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I recently saw a map of places that might be preserved in case there was global turmoil. One of those places was within Mongolia. I surely hope this place above would be included…
Animals, people, living and loving each other in a perfect harmony as Nature would have intended. Extraordinary… and yet, it should be so ordinary as to be just the way life is.
What happened? Did ancient, jaded, perverse asteroid people come down to a virgin Earth and bring their perverse dark decay of soul and heart with them?
With great age, comes decay and decline. As we allow for the rape our children, as we rape the Earth… it will go mad, as do the children. And it, and they, will be gone to us.
Let these nomadic, beautiful ways teach us something. Or, if we choose to ignore it, I fear we will all be doomed.
Science says the future will be packed with innovation and invention. Life will be extended. Robots, organs in a lab, mind melding, mind control, war by proxy, more.
Will the waters and air be pure and clean? Will there be fields and meadows filled with bees, flora, fauna, new baby animal life filled with optimism. hope, joy?
Or will scientific innovation bring with it, litter, decay, unnatural perversions, desperate attempts to prolong a greedy lifestyle, and decline of the ecosystem?
We must take care. The video above has more to say than we might at first, think…
Updated: 5:48 PM 8/12/2009 The News is In
Researchers Finding Much More Plastic than Expected
It’s hard to imagine finding plastic garbage fragments and bits throughout the huge Pacific Ocean. But, researchers are doing just that. From the very start of their journey, they are netting plastic with every tow sampling.
Images below: See the plastic bits floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, thousands of miles from land. The Scripps Institute Research vessel is reporting its findings.
Giant Floating Garbage Patch: The Scripps Institute Reseach vessel has officially reached the huge “Great Pacific Floating Patch” in the Pacific Gyre.
Today, they report finding much more plastic than expected. In fact, they are finding it everywhere, even from the beginning of their voyage.
One of the observers describes what they are seeing: “It is a soup of bits, pieces and strands. If you look out over the water you see a beautiful cobalt blue ocean. If you look down you see a little bits of things that were once important to someone probably 1,000 miles away…
Most of the water has plastic in it. With the obvious and already stated fact that the ocean is huge, it is the job of the scientist to put the numbers into perspective…”
They are collecting small feeder fish, expressing concern that the small feeder fish that are eaten by larger predator fish may be eating fragments of plastic, thus absorbing chemicals and toxins directly into their systems. Since we eat the larger fish that feed upon these feeder fish, we would be ingesting these pollutants from our seafood.
This seems to be a more serious problem than they had imagined. Although they are glad they were able to reach their destination, discover exactly what they were looking for, they find themselves somewhat somber and a bit depressed having seen the severity of the problem.
They also are reporting via CBS 8 that a large number of sea turtles, birds, mammals and fish sea life are dying due to the marine debris.
The researchers will be investigating ways to clean up the “toxic mess.”
~~~
Previously Updated: 9:42 AM 8/4/2009 Project Kaisei Embarks to Investigate the “Dump”
Sylvia Earle “Explorer-in-Residence”
National Geographic, Mission Programs
“Solving a problem starts with knowing that you have one. Project Kaisei vividly shows how discarded plastics are clogging the ocean, causing a major problem for the planet’s vital “blue heart,” entangling marinelife and insidiously killing as it accumulates in the food chain, from tiny plankton to great whales. Best of all, the mission highlights hope with ideas for positive action.” http://www.projectkaisei.org/
Note: The Project Kaisei team will embark on a multi-week expedition to the “Plastic Vortex” from the West Coast in order to:
– Study and document the marine debris found in this area of the Pacific Ocean;
– Test catch methods for removing the debris;
– Conduct research on the chemical interactions of marine debris in the gyre and select fishes and wildlife related to persistent organic pollutants (POPs);
– Understand the needs required to undertake an eventual large scale clean-up of the waste material;
– Test technologies for conversion into an economically viable by-product: diesel fuel.”
Updated: 4:01 PM 4/26/2009
A giant, almost endless plastic soup extends
a wider distance than the length and breadth
of the United States, right smack in the middle
of the Pacific Ocean.
UPDATE 9:37 AM 8/4/2009 – Scripps Embarks…
Scripps Scientists Aboard Research Vessel to Study Huge Garbage Dump
“From August 2-21, a group of doctoral students and research volunteers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego will embark on an expedition aboard the Scripps research vessel New Horizon to explore the problem of plastic in the North Pacific Gyre.
The Scripps Environmental Accumulation of Plastic Expedition (SEAPLEX) is the first of its kind and will focus on a suite of critical questions. How much plastic is accumulating, how is it distributed, and how is it affecting ocean life?
The researchers hope to provide critical, timely data to policy makers and combine Scripps’ long tradition of Pacific exploration with focus on a new and pressing environmental problem. ” http://seaplexscience.com
This plastic “continent” stretches a distance wider than the United States and can be 90 deep or greater in places. It’s growing by leaps and bounds due to extensive plastic waste cast off by a “throwaway” mentality of the world’s consumers.
5 Things You Didn’t Know About Garbage
From Askmen.com
There’s a continent of garbage in the Pacific gyre. (Gyre: swirling center region of the ocean’s currents)
There’s garbage all over Mt. Everest – it’s “notoriously filthy.”
Some garbage can live a million years… or more.
Landfills pollute worse than… chernobyl. Then expel vast quantities of toxic gases.
Plasma” can obliterate garbage. (Discovery Link to Plasma Gasification)
See more about Plasma, below.
According to Charles Moore, garbage growth is so extensive that the expansion of this island of trash seems virtually unstoppable, and may eventually, sooner than later, choke off the world’s fish supply.
Currently, over 90% of the world’s larger consumable fish stores are gone, depleted.
In addition, if the destruction of plankton is severe enough, oxygen levels will diminish and the world’s atmosphere is at risk.
There are many foreseen as well as unforeseen repurcussions to the huge accumulations of non-biodegradable waste in the world’s oceans.
Animals are indeed dying in record numbers exceeding hundreds of thousands. Seabirds feed their young colorful plastic bits, and the baby birds die a slow death. Sea mammals perish in netting and plastic coils and strips and die from poisoning as well.
Almost all fish are becoming contaminated with plastic bits and chemicals – even the tiniest fish. As Charles Moore says, “You can buy certified organic produce, but no fishmonger on earth can sell you a certified, organic, wild caught fish.”
The only solution: To stop the plastic at its source. It would be impossible to clean up the ocean. No country or power has the money or wherewithal to remove even a small proportion of plastic trash.
The Mihama-Mikata facility processes 24 tons of municipal sold waste and 4 tons of sewage sludge per day, producing steam and hot water for local use.
The Utashinai plant processes up to 300 tons per day of waste and/or automobile shredder residue.
This facility produces up to 7.9 Megawatts of electricity, of which 3.6 MW are used to run the plasma torches and the plant, and up to 4.3 MW are sent to the electrical power grid.
In Ottawa, Canada, people are evaluating a demonstration facility that is currently processing 94 tons of waste per day, sending 4 MW of power to the grid.”
Note: This technology has been scaled back in the United States by 80%. Why is that? Could it be that it’s not “profitable” enough and the “greed” factor isn’t attractive to investors?
Or, perhaps the technology would impinge upon the profitability of current technologies.
A Right Whale follows and observes a swimmer in the waters of the Auckland Islands. He turns his head carefully so as to bring his plate sized eye within inches of the diver. He is so gentle that he barely disturbs the water… with the merest flick of his tail, he could have sent the diver spiraling uncontrollably or crushed him like a bug.
Right Whales: On the Brink, On the Rebound
From National Geographic: “Just a few hundred of these giants survive along the coasts of North America, but their numbers are growing in southern seas.”
“I’ve been diving for about 30 years, and I can honestly say that I’ve had some amazing encounters with sharks, squids, and other whales. But the encounter with the right whales in the Auckland Islands was probably the best thing I’ve ever done. It was just that amazing.
…I immediately suited up, jumped in—and these city buses swam up to me…
I’m standing on the bottom, and as it comes down, I get on my knees, lean over backwards—my scuba tank is now digging into the sand.
And of course their eyes are on the side of their heads, so it had to turn and look at me. It came within inches.
Here’s this softball-size whale eye looking at me. But then it stops—stops on a dime. It’s just hovering there, and literally one flick of its tail, and it would have crushed me like a bug. But it doesn’t. It was just highly curious.
…Instead of continuing, the whale stops and turns and waits for me. It was like a dog that was following me around …the whale would follow me. It was like swimming around with a friend.”
Just saw at the theater. One of the best docu-drama-stories-movie ever. The reason is because it was able to take a boring subject and still captivate our ENTIRE interest. It REALLY got under my skin, plus my brother’s skin (almost impossible) and was able to STOP US in our tracks.
We have changed our eating habits, our way of life.
We stopped at the grocery store after we saw the movie. It was amazing – huge rows upon rows of brightly colored packages of pretty much, NOTHING. We looked at the ingredients – corn this, corn that. Corn syrup, solids, liquid, seasoning, powder, starch, di this di that, mono this mono that. EVERYTHING was FAKE.
The fish counter was especially sad. Small print everywhere: farm raised from some exotic locale like Thailand, China or Chile… And the selection was paltry. Mostly tilapia or shrimp in "butter," bbq sauce, peppers or breaded…
Wikipedia just read: "Tilapiines are also among the easiest and most profitable fish to farm…"
Well that figures. Fish is probably high in mercury anyway.
As for the fruits and vegetables, they were probably just ok… but we wanted organic rather than the big beautiful tasteless flavorless stuff.
Food Food EVERYWHERE but not a bite to eat. Not a bite of down home REAL food, that is. Best bet: Starbucks coffee and a pastry. Wow – are they filled with corn syrup solids?
This movie featured a family eating the dollar menu at McDonalds. Cheap food, filling, but the Dad takes SO much medication. Nice family… really sad.
There’s was a farmer in Nebraska or somewhere in this movie who amazed me. He looked really healthy, and he raised his own animals and prepared them for purchase that people drove 100s of miles to come buy. The animals were so well treated, fed pure wholesome food, and he probably has his own garden.
He was like, a hero.
Then there was a sweet older man who cleaned seed. How natural, normal and wonderful with his amazing old and WELL BUILT cleaning machine. THOSE must have been the days – when stuff WORKED FOREVER if you took care of it.
What happened to us? To this country? USA?
As for Monsanto – beating up this guy to a pulp using the legal system – beating up ALL the good, traditional farmers who didn’t want to buy Monsanto’s genetically modified seed year after year.
WELL I’LL BET Monsanto lawyers and executives DON’T feed their families crud-burgers and fries.
They probably buy the best at restaurants that serve organics because Organic tastes best.
And their wives probably feed the kids really healthy good stuff…
I could be wrong about this… maybe Monsanto Cargill folks eat what they create. Chem-burgers from terribly sad steers and cloned veggies and fruits sprayed to hog heaven with pesticides and additives.
I told my friends – all the good people – "go see this movie and change your ways." All the bad people – "go to the fast food restaurant and have a burger or two, double the cheese, double the fries and lots of soda. mmmmm."
I jest… or do i?
In summary – this movie is perhaps, pivotal. In a huge huge way. It’s shocking how they were able to reveal the truths some want to hide at almost murderous cost.
It can be heartbreaking when you see good good salt of the earth people just beaten all to smithereens by glossy corporate suits.
Let’s all bow down to the almighty bottom line… the almighty dollar.
The irony is this: You destroy your competition and become super powerful and rich. Then what? You buy a luxury home and yacht and go shop at the grocery store for twinkies and dingdongs?
You eat mercury fish? tasteless beef that needs gallons of BBQ sauce and burnt fat just to taste good?
I don’t think so. Things are all topsy turvy.
Dear Monsanto, stop trying to own the world and destroy every vestige of honest independence and goodness. Stop trying to dominate, control, and probably RUIN my world.
When people raise animals with kindness and care, feeding them wholesome REAL food they need, killing them quickly and painlessly, and able to use natural waste to fertilize and grow delicious fruits, vegetables and grains, life can be incredibly wonderful.
Your company is trying to own everything and everybody. Yes, every BODY.
In the end, if you get your way, soylent green and tortured animals will be all we have.
After all, we’ve already lost 90% of good ocean fish.
This movie inspired me… to write WAY too much… Anyway, good people, GO SEE. And bad people, GO SEE.
And then, go see the movie "HOME."
It’s also incredible, and impossibly beautiful as well.
Absolutely MUST SEE – FREE ONLINE NOW
Immemorable, Glorious, Stunningly Beautiful
The Movie HOME is a visually stunning and impactful movie of great import and beauty. It is available to view for free online at Google Videos. It is truly above most all others, a must-see movie. Some say it is life changing, life altering… it definitely presents the earth in its most splendid most glorious form, as well as the human impact.
Evidently, a huge proportion of restaurant fish served in the United States and elsewhere come from Chile where tons of forbidden toxic chemicals are used on the fish in Chilean fish farms. Do these create a health hazard leading to increased cancer rates and other disease susceptibility? This may serve as a warning to be concerned about fish importation and consumption.
Short Clip by Jacques Michel Cousteau
The Full Movie by Jacques Michel Cousteau
Thanks to Dr. Mercola for bring this to our attention
“Aurora, a 20-year-old Beluga whale, swims with her calf after giving birth at the Vancouver Aquarium in Vancouver, B.C., Canada on Sunday June 7, 2009.” Baluga Cam HERE (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)
Video of Baby Aurora’s Birth
Little Aurora nurses from her mother Qila
The Baluga cam shows Aurora and her baby swimming around their enclosure. Wonderful! : )
This image broke my heart. It has the power of the Life Magazine image of a terrified little Vietnamese girl running away from bombs and explosions who was on the cover of Life magazine. It is difficult to think of what could exist that is more wrong than this picture below and the other pictures of similar impact and importance. What to do? All we can. And we will!
A young girl cries after another child stole the doll she had found in the garbage dump.
Photographer: Benjamin Rusnak/Zuma
From Doubletruck, Food for the Poor
If this isn’t a testament on what needs to be done…
“The most amazing creatures nature has ever created, drifting in our oceans. From the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Download the video file on the right sidebar, and watch it via an AppleTV, PS3 or XBoX360 on your HDTV.
Shot with a Canon HV20 in PF24/Cinemode. Pulldown removed with Cineform NeoHD. Edited with Vegas Pro 8, graded with Magic Bullet. Music and video are licensed separately under the Creative Commons “BY” 3.0 license.”
