Can social media influence climate change? As environmental concerns are brought to the forefront of the public eye, how can social media educate, inform, and provoke meaningful conversation? And what can climate change scientists gain from it? Attend this session to see how social media might provide the bridge for parties on both sides of environmental discourse to listen, learn, and better communicate.

Thomson Reuters, Category: Social & Environmental Change

Location: Social & Environmental Change Hub at Thomson Reuters, 3 Times Square, New York, NY

February 13, 2012 33opm

Event information…

MODERATOR: 

• Janine Gibson, Editor-in-Chief, Guardian US (@JanineGibson)

PANELISTS:

• Andrew Revkin, Environmental Journalist; Dot Earth Blogger, The New York Times; Senior Fellow, Pace Academy for Applied Environmental Studies (@Revkin)
• Fabien Cousteau, Environmental Advocate; Founder, Plant A Fish (@FCousteau)
• Dr. David E. Guggenheim, Senior Fellow, The Ocean Foundation; Host, The Ocean Doctor Radio Show (@OceanDoctor)

Watch the video…

November 14, 2011: He was the former trainer of the most famous dolphin of them all, Flipper. There were actually five “Flippers” in all, and when the most well-known of them all, Kathy, died in Ric O’Barry’s arms, he made the profound transition from training dolphins in captivity to combating the captivity industry. His work was featured in the Academy Award-winning film, The Cove (2009), which used covert techniques to expose the brutal dolphin hunt that persists in Taiji, Japan. Ric shares his powerful message with us. Also: What would you do if your nation was going to disappear off the face of the Earth? We get a dramatic answer from ten warrior dancers of the tiny Pacific coral atoll nation of Tokelau.

The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. Or listen to us on your iPhone, Android phone, WebOS phone, BlackBerry or tablet, including the iPad, with the free Stitcher SmartRadio app. See the complete list of episodes. Follow The Ocean Doctor on Twitter — Become a Fan on Facebook! Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below. Like the show? Learn how to become a sponsor.

Why Dolphins Must be Free — A Plea from Ric O’Barry (The Cove)

Left to Right: Ric O'Barry, Lincoln O'Barry and David E. Guggenheim

For millions around the world – even in the Soviet Union – a TV show from the sixties captivated us and, if we weren’t already in love with dolphins, we soon would be.

Our very special guest is Ric O’Barry who was the former trainer of Flipper. There were actually five “Flippers” in all, and when the most well-known of them all, Kathy, died in his arms, he made the profound transition from training dolphins in captivity to combating the captivity industry. His work was featured in the Academy Award-winning film, The Cove (2009), which used covert techniques to expose the brutal dolphin hunt that persists in Taiji, Japan. Ric shares his powerful message with us and you may be surprised that Ric O’Barry is not as angry at the Japanese fishermen responsible for the brutal killing of dolphins as he is with people you may have considered role models.

Ric O’Barry started out capturing and training dolphins for the Miami Seaquarium and through the 1960s became the head trainer for the five dolphins who collectively played Flipper on the beloved American TV show seen around the world.

Captive bottlenose dolphin and Ric O'Barry (Photo: David E. Guggenheim)

When Kathy, the dolphin who most often played Flipper, died in O’Barry’s arms, he realized that capturing, displaying and training dolphins to perform tricks was wrong. On Earth Day in 1970 he founded The Dolphin Project, an organization dedicated to educating the public about the plight of dolphins in captivity. He also pioneered work to demonstrate rehabilitation and release as a viable alternative for captive dolphins. He has has since rescued and released over twenty-five captive dolphins in Haiti, Colombia, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, The Bahamas and the United States.

Delighting in the company of wild dolphins...in the wild -- White Sand Ridge, Bahamas. Ric O'Barry advocates enjoying dolphins in their natural habitat, not in captivity. (Photos courtesy of Christine Guinness)

 See more of Christine Guinness’ spectacular photography and video at: www.ChristineGuinness.com

For the last 40+ years he has shared his firsthand knowledge of the harmful effects of captivity on dolphins at numerous lectures and conferences around the world. In 1991 in recognition of his contribution to the protection of dolphins O’Barry received an Environmental Achievement Award, presented by the United States Committee for the United Nations Environmental Program. In 2007 he became a marine mammal specialist for Earth Island Institute and director of the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign

Working with Save Japan Dolphins, O’Barry leads an international effort to stop the killing of dolphins, end the trafficking in live dolphins to theme parks and captive swim-with-the-dolphins attractions and continues to lecture and speak out against the captivity industry.

O’Barry is featured in the Academy Award winning documentary film The Cove, which brought the world’s attention to the hidden connection between the killing, capture, trade and display of dolphins all over the world. O’Barry and his son Lincoln O’Barry are also behind the Blood Dolphin$ TV show for Discovery’s Animal Planet, which continues on where The Cove left off.

If you haven’t seen The Cove, it is a compelling, chilling and remarkable documentary whose impact continues to grow around the world.

Ric doesn’t smile much. He’s no-nonsense and serious. But that belies a tremendous warmth and compassion – especially for the world’s dolphins.

The Cove — Trailer

Water is Rising

Tokelau Dancers (Photo: Danee Hazama, courtesy of WaterIsRising.com)

A visiting group of performers from “Water is Rising” – representing the Pacific coral atoll nations of Kiribati, Tokelau, and Tuvalu – gave an impromptu, unscheduled performance in their street clothes, right in front of the Giant Squid exhibit at Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History.

 Kiribati, Tokelau and Tuvalu are tiny, with populations of 100,000, 1,500 and 12,000 respectively. As highlighted in the Copenhagen UN Climate Change Conference of 2009, these Pacific atolls are at the front lines of global warming. With their highest elevations at only 9 to 15 feet above sea level, they risk becoming the first cultures on earth to be submerged by climate change.

 A group of 36 dancers and musicians from the islands are on tour in the U.S. to raise awareness about climate change. Below is a video of the  warrior dance by 10 warrior dancers from Tokelau. As the group spokesperson told the audience, the highest point on Tokelau is a coconut tree. In earlier times, the warrior dance was meant to intimidate others. It’s energy is hypnotic and you may agree it conveys the vigor and passion of a culture that wants very much to survive.

Links and Notes

• Save Japan Dolphins — A Project of Earth Island Institute
• Water is Rising
• Christine Guinness – Photography and Video

Citizens of the Sea, available at Amazon.com:

"A Fragile Empire" can be found in the May 2011 issue of National Geographic magazine on newsstands April 26 (Photo: National Geographic)

Earlier this year, World Resources Institute released its “Reefs at Risk Revisited Report” (featured on The Ocean Doctor Radio Show) which spelled out a rather grim future for coral reefs due to both local and global threats, should we fail to take action. One of the bright spots in its report was Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, which has fared better than many other reefs around the world and has in place strong protections and management practices. But even this massive and remote reef system isn’t immune from the impacts affecting coral reefs worldwide. In “A Fragile Empire” National Geographic Magazine (May 2011) writer Jennifer S. Holland explores the various factors that are threatening Australia’s monumental reef. From rising water temperatures, to bleaching, massive flooding and high levels of acidity, the reef is in danger of collapsing and the prospect for recovery is uncertain.

A warming climate is pushing corals against the upper limit of their thermal tolerance, evidenced by mass bleachings like the one in 1997-98. A 60-year decline in ocean phytoplankton—microscopic organisms that form the base of the food chain — may also be playing a role. Recent flooding in Australia washed enormous plumes of sediments and toxins far offshore to the reef tract. And now, thanks to increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, the oceans are becoming more and more acidic as more of this atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in seawater. As the oceans become more acid, limiting the ability of organisms, like corals and shellfish, to build their limestone shells and skeletons.

Featuring the incredible underwater  photography of David Doubliet, “A Fragile Empire” National Geographic Magazine (May 2011) tells the story of a fragile empire on the edge.

"Reefs for me are places for solitude and thought," says Australian marine scientist Charlie Veron, here admiring a garden of stony corals on the northern Great Barrier Reef. "But I know there is fragility in their existence. I fear what lies ahead." (Photo: David Doubliet/National Geographic)

The clownish grin of a bridled parrotfish reveals its power tools: grinding teeth used to scrape algae from rock. Though sometimes destructive to individual corals, the fish's efforts are mostly beneficial. Without them, algal growth could smother the reef. Scarus frenatus (Photo: David Doubilet/National Geographic)

Time and tides and a planet in eternal flux brought the Great Barrier Reef into being millions of years ago, wore it down, and grew it back—over and over again. Now all the factors that let the reef grow are changing at a rate the Earth has never before experienced. This time the reef may degrade below a crucial threshold from which it cannot bounce back.
- “A Fragile Empire” National Geographic Magazine (May 2011)

Following a full-moon night or two each year, immobile stony corals like Acropora millepora release egg and sperm bundles simultaneously in an orgy of mass spawning. Fertilized eggs, once they have settled near and far, are the stuff of new colonies. (Photo: David Doubliet/National Geographic)

Inaccessible Island, a World Heritage Site

ABOARD PRINCE ALBERT II: I spoke today with Katrine Herrion, a project officer of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) stationed at Tristan da Cunha.

Katrine was camped on Inaccessible Island last weekend and reports that as of Sunday, oil completely surrounded the island. She and her team observed nearly 100 oiled penguins just before they departed. Clearly many more are being impacted.

Trevor Glass, Director of the Tristan da Cunha Department of Conservation was planning to return to Tristan da Cunha from Nightingale Island with around 750 penguins for rehabilitation. This represents a small percentage of the number of birds estimated to be impacted at this point, conservatively estimated at more than 10,000.

Because penguins cannot fly, it is impossible for them to avoid the oil when entering and exiting the water. Oil impacts the waterproof properties of their feathers and makes them vulnerable to hypothermia by reducing their feather’s insulation abilities. Oil can seriously impact the birds’ eyes and other tissues and can poison them if they ingest the oil while attempting to clean their feathers. A number of oiled seals have also been observed on Nightingale Island.

Please Help! The Ocean Foundation has established the Nightingale Island Disaster Penguin and Seabird Rescue Fund and your tax-deductible donations will go directly to assist the teams at Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island working to rescue and rehabilitate endangered penguins and other seabirds. Your help is very urgently needed!

March 21, 2011: The Prince Albert II finds itself in the middle of a rescue mission as its expedition team comes to the rescue of a cargo ship that has run aground at one of the most remote islands in the world, Nightingale Island, part of the Tristan da Cunha island group, an area that is home to the second largest population of seabirds in the world, including half of the world’s endangered Northern Rockhopper penguin population. When the ship breaks up and begins spilling its 300,000 gallons of heavy marine oil, it becomes clear that this may rank as one of the most serious environmental disasters of its kind.

The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.

Follow The Ocean Doctor on Twitter — Become a Fan on Facebook!

Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.

Like the show? Learn how to become a sponsor.

Aboard the Cape to Cape Expedition

Vessel "Oliva" breaking apart and spilling oil at Nightingale Island (Photo: D. Guggenheim)

For photos, tracking map and blog posts from the Cape to Cape Expedition, please visit our Cape to Cape Expedition Tracking Page

Please Help! The Ocean Foundation has established the Nightingale Island Disaster Penguin and Seabird Rescue Fund and your tax-deductible donations will go directly to assist the teams at Nightingale Island, Tristan da Cunha and Inaccessible Island working to rescue and rehabilitate endangered penguins and other seabirds. Your help is very urgently needed!

March 14, 2011: Join the Ocean Doctor aboard the Prince Albert II as he reports from the Cape to Cape Expedition, traveling from the tip of South America to the tip of South Africa. This week we follow Ernest Shackleton’s footsteps on South Georgia Island where he found rescue for his doomed Antarctic expedition. We also get up close – very close – to the splendid Antarctic wildlife of this beautiful island, encountering penguins, seals, albatross and learn about the legacy of whaling here.

The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.

Follow The Ocean Doctor on Twitter — Become a Fan on Facebook!

Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.

Like the show? Learn how to become a sponsor.

Aboard the Cape to Cape Expedition

For photos, tracking map and blog posts from the Cape to Cape Expedition, please visit our Cape to Cape Expedition Tracking Page

Shackleton's "Endurance," Trapped in the Antarctic Ice

March 7, 2011: Join the Ocean Doctor aboard the Prince Albert II as he reports from the Cape to Cape Expedition, traveling from the tip of South America to the tip of South Africa. This week, we “land in a postcard” in beautiful Ushuaia, Argentina and encounter penguins and albatross in the beautiful Falkland Islands. Also: The second of a two-part look at a newly-issued report by World Resources Institute, “Reefs at Risk Revisited” a report that history may well show is the most important report about the oceans to be released this century. It’s more than a wakeup call – it’s truly our last call to take action to save coral reefs.

The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.

Follow The Ocean Doctor on Twitter — Become a Fan on Facebook!

Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.

Like the show? Learn how to become a sponsor.

Aboard the Cape to Cape Expedition: Ushuaia and the Falkland Islands

For photos, tracking map and blog posts from the Cape to Cape Expedition, please visit our Cape to Cape Expedition Tracking Page

Also: Reefs at Risk Revisited (Part 2 of 2)

Eleven years ago, the World Resources Institute (WRI) released a landmark report entitled, “Reefs at Risk” which put its finger on the pulse of the world’s coral reefs. It was an enlightening but stark portrait of coral reefs around the world. Enlightening because it shed light on how important these ecosystems are but stark in giving us a clear picture of the threats and what we needed to do about it. At the National Press Club in Washington, WRI released “Reefs at Risk Revisited,” updating and expanding its analysis of more than a decade ago. Things have gotten worse – much worse in most places around the world. And the forecast is bleak, but certainly not hopeless. If ever there was a call to action, Reefs at Risk Revisted is it —  if we want coral reefs on this planet.

The report was introduced by a panel including WRI president Jonathan Lash, WRI senior associate and report lead author, Lauretta Burke,  Dr. Jane Lubchenko, Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, and Dr. Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science at Smithsonian.

This week our guest is Lauretta Burke, WRI senior associate and lead author of the report. We explore what the report means and what we can do about it.

Links:

World Resources Institute – Reefs at Risk Revisited

February 28, 2011: Few animals provoke the imagination and wonder of the sea like the squid. The giant squid is thought to have been the basis of the myriad of sea monster tales that have been spun over the centuries. And while we now know more about these animals than ever before, there’s still an incredible amount of mystery remaining to be unveiled. The book is “Kraken: The Curious, Exciting and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid” and its author and our guest today, Wendy Williams, award-winning writer and journalist. Also: First of a two-part look at a newly-issued report by World Resources Institute, “Reefs at Risk Revisited” a report that history may well show is the most important report about the oceans to be released this century. It’s more than a wakeup call – it’s truly our last call to take action to save coral reefs.

The Ocean Doctor airs weekly on WebTalkRadio.net. Want to listen on your iPod, iPhone or mp3 player? Download the mp3 file or subscribe on iTunes and don’t miss a single episode. See the complete list of episodes.

Follow The Ocean Doctor on Twitter — Become a Fan on Facebook!

Submit a question and I’ll try to answer it on the air. Even better, record your question or comment on our special message line and I might play it on the air. Call: (805) 619-9194. You can also leave questions and comments for this episode below.

Like the show? Learn how to become a sponsor.

Kraken: Up Close and Very Personal With the Giant Squid

Our Guest: Wendy Williams, author of "Kraken: The Curious, Exciting and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid"

Few animals provoke the imagination and wonder of the sea like the squid. The giant squid is thought to have been the basis of the myriad of sea monster tales that have been spun over the centuries. And while we now know so much more about these animals than ever before, there’s still an incredible amount of mystery remaining to be unveiled.

The book is “Kraken: The Curious, Exciting and Slightly Disturbing Science of Squid” and its author and our guest today, Wendy Williams. She is a writer and journalist based in Cape Cod and has authored several books including “Cape Wind: Money, Celebrity, Class Politics and the Battle for Our Energy Future” which was named one of 2007’s 10 best environmental books by Booklist and one of the year’s best science books by Library Journal. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Science, the Wall Street Journal among many others and she has won a number of awards for her investigative reporting.

Latest Price at Amazon.com

Also: Reefs at Risk Revisited (Part 1 of 2)

Eleven years ago, the World Resources Institute (WRI) released a landmark report entitled, “Reefs at Risk” which put its finger on the pulse of the world’s coral reefs. It was an enlightening but stark portrait of coral reefs around the world. Enlightening because it shed light on how important these ecosystems are but stark in giving us a clear picture of the threats and what we needed to do about it. Last week at the National Press Club here in Washington, WRI released “Reefs at Risk Revisited,” updating and expanding its analysis of more than a decade ago. Things have gotten worse – much worse in most places around the world. And the forecast is bleak, but certainly not hopeless. If ever there was a call to action, Reefs at Risk Revisted is it —  if we want coral reefs on this planet.

The report was introduced by a panel including WRI president Jonathan Lash, WRI senior associate and report lead author, Lauretta Burke,  Dr. Jane Lubchenko, Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, and Dr. Nancy Knowlton, Sant Chair for Marine Science at Smithsonian.

Links:

Kraken Book Web Site

World Resources Institute – Reefs at Risk Revisited

Breathtaking Imagery, Touching Story Brings Awareness of Global Warming’s Arctic Impacts to Millions

Sarah Robertson and Adam Ravetch are presented with the Lowell Thomas Award at The Explorers Club in New York (Photo by David E. Guggenheim)

NEW YORK, New York — Our good friends and colleagues Adam Ravetch and Sarah Robertson of Arctic Bear Productions and the Arctic Exploration Fund made their Hollywood directorial debut this year with the hit, feature length, theatrical film ARCTIC TALE. They were recently honored for this important achievement, and the important conservation message the film conveys, with the presentation of the prestigious Lowell Thomas Award at the Explorers Club in New York. The award is named in honor of famed adventurer and broadcast journalist Lowell Thomas and is awarded to those who have pushed the lmits of discovery, knowledge and human endurance and have excelled in communicating the importance of exploration and the field sciences to the general public.

A story of unsinkable family devotion, unfolding courage and extraordinary survival, ARCTIC TALE takes audiences of all ages on an epic adventure inside an icy kingdom at the very top of the earth. There a bold little polar bear, Nanu, and a wily young walrus, Seela, are about to tackle the brave new world that confronts them with everything they’ve got. The storyteller of this unforgettable ARCTIC TALE, with a script written partly by nature itself, is Academy Award nominee Queen Latifah with music by Ben Harper, Aimee Mann and The Shins. The DVD, released in early December 2007, includes a behind-the-scenes look at the grueling work and seemingly insurmountable challenges of filming in the harsh environment of the Arctic.

As a compilation of Adam and Sarah’s incredible work in the Arctic, it can be said that this film was 15 years in the making. While incredibly entertaining and visually stunning, the film conveys important conservation messages facing the Arctic today, especially global warming. Our heartfelt congratulations to Adam and Sarah.

Sarah Robertson and Adam Ravetch, Directors of Arctic Tale

Donate to the Arctic Exploration Fund to help Adam and Sarah continue their important work in the Arctic.