, and seems to keep popping up in Mainstream Media. It can be broken down into two lines: celestial activity further erodes our protective atmosphere ("further", being "in addition to human activity") and the water levels rise as the temperature goes up.

The Threat from Space:

First, let's go way back, when the early Earth had an "alien atmosphere" with high CO2 levels that contributed to melting the "snowball Earth" and making the planet lifeform-friendly in more areas. (NatlGeo)

But to our current predicament: Bummer: Cracks in the magnetic shield may bring on massive solar storms during the next expected peak activity cycle of solar wind, starting in about 2012. (NatlGeo) Cool: But scientists have also discovered a new layer of the magnetosphere they're descibing as a "warm plasma cloak". (NatlGeo) Bummer: But the sun may be "stealing" our atmosphere...! (NatlGeo)

The worst part: we may already be screwed. (good) (NPR) But the optimists at Wired are still looking for solutions, in their The 2012 Apocalypse, and How to Stop It. (wired)

Or, of course, we could also be screwed by a gamma-ray burst. But let's keep our Threats From Space separated, shall we? (NatlGeo)



And move on to the Threat From Rising Water...

A study of Coral canyons in Mexico indicate sea levels can rise quite rapidly. (nyt)

And studies indicate North America is at greater risk of an Antarctic ice-sheet-melt than other regions of the world. (CBC) And I keep wondering if I'm over 1.2 metres above sea level, in my fine abode in sunny Kitsilano. (straight) But we're not alone: New York and Boston are reportedly "directly in the path" of a sea level rise. (NatlGeo) Except we may still be worse off: Insurance Bureau of Canada warns that flood damage is not covered in this country. (cbc)

The ironic part is the concept of water stress: water availability against water demand. (H604) Is it time for a National Water Policy...? Is access to water a Human Right...? (straight)

Let's add the consideration that rising heat also threatens the world's food supply. (wired) In fact, we could see a global food crisis before the end of this century. (CBC)

Plus global warming leeches oxygen from the ocean, creating "dead zones" where no life can survive. (NatlGeo) Just for fun, I should also throw in mention of the areas of "toxic algae" that contaminate shellfish, another frightening development surrounding food supply. In fact, there's a toxic bloom just off the coast of British Columbia. (cbc)

Or, of course, we could all just get wiped out by a tsunami, like the one that hit ancient New York. (bbc) Which reminds me, for the "travel advisory threatwatch" section: if you're going to Guadeloupe, be aware that part of the island of Dominica (about 50km away) may fall off and trigger a deadly tsunami. There will be less than 10 minutes of warning. Or would be, rather, considering there are no warning systems set up for tsunamis in the Caribbean. (NatlGeo)

And, as if the current climate condition doesn't already fill you with hope and optimism, here's a Seed article with five scientists talking about Geo-Engineering. (seed) Great. I swear, first one-way ticket to the uncharted stars and I sign up.

Or I could go surfing. Waves are so purdy.

Hell in a Handbasket | It all ended in a dead President.

Forgive me, but I think I've been here before.

The Kremlin was quick to declare "hypothetical scenario" when Interfax reported the Russian Military had been invited to deploy Russian Bombers to Cuba. (NYT, Cuba Reportedly Offers to Host Russian Bombers.)

But this haunting repeat of the Cuban Missle Crisis is a dangerous diplomatic path because the Americans have deployed missle defence in Russia's backyard.

From NYT: In the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Soviet nuclear missiles stationed in Cuba pushed the world to the brink of nuclear conflict after U.S. President John F. Kennedy announced their presence to the world. After a tense week of diplomacy, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev removed the missiles.

And about the US Missiles, again from the NYT:

U.S. plans initiated under former President George W. Bush to put elements of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic had particularly irked Russia, although the United States insists they are intended to counter potential future threats from Iran.

Russia has welcomed Obama's apparently more cautious approach to the divisive issue.

Why not joint-responsibility for the missile defense of all involved Nations? Whose side is everyone on? Just as in South America: who would the Russians be protecting, and who would be subject to attack? So in Europe: who would the Americans be protecting, and who would be subject to attack?

The Grand Game of Government. War and Peace. Each war obtains industrial resources. Each peace leads to economic collapse.

The saddest part is that until we go forth with a single global government, we are doomed to continually repeat the cycle of war and resource-based conflict.

ThreatWatch | Learnin' Folk

Image via Wikipedia

As part of Good magazine's "State of the Planet" for 2009, they've put up lots of interesting graphs, including this one, which is a look at how different countries rank in math and science test scores, based on the average score of 15-year-old students on math and science literacy tests, out of 1000. (good)

The top score in Science: Finland with 563.

The top score in Math: Taiwan with 549.

The United States didn't make the Top 20. The few comments I read seem to be angry excuses as to why this list doesn't take into account something or other to explain the poor showing. But here's a guess: the public education system isn't world-class. Sorry.

Three European countries made the top 10 in science (Finland, Estonia, and Netherlands), one North American (Canada), with Austral-Asia rounding out the rest, including both Australia and New Zealand.

And any way one looks at it, Finland's model is one to look at, since it placed first in science and second in math. Hong Kong is another consistent performer, in second spot for science and third for math.

[Finland on wikipedia]
[Finland's Government site]
[Education in Finland on wikipedia]
[List of Universities in Finland on wikipedia]

Benevolent Prince | Trickle-Down Recycling

Image via WikipediaA post by Raul at Hummingbird604 started me thinking about how trickle-down economics is really just political rhetoric for tax cuts. The post was about recycling, which, of course, is a long way off from economics. But the theory of trickle-down, where those with too much pass along "something" to those with less, is to me a concept humanity already is familiar with. I mean, haven't most families been using this concept for generations...? We call them hand-me downs.

It doesn't work so well for items with only conceptual basis, such as money, apparently. Nobody seems to want to just "hand-me-down" some cash without some sort of artificial lever or consideration, like "tax cuts". (Unless you consider my own "Cottagist Anima" which has never yet been spoken of. And shan't be just yet.) But what about "trickle-down" recycling?

(I know, it already exists. But "trickle-down" recycling sounds much sexier than what goes on every day at the local thrift store, wouldn't you say...? Maybe it's time for a "re-branding" of the concept...)

"Hand-me-down" on wikipedia.

The point that got me thinking about it was Raul points out that BC Digital Divide will give donated computers to impovershed recipients. (H.604)

And check out the Electronic Recycling Association of Canada. (era) And the Vancouver page of the ERA site. (eraVan)

And according to this story in the CBC, recyclemycell.ca will show people where to recycle their cell in cities across Canada. (Here's the in-depth look at the cell-recycling issue. (cbc)

For a quick look at what other countries around the world are doing to curb their economic impact, check out this Good article. (good) My favourites: kick the oil habit, save the trees, and increase no-fishing zones along the coastline.

And finally, the best recycling program is the one that doesn't hae to start in the first place... Good brings us a list of five Anti-Consumer Groups... because the best way to save the planet is to reduce one's usage of something to nothing, if possible. (good)

FearWatch: Methane

Image via WikipediaToday's fear-monger hell-in-a-handbasket threat comes from under the sea... the East Siberian Sea, to be exact.

National Geographic reported that a recent expedition travelled along the Siberian coast monitoring methane concentrations in the air and observing the seas. According to the data collected by the University of Alaska expedition on the 22,000km journey, more than 50% of the Arctic Siberian shelf is serving as a source of methane to the atmosphere. Methane gas is currently "bubbling" up from the undersea permafrost. (NatlGeo)

While carbon dioxide gets all the press, methane gas is 20 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas. And when you take into account this earlier story, where geologist Tessa Hill, at the University of California, Davis, stated that more methane is released into the atmosphere from ocean deposits during periods of warming than previously thought, the implications for our future are not rosy. As the expelled methane increases temperatures it proceeds to release more methane, creating a positive feedback loop. (NatlGeo)

The Result: Doom, the crispy-planet version.

Please ignite your Terror immediately.

The West, The East, and The Oil

The nation of Georgia recently tried to assert control over autonomous "breaking-away" regions it considered internal, but were opposed by the military intervention of Russia, which they called "peace-keeping." Then they dug in. (Globe)

In the midst of this conflict, Russia dropped some nasty comments about developments in the wider region, namely a missile defence base in Poland. (CBC)

Then started taking (verbal) swings at NATO. (Globe) Why is Russia turning back into the global bogeyman... blame Bush. (Tyee) And why not? Everybody else does. (And by "everybody" I mean Putin.) (Globe) Except Georgia, of course... they're miffed at the Russians and close their Consulate. (Globe)

When the inevitable dissection begins, I'm sure we'll find out it's the same old same old: people fight over resources. (Globe) Best way to get resources is to take them over, hence Russia threatens to annex Georgia. (Globe)

But afterwards, Russia's allies decide they aren't completely behind Russia's aggressive behaviour. So the Russians come out and tell the folks they went to war over (to protect their autonomous identity within the nasty nation of Georgia) that they figure they'll eventually absorb their region into Russia. (CBC) Uh... WTF?!

So why all this?

Oil. Pipelines. Resources. It's called the "New Great Game." (Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives) Local politico Gordon Price weighs in on the oil issue. (Price Tags) And a strong quote dug up by Price Tags.

Don't anybody just remember this: All You Need is Love!