I Luv the Ocean

Sylvia Earle is a devoted researcher and well deserving 1 of 3 TED Talk Prizes this year. As discussed in a previous blog, TED Talks are seminar style videos of innovative and new ideas from various scientists and researchers. TED Prizes are awarded to the "wishes big enough to change the world", more specifically, 3 gifted individuals are given $100,000 and help in fulfilling their wish for mankind. I am featuring Sylvia because I admire her and strongly side with her emphasis on the importance of the ocean. Not only does it serve as our "support system" as she explains, but the ocean hold most (90 - 95%) of the planets life. 

So.. in her own words, her is Sylvia's Wish:

"I wish you would use all means at your disposal -- films! expeditions! the web! more! -- to ignite public support for a global network of marine protected areas, hope spots large enough to save and restore the ocean, the blue heart of the planet."

Watch the video or scroll down for a TED Talks summary of the plan and possible responses

The Plan:

To bring knowledge of our oceans to a wide audience and galvanize support in favor of marine protected areas. We invite a variety of responses from TEDsters in pursuit of this goal

Possible Responses:

• Development of technologies that would permit deep sea exploration in order to make the invisible visible
• Supporting (or organizing) expeditions to explore proposed “hope spots”
• Helping make the scientific case for a network of MPAs
• Identifying and exploring candidate MPAs
• Creating a media campaign in support of MPAs
• Backing the upcoming Oceans documentary to ensure wide viewership
• Offering media space/distribution
• PR and marketing assistance
• Offered use of a suitable boat or ship for TED@SEA, a “brainstorming expedition” on the oceans
• Event management
• Website that highlights the issue and nurtures a network of supporters.
• …and/or your suggestion of what you could best offer.

Link to TED Prize Winner 

~ Sylvia Earle's Wish ~ 

Next on my Ocean Favorites...

TED Talks Richard Pyle: Exploring the reef's Twilight Zone

Link to the video on TED Talks 

Inspiring TED TALK: Creativity vs. Climate Change

Creativity vs. Climate Change

Here's a cool video from this year Ted Talks.. The focus is on creativity and it is a call for us to employ our creative side to help with Green innovation and thinking..  Including a cute little commercial for walking.. Definitely an interesting weapon to use for the fight against climate change but it may just work!!

Interesting Ideas: Floating cites of the future?

The ever interesting Style Will Save Us Blog recently featured a story about proposed water cities, like the Lily Pad (seen to the left). As mentioned, the idea is still in the conceptual process but is being offered as a part of the solution to address raising water levels that threaten major global cities, and thus the population and homes within. It would seem that modern architecture may be an efficient and chic way to address imposing climate issues and that designer like Callebaut may be leading the way in innovation and design.. Good Job!

 For more info follow the Link to the Story.

Read the story on The  Blog 

or 

go to the plans directly or see more of Vincent Callebaut's work: LILYPAD, A FLOATING ECOPOLIS FOR CLIMATE REFUGEES

Both images retrieved February 18th, 2009 from Vincent Callebaut architecture

An belated but important...

HAPPY BIRTHDAY 

  - WISH TO MY FAVORITE NATURALIST - 

CHARLES DARWIN!!

For Ipod users, Itunes U has introduced the

ASU School of Life Sciences - Grass Roots Studio

Darwin Distinguished Lecture Series

For the big D's 200th B-day and to commemorate 150 yrs. since publication of On Origin Of Species!!

Celebration were/are occurring all through the month of February!

Visit http://www.darwinday.org/ for the

Also, the Encyclopedia of Life posted a special Blog 4 the occasion:

Darwin Photo retrieved February 17th, 2009 from Wikimedia commons, (http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Darwin_01.jpg): 

Darwinfest Photo retrieved February 17th, 2009 from Apple, (http://deimos3.apple.com/WebObjects/Core.woa/Browse/asu.edu.1784906946.01784906955?sr=hotnews:) 

EOL Photo retrieved February 17th, 2009 from Encyclopedia of Life Blog, (http://blog.eol.org/) 

Cool Links: Encyclopedia of Life and Necessity of Biodiversity and More

As a fulfillment of the inspiring wish of the great E. O Wilson in his 2008 TED Talk, the Encyclopedia of Life is definitely worth checking out.  An international collaboration, the collection is the manifestation of the hope of Wilson and thousands others of cataloguing all our worlds wondrous species, especially since many go extinct without humans ever knowing of their existence.

"Imagine an electronic page for each species of organism on Earth, 

available everywhere by single access on command." - 

Edward O. Wilson

Click to visit the Encyclopedia of Life 

Also, if this interests you.....

 Be sure to look for Sustaining Life: How human health depends on biodiversity by Eric Chivian and Aaron Bernstein. 

The foreword is by E.O Wilson and it is "edited and written by two physicians from Harvard Medical School, with contributions by more than 100 leading scientists from around the world."  To top that off, the book is co-sponsored by various global environmental

organizations including the U.N Environment Programme, World Conservation Unity and others. Besides all that, I just like the text and it has some really interesting points. One of the first examples, and that I liked, was the Southern Gastric Brooding Frog (Rheobatrachus sil

us). This little guy, not too cute but very valuable in the way of medical science, is now extinct. The frogs raised their young in their stomachs, from the point of her swallowing the fertilized eggs, to vomiting up the tadpoles later.

 What is really interesting about all this (to me and at-least a few other people anyway), is that the mother's released certain substances that were able to resist the normal (i.e., in all vertebrate species, including humans) acid and pepsin enzymes present in stomachs in order to digest food. Why I care is that people suffering from peptic ulcers, and conceivably other related issues, could have benefit from the insights gained in the research... However, the species found in the 1980's in Australian rain forests became extinct.

Sustaining Life is available Online at Amazon, as well as Online and in stores at Chapters and Barnes and Noble amongst many other distributors.  

Other resources on Biodiversity include:

Living on the Earth is a weekly environmental show featuring some interesting points and guests, here is a link to the site, and an interview with the authors of the book just recommended Sustaining Life. 

SUSTAINING LIFE: A CONVERSATION - fROM THE bOSTON Museum of Science (somewhere i WOULD LOVE TO gO!)

Convention on Biodiversity

Just a side note: I hope everyone likes the links, I went kinda crazy with them.. well I am going to try to post more often and just keep info I think is interesting and I hope you do too!

Cool Links: TED Talks online Video's

I was recently shown the amazing online resource, TED Talks in one of my classes. The site has a massive collection of videos from talks and seminars featuring some of the smartest, most innovative people today. I personally love the section on Evolution's Genius, but there's themes from culture to science, business even global issues and the arts. You can explore bio luminescent life deep underwater, peak into the debate on nurture vs. nature or even get a glimpse into artificial life. Of course, I have to emphasize the green ideas and as I said, innovation going on and being encouraged by this form of media. Hope you enjoy, there's something for everyone!

Click here for the TED Talks Website!



While your looking through the videos, here's just a few I can recommend:

Craig Venter is on the verge of creating synthetic life

E.O. Wilson on saving life on Earth

Louise Leakey digs for humanity's origins

Robert Ballard on exploring the oceans