Blogs & Ecology

Captain Paul Watson photo: Animal Planet

Belugas Having Fun, Unlike in Alaska
We recently wrote about the addition of beluga whales to the endangered species list in Alaska. A very sad state of affairs indeed, but on the lighter side - and to remind us of how intelligent these sea mammals are - here's a video of them playing. Make sure to watch the awesome bubble-circles they are 'blowing' at around the 1...

The Big Cheese behind TreeHugger, Graham Hill, hit the Arctic as part of Cape Farewell's 2008 Disko Bay expedition to witness the direct environmental effects of climate change. In a science research boat, he traveled alongside over 40 artists, scientists and rock stars.

Image: Sons de Mar website (LAB)

From the drone of a yacht to the sonar blast of a warship, the deafening noises of the military and commercial shipping industries have reached a point where it is seriously threatening whales, said scientists at last week’s World Conservation Congress.

CSI Wildlife Returns
The first episode of CSI Wildlife was about finding ivory poachers using DNA forensics. This new installment is bigger and better. 2 new eco-crimes!

How Does it Work?

Northern Fulmar photo: Wikipedia

Earlier in the summer it was announced that Canada would be protecting a large chunk of Ontario’s boreal forests from further development. Today brings word that nearly 4,500 square kilometers (1,740 square miles) of Arctic wilderness in Nunavut Territory will also be protected (ENS).

Photo credit: Getty Images

This is the most heartbreaking story we've read all week, and if the idea of a baby whale trailing after a yacht and trying to suckle from it doesn't make you go "awww," then that lump of muscle you call your ticker has been replaced by sheet rock. (And you should really get that checked out.)

Image source: Getty Images

No we're not kidding. The San Diego Union Tribune reported this morning that as Anheuser-Busch, owner of SeaWorld, is about to be gobbled up by Belgian brewer InBev, they are looking to rid themselves of their theme parks and just focus on the beer. PETA has put in a proposal for at least one of the available parks - Orlando, San Antonio or San Diego - to be funded by an anonymous donor.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says large whales are less threatened, according to its assessment of marine mammals for the IUCN's "Red List" of endangered species.

The large whales, the commercially important ones, have for the most part responded well under protection, notes Reuters.

In an update on our previous post, we now have more information on the two Greenpeace activists who were arrested in Japan following a four-month investigation into activities onboard the Japanese factory whaling ship and what happens to the whale meat that is processed following their ’scientific’ research.

Christian Science Monitor has published a totally charming story about how Dr. Frank E. Fish was inspired to "bio-mimic" a fan blade design, upon viewing a Humpback Whale sculpture in a Boston MA gift shop. There are prospective efficiency gains from re-designed wind turbine blades, also, based on this "discovery".

Fish, a biology professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania, is now using this technology perfected by nature to produce fans with serrated blades that use 20 percent less electricity than traditional models. This finding contradicts conventional designs that strive for the ...

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Source: TreeHugger

This year’s Sea No Evil event , also known as the Sea Shepherd Art Show aims to bring art, music and the environment together under one roof in Riverside, CA. The location – The Riverside Art Musem. The date – Saturday, July 12, 2008. The acts – recording artist Matt Costa, DJ Shephard Fairey and art by over 53 artists will be on display. The event is co-hosted by RVCA, the Artist Network Program and Monster Media.

Japanese police have arrested two Greenpeace activists for exposing a whale meat scandal involving the government-sponsored whaling program.

The two activists, Junichi Sato, 31, and Toru Suzuki, 41, are being investigated for allegedly stealing a box of whale meat which they presented as evidence.

Whales: "Goodbye Cruel World"
We're not whale psychologists, but according to Yves Paccalet, a French naturalist, over-hunting is causing loneliness in the surviving whales and can even make them "lose the will to live". The highly intelligent and sociable mammals could be "so exhausted from their combat with humankind that they have simply have given up the fight," according to him.

We’ve had some polling done, and the results should really be a wake-up call for the Government on whaling.

Polling indicated that there is very strong public support for the Australian Government to take international legal action to try and stop the Japanese whaling program (87%), even if it means compromising our relationship with Japan (91%).

The community also clearly believe that Environment Minister Peter Garrett is not doing enough with 71% believing the Minister has not done enough to stop the slaughter.