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A Manhattan-sized iceberg that had broken off a Canadian island came to a rest in a dead-end Arctic Ocean channel, much to the relief of cargo ships and oil rigs, which may have been threatened by the two-billion-ton berg.
A family out sailing in Massachusetts spied a mola mola, a bony sunfish shaped like a mix between a shark and a pancake. Usually found in warmer waters, the mola sometimes migrates north of the tropics.
A group of scientists announced a plan to wire the Pacific floor so that land-bound researchers can remotely view and study the sea floor. "This is a NASA-scale mission to enter the Inner Space," said one.
Leaked documents suggested the Canadian government is set to announce fast-tracked economic initiatives in the Arctic later this fall.
An international conference on penguins announced that a majority of the 17 species are headed for extinction, including the emperor penguin colony immortalized in March of the Penguins.
A Belgian foundation unveiled the first prefab zero-emissions polar station in Brussels. The station is set to be dismantled and moved to the South Pole this month.
A cruise ship company announced its intentions to build the world's largest sailing vessel. The ship will be longer than two football fields and employ 37 sails. Nearly 300 passengers will be able to enjoy its three pools.
Commercial fishermen in the Narragansett Bay say profits are gone. Two fishermen claimed that the terrorist attacks of 9/11 prompted the beginning of the end of the New England fishery.
Japanese schoolchildren were fed dolphin meat that was contaminated by toxic levels of mercury.
The Zoological Society of London announced that marine mammals were becoming more common in the Thames River thanks to a concerted cleanup effort.
Scientists discovered that moray eels have a second, mobile set of jaws used to drag prey into their mouths.
A hunter in Canada's Northwest Territories killed the first walrus seen there in 15 years. "We ended up getting it after probably 10 rounds of shells or shots into it," the hunter said. He is considering making earrings from the tusks.
Kemp's Ridley sea turtles, once down to just a few hundred mating pairs on American shorelines, continued to make a comeback, and now number in the tens of thousands. The turtles are still far from their historic population levels.
A scientist chases penguins chased by climate change
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caniscandida Posted 5:07 pm
10 Sep 2007
Mola mola sounds like an exotic South-Seas-ish name, but it is in fact the scientific name for the unusually shaped fish that is also popularly called the Ocean Sunfish, or Headfish. "Mola" is Latin for "mill-stone," usually a broad but shallow drum in shape; and the fish, which is also likened to a large pancake, apparently resembles it. Although the fish is cosmopolitan in tropical and subtropical waters, it is not yet another sign of global warming that it should have appeared off of Massachusetts; individuals have long been seen there now and again.
It is very good news, about the resurgence of the Kemp's Ridley sea turtle. I did not know about the preserve for turtle hatchlings in Tepehuajes, presumably in Tamaulipas, Mexico. But, cynic that I am, I cannot help suspecting a bit of green-washing on the part of the shrimp fishers, when they protest how much the presence of the turtles means to them. If Sammie Wells sees this, perhaps he could comment.
I am fascinated by the Inuit, have great respect for them, have started collecting some less expensive pieces of their art (prints at this point), and feel sorry for the poor people of Nunavut whose troubles were referred to in the article on Canadian plans to develop the North. Nevertheless, the account of the slaughter of that poor, out-of-place walrus left me cold.
Similarly, the fisherfolk of Narragansett Bay deserve some sympathy. But it should be recognized that the environmentalists seeking to impose restrictions are not at all the same as the government agencies "nickel-and-dimeing" the fishers with strange taxes and fees. As for the insurance policy jump following 9/11, I am not sure I see the connexion. Also, I would be interested in knowing what is the fishing practice used by the "draggers": bottom-trawling?; or, if the nets are held higher in the water column, is there much danger of the by-catch of marine mammals, birds, sea turtles and sharks?
Chickens are our cousins!
So are other sensitive animals!
Enough is enough!
No more factory farms!
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amc89 Posted 2:08 am
11 Sep 2007
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