SeaMonster blog
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Minds in the water
A movie by pro surfer Dave Rastovich of Surfers for Cetaceans. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3GExD8djwo&[/youtube] Surfers and the rest of us that enjoy or live off the ocean have a responsibility.
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The Erie Canal as Civil War Catalyst
For centuries, most trade west of the Atlantic coast was limited to passive passage along the Mississippi, sending products downstream merrily, merrily, merrily on a lazy river ride from the Great Lakes region to ports like New Orleans. That is, until we had the bright idea to forge our own passageway east. The Erie Canal,…
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Owen Wright wins Quicksilver Pro New York
Owen Wright, the 21-year-old rookie from DownUnder took out 10-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater in the final heat to win the first Quicksilver Pro New York. Thanks to hurricane Katia the surf was surprisingly good and the contest that was nearly cancelled due to hurricane Irene and doubters scoffed at (A surf contest in New York…
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Ten years
Nothing in the world is as soft and yielding as water. Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible, nothing can surpass it. The soft overcomes the hard; The gentle overcomes the rigid Everyone knows this is true, But few can put it into practice. Therefore the Master remains serene in the midst of sorrow. Evil…
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Warming-induced killer crab invasion threatens Antarctic biodiversity
[Editor’s update: One of our observant readers and experts on deep-sea crabs, Dr Thomas Shirley of Texas A&M, points out that the photo above taken from the Mail article is of the tanner crab (Chionoecetes sp.), NOT the the giant king crab Neolithodes yaldwyni that is moving onto the Antarctic shelf. This is correct –…
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John Cook wins Eureka award!
John Cook, creator of the must read climate change blog Skeptical Science, has just been awarded the Eureka Prize for the advancement of climate change knowledge by New South Wales Government: Debunking Climate Lies No Longer Hit and Myth Climate-change deniers have nowhere to hide thanks to an ingenious piece of software that detects inaccurate…
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Fish – a good idea on paper
During a visit to the Suma Aqualife Park in Japan a few months ago, I came across a captivating display of little origami sea creatures arrayed across an entire wall. The lighting was not right for photos at the time but I’ve since found a great collection of these online, most notably — and…
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Let us eat…lionfish
Ray Hilborn famously urged Americans to eat more fish in his recent NYT op-ed Let us eat fish. I explained why this is a bad idea here, but one fish it would be good to start eating more of is invasive lionfish. Elisabeth Rosenthal wrote a great piece on the fledgling lionfish fishery Answer for Invasive…
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Fish head spill causes traffic jam
The AP is reporting that a huge pile of fish heads mysteriously spilled on an interstate north of Seattle is causing headaches for commuters: A Washington State Patrol trooper dispatched to check out a report of a lost load slowing traffic on northbound Interstate 5 in north Seattle found a pile of bloody fish heads…
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California approves fin ban: what next for shark celebrities?
Sharks fin soup is on the way out in America’s Golden State. Today the California State Senate voted 25-9 to pass a bill that will ban the sale, trade, and possession of shark fins. In a few days it’ll be signed by the governor and effectively put an end to one of the largest, legal…
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