Safer for the Trainer .. but how about the Whale?

After over a year in isolation, SeaWorld decided to reintroduce Tilikum the killer whale back into their Believe show.
The infamous porpoise brutally killed his veteran trainer Dawn Brancheau last year. As you may already know this was not the first death caused by the 12,000 lb mammal. Tili has a record that, if he were human, would land him in prison for 3 lifetimes.
So why not retire Tili when he has made it obviously
apparent that he is not happy?
Money. Money Money.
Killer whale shows bring in big money, SeaWorld is big business and Tilli is the biggest. (Literally. Tilikum is the largest animal in captivity.) Marine mammal activist Ric O'Barry criticized SeaWorld's decision saying, "It was a calculated risk that management took in the interest of profit.
Which part of killer whale don't they get?"
SeaWorld is contemplating a couple of new mechanical solutions to handle such a predatory attraction. First, the floor of the tank will be able to rise to the surface in the event of another attack.

SeaWorld is also considering adding robots to the tank that would flash Tilli with a series of strobe lights if they believe he is acting up.

All of the these new procedures are to make sure the trainer is safer working with such a large animal. But what about Tili?

Tilikum comes from a troubled past; he watched two members of his pod being killed before being captured. He was captured near Iceland in November of 1983 at about two years of age and sent to live at Sealand of the Pacific in B.C., Canada. Tili was then obtained by SeaWorld and moved to Orlando to become their prize stud in January of 1992 after he killed a female trainer who fell in the water in 1991. In 1999, Tilikum was involved in the death of a man who stayed in the park after hours and was found dead in the pool the next morning.

Then his trainer Dawn Brancheau was brutally pulled under the water during a Believe show.

The issue here lies in this question: Are we capable of domesticating such an intelligent marine mammal as large as this?

In the wild the killer whale can travel up to 100 miles a day with a pod of its family members. These pods strategically hunt together insuring food for everyone. Like humans, killer whales need mental stimulation to sustain its sanity.

"Participating in shows is just a portion of Tilikum’s day, but we feel it is an important component of his physical, social and mental enrichment,” said Kelly Flaherty Clark, SeaWorld Orlando’s animal training curator, in a prepared statement.

I could go on for days as to why the domestication of any marine mammal is wrong but what SeaWorld is doing to Tili and his fellow killer whales is cruel.

Please visit The Orca Project to enlighten yourself on the perils of marine aquariums. Once you learn the truth as to what goes on after the show is over, you'll never be able to justify going to such a park again. The Orca Project

Wild Orcas hunting:

Domesticated Tili entertaining:

Greenhouse Gases Pumped Into GreenHouses

Question: What is greener than a greenhouse?
Answer: A green house that takes in CO₂ from a local factory to then turn it, naturally, into O_2.

Until recently, greenhouse's would burn natural gas for the sole purpose of generating CO₂  to feed its growing plants.

But today its being piped from nearby refineries.

"It's time we stopped thinking of CO₂ solely as a pollutant and viewed it as a valuable resource," says Gabriele Centi, a chemist at the University of Messina, Italy.

There is certainly no shortage of CO₂ to be captured and used. Around 27 billion tones are released each year through human activity. Imagine next to every smoking factory, a greenhouse that is just as large; producing just as much. NewScientist

Migrating Towards A Developed Future

Photo Credit: National Geographic

Tourism to the Serengeti is vital to that regions livelihood.
Over the years, poaching has decreased due in large part to the income from tourists visiting the Serengeti looking for that
wild experience.

But man does not get around on his own.

The Tanzania government plans to build a commercial road, north of Serengeti National Park, cutting through the migratory route of
2 million wildebeest and zebra.

Not only does the new highway cut the animals off from their dry-season watering holes, but experts are certain this could become a major conflict zone for humans and animals,
leading to casualties on both sides.

The African Wildlife Foundation is campaigning for the road's path to be altered so that it passes south of the park, avoiding the migration route. But despite the idea of a new path the original road is set to go ahead, with construction kicking off in 2012.

Its hard to say who is right and who is wrong in this situation. Tanzania is a developing country who was hit hard during the recession of '09. Despite the fact that 38% of the countrys land is protected, tourism was down that year.  In a recent speech, Tanzanian president Jakaya Kikwete said that the best he could do was to leave the part of the road that crossed the migratory route unpaved.

New Serengeti Highway marked in red.

'In accepting the trusteeship of our wildlife we solemnly declare that we will do everything in our power to make sure that our children's grand-children will be able to enjoy this rich and precious inheritance." states Dr. Julius K. Nyerere of SavetheSerengeti.org.

Visit SavetheSerengeti.org to become a part of the campaign to voice your concern over the new highway. NewScientist

Aw Cute: This Owl Thinks He's A Seagull

Photo Credit: FWC

 A rare Burrowing Owl has been rescued from the world's largest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Sea, where it had apparently tried to find a home on a miniature golf course.
Just hours before the ship set sail for the Caribbean from Port Everglades in Florida a member of the crew saw the owl near the artificial grass of the golf course on an upper deck, and called in officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).
The 1,181 ft ship has a living park, complete with plants and trees, but the FWC said the owl would not have coped well with a new environment out at sea.
"Burrowing owls need to be in open, treeless areas where they can dig their burrow," said FWC biologist Ricardo Zambrano. "The artificial turf on the ship's golf course resembles the fields they use for nesting in urban areas; however, it was obviously not suitable habitat for this owl."
Burrowing Owls are listed as a species of special concern, meaning the birds, their nests and eggs, are all protected by law from interference or disturbance making Lt. David Bingham, the man who rescued the little bird, a hero!

Lt. David Bingham holding onto the rescued owl.
Photo credit: FWC

Lt Bingham said, "Never in all of my 25 years with the FWC have I seen anything like this, and I have responded to some strange calls. I am very pleased the owl wasn't injured and that we could get it back to a normal habitat." BBC

The Race to the Poles

This past Thursday, Canada and Russia tried to work out claims over the Arctic as each country looked to its energy riches and new shipping routes made increasingly possible by the melting Polar ice. 
Along with Canada and Russia, Norway, Denmark, and the United States are all at odds over how to divide up the Arctic seabed. Why? According to the US Geological Survey, the Arctic is thought to hold 90 billion barrels of oil and 30 percent of the world's untapped gas resources.
Every winter, the Arctic ice shelf returns less and less making the seabed more accessible.
In an effort to solidify the idea that the North Pole has been claimed since 2007 (Here: Quest for the Poles), Russia will boost its research efforts next month by launching a drifting research station. Russia must have scientific data of such energy sources, prove that the people of Russia need said energy and submit them to the United Nations in 2013 (matching the claim made by Canada expected for that year.)
The two Arctic nations claim the Lomonosov Ridge, a mountain chain running underneath the Arctic, as an extension of their continental shelf. AP

The Usual Report.

°Right Now°

► NYC Climate Week Day 1: White Roofs. ClimateWeekNYC
► The very rare saola still exists. YahooNews
► Ahmadinejad: 'The future belongs to Iran.' KhaleejTimes
► On a scale of 1 to Holy F .. Pakistan flood crisis is 'urgent.' Aljazeera
► First time ever: Pope visits Britian. London Evening Standard
► Party! Latin America celebrates independance bicentennial. VoiceofAmerica

°Past Post Updates°

► Greenpeace holds an online march for the Tokyo Two : You Don't Have to Kill a Snake to Get a Sample of Its Venom - You Do Have to Kill a Whale to Get a Sample of Its Tissue.
► Still trapped but celebrating : Come Hell or High Water Or Potholes or Really Sharp Rocks

°Weather°
► Monsoons in India kill 65. Shake & Blow
► 12 perish in Mexico hurricane. Shake & Blow
► Chasing tornadoes becomes a vacation destination in the USA. Weather Report
► Confirmed: Russia's summer heatwave kills 11,000 people. Terra Daily

°Online Action°

► SAVE JAPANS DOLPHINS
In the small fishing village of Taiji, entire schools of dolphins are driven into a hidden cove after a prolonged chase. Once trapped inside the cove, the fishermen kill the dolphins, slashing their throats with knives or stabbing them with spears. The water turns red with their blood, and the air fills with their screams. This brutal massacre - the largest scale dolphin kill in the world - goes on for six months of every year.
Help Save Japans Dolphins END this senseless slaughter !!
"I must see this end in my lifetime." Rick O'Barry
► Pacific Walrus in Danger
At this very moment, tens of thousands of ice-loving Pacific walrus are crowded on one tiny beach on the coast of Alaska because their sea ice habitat has retreated hundreds of miles offshore. No one has ever seen this many walrus stranded on Alaska's Arctic shorelines, and this unprecedented event is a direct result of global warming.
Please take a moment to tell the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service that the Pacific walrus cannot survive without the protections of the Endangered Species Act. !!
'Extinction is forever." - @Greenpeaceusa

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Mesmerizing: A Tribute Of Confusion For Some Species

Photo by Scott Hudson aka NJ Scott

Every September 11th since 2001, New York City has paid tribute to those fallen with breathtaking beams of light rising from the site of the Towers to the eternal skies above. People from all over the country - the world even - come to this memoriam to pay their respects.

But more then just people flock to this site.

This year the lights disoriented some 10,000 birds migrating over lower Manhattan. Apparently the birds lose their orientation in the bright lights, become confused,

and wind up circling the area for hours.
"Through the course of the night we shut the lights off five times for approximately 20 minutes each time," John Rowden, Citizen Science Manager for NYC Audubon Society told Animal Planet.

Preventing the birds from becoming mesmerized by the lights is important because these migrating birds are running low on fat stores and energy. A night's worth of circling Ground Zero could cause exhaustion problems while on their journey to the north.
Fortunately this problem does not happen every year. Weather conditions have altered the paths of birds in the past, leading them away from Manhattan on September 11th. But a similar situation did occurred in 2004, leading some animal advocates to question the tribute's ethics and legality since migratory birds are protected by federal law. TIME

Come Hell or High Water Or Potholes or Really Sharp Rocks

Photo Courtesy of Disarranged Reality

A ginormous drill, dubbed Plan C, arrived in Chile on Friday to help speed up efforts to rescue the 33 miners trapped 2300 ft below the surface. The drill named, 'RIG-422' is designed to drill oil wells and is operated by Canada's Precision Drilling Company.
Climbing up the rocky hillside on 42 (!) flatbeds, the drill was welcomed with an outcry of cheers and applause from the families and coworkers of the miners.
"These trucks are enormous," marveled Maria, sister of trapped miner Dario Segovia. "We were up all night here in the camp waiting for them."
The trucks are actually so large that the entrance to the mine needed to be widened in order for them pass.
A few of the trucks arrived with flattened tires and bent rims due to potholes and the sharp rocks they met along the way.
If all goes according to plan with this new drill, the Chilean rescuers will only have to drill down to 1958 ft shortening the excavation time to only two months!
The trapped miners received a message of support from 6 European Space Agency astronauts who have been living in isolation inside a mock spaceship in Moscow in an experiment to simulate a voyage to Mars. Their advice: "Stay busy, be careful with your health and keep a normal day-night schedule." Disaster Management