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Environment Ocean Whales Dolphins Pollution Plastics Trash Marine Debris Surfrider Surfrider Oahu Ocean Protection surfing fish Hawaii Waikiki sewage bacteria ecology EPA clean water act BEACH access 

The War of the Cetaceans

In an unprecedented format, the Sea Shepards have made their way to prime time on animal planet.  See Whale Wars and view Captain Paul Watson getting shot by a Japanese whaling vessel's crew.  Luckily he was wearing a bullet proof vest.

The Surfrider Oahu Chapter awarded a John Kelley award to the professional surfer David Rastovich for his work in protecting dolphins in Japan.  He and several other activists gathered and performed a memorial service for thousands of dolphins slaughtered there.  

Although most of us believe that international whaling moratoriums are in place, several nations continue to hunt the oceans closest relatives to us.  We must all stand united to end the needless killing of our surfing mentors.

The plastic problem

A friend of mine recently explained that during an ocean trawl, to gather plankton, small platic bits outnumber the plankton 48:1.  Read more about Captain Charles Moore's work at algalita.org/ .   This is a radical finding.  It is not an isolated incident, he has been quantifying the amount of non biogenic materials in these kind of trawls since the late 90s and the numbers keep rising.  NOt sure how well this has sunk in yet but the very building blocks of life, the bottom of the food chain in our Oceans is being displaced rapidly by our waste.

This problem needs to be resolved on a large global scale and will require us to act as we did as a planet in reducing CFCs.  The first way to stop is obvious, reduce plastic usage.  We all must transfer those disposable items we use for renewable or biodegradable versions.  We must work together to enforce better waste management and chip in when we see any release of these toxics into the environment.  Yes, pick up trash and support local movements such as healthebay.org/nobagday/2008/  and the Rise Above Plastics Campaign.

ECO Irony

With the last most recent rash of global warming caused outrageous weather patterns, an unlikely and perhaps least deserving agency got whacked by Mother Nature. She was lashing out at our capitol of course. Read how the EPA offices have been flooded in Washington DC During this odd June Deluge.

Also, go see An Inconvenient Truth if you have not yet done so.

Waikiki Beach Polluted

Last Friday, March 24, the City and County of Honolulu started diverting sewage from a broken pipe into the Ala Wai Canal which drains directly to the ocean about 1 mile downstream. This action led to the bacterial contamination of Waikiki beach and Surf Spots such as Ala Moana Bowl,
now what I 'm calling Toilet Bowls. Allthough serious rains led to a ruptured pipe, the CCH didn't really do anything but the easiest and cheapest resolution which I believe is an unacceptable choice. No attempt was made to to add agents to the spill to reduce its scope. It is this type of reaction to an emergency and lack of a plan for such an event which leads people to mistrust their government. It should have been clear to someone in engineering with the CCH Department of Environmental services that such a thing could occur. A contigency plan other than polluting our public water ways to this extent should have been developed. THe OAhu SRF will be working with the Mayor's office to try to get an emergency action plan together for any future events.

This spill dumped about 50 million gallons of untreated sewage onto our coast. This amount is hard to actually understand it is so large. The only good that did come out of this is the Hawaii State Department of Health Clean Water Branch did do some serious monitoring. They also consulted with the Oahu SRF to advise on currents and surf spots to help better notify the public.

What we learned: there are no real solutions to leaky pipes as of now; the open ocean is believed to be a good solution in dealing with overwhelming pollution issues...

What we may try to do: Work on continuing to educate the public on how to take actions to prevent future atrocities.

Cooperation

Lately, the Oahu Chapter of the Surfrider foundation has been working with the local government agencies trying to improve public education about water quality. We helped to
succesfully post bacteria monitoring data for the Hawaii Department of Health. In doing so wee helped them to remain compliant with the Beach Act and allowed for a continuation of a grant from the EPA for developing water quality testing and reporting in Hawaii. See the EPA website article for details.

Why I'm a Surfrider

The Surfrider Foundation is one of the few organizations on the planet that recognizes the zone between the land and the Ocean as a region of importance which deserves protections as granted to all other areas. The Surfrider foundation was founded by Surfers but has evolved to a much larger organization including lobbyists, lawyers, scientists and others who believe that the beach and the surf zone are worth protecting.

I chose to join this group about 8 yrs ago as a way to show gratitude towards the Ocean which has provided me with so much throughout my life. The Ocean is a place of solace, recreation, adventure, excercise and fun for me. It is for many and whether it pulls us back to the security of our Mother's womb or allows us to depart from old terra firma and enter a world of mystery, it gives us something which transfixes us for life. How could I not want to give back to it. The Surfrider are individuals who agree on this common feeling that we want to give something for all that we get.

I joined the Oahu Chapter in 2003 and rapidly became an executive committee member, as does anyone who shows some interest and support for the group. It has been a wonderful experience getting to know the others involved in protecting the surf zones including members of the Hawaii State Department of Health and the City and County of Honolulu. A few very active and dedicated individuals do slowly help to make progress. I'm very glad to be part of this process.

Crystalized vision 

Dr. Masaru Emoto

Last night I was priveleged to witness an avatar (or one in the making) give his presentation on water and how water is a conduit for the vibrations of living energy. He's a PhD who has studied water for most of his life. He's the author of The Hidden Messages of Water and was featured in the film What the Bleep do We know.

He helps to remind us to live a loving life and to be aware of the vibrations (Hado) we s end and receive. Water has helped him to crystalize his theories of our energetic connectivity.

worked 

Introduction

As we move along loving our ocean, it's fish and resources, we are smothering it with our affection. One thing most people are not aware of is how the interconnectedness of the Ocean to all living systems may affect our well-being on land. Most of the Oxygen we breath is created by the ocean as is most of the CO2 consumed. Temperature and humidity are also regulated by the massive and stable bodies of water. Dr. Sylvia Earl, authour of Sea Change, speaks of the Ocean as our life suport system for theses reasons. I'm creating this blog to share ideas of how we may work to preserve our life support system. Appart from being active with several Ocean Conservancy groups, I see the need to speak with people outside of the world of ecologists, metereologists and get the feeling of just how little or much is known and understood about the ocean in the general public. I hope that we can turn our common love of the ocean into loving action and prevent the current trends which may render it and ourselves in disrepair.

Introduction

As we move along loving our ocean, it's fish and resources, we are smothering it with our affection. One thing most people are not aware of is how the interconnectedness of the Ocean to all living systems may affect our well-being on land. Most of the Oxygen we breath is created by the ocean as is most of the CO2 consumed. Temperature and humidity are also regulated by the massive and stable bodies of water. Dr. Sylvia Earl, authour of Sea Change, speaks of the Ocean as our life suport system for theses reasons. I'm creating this blog to share ideas of how we may work to preserve our life support system. Appart from being active with several Ocean Conservancy groups, I see the need to speak with people outside of the world of ecologists, metereologists, activists etc... and get the feeling of just how little or much is known and understood about the ocean in the general public. I hope that we can turn our common love of the ocean into loving action and prevent the current trends which may render it and ourselves in dispair.