Archive for category: Cuba

Jacques Cousteau, Fidel Castro and Cuba’s Undying Passion for the Sea

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The Ocean Doctor on WebTalkRadio.net

December 6, 2010: Join The Ocean Doctor on a field trip to Havana to visit with Cuba’s next-generation of marine scientists at the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas). We visit with the Center’s new director, Dr. Jorge A. Angulo Vald’s. We also visit with Dr. Julia Azanza Ricardo who directs the Center’s unique sea turtle research and conservation program in the wilds of Guanahacabibes Biosphere Reserve on Cuba’s western tip. For these two and their colleagues, their passion for the sea runs deep, thanks in large part to two influential people in their lives: Jacques Cousteau and Fidel Castro.

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.

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.

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Cuba and the U.S. Find Friendship and Hope in the Gulf of Mexico

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The Ocean Doctor on WebTalkRadio.net

October 18, 2010: After 50 years without formal diplomatic relations and no end to the last vestiges of the Cold War in sight, marine scientists and conservationists have taken matters into their own hands to form the Trinational Initiative for Marine Science and Conservation in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean, a unique partnership of Cuba, Mexico and the United States that is working past political barriers to make a difference for the waters we share and forging new friendships along the way. The Trinational Initiative recently held its fourth meeting in Sarasota, Florida and after nearly a decade of the Administration denying visas, more than 20 Cubans received their visas and participated in the meeting. The Ocean Doctor leads the meeting and shares its successes.

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.

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.

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The Gulf of Mexico: What’s at Stake

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This video highlights the vast diversity of marine life throughout the Gulf at risk from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster. The video provides an underwater tour of the Gulf by sub and scuba, encompassing the U.S., Cuba and Mexico. Produced for the opening of the first State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit in 2006, it was also shown before Congress on 5/19/2010 as part of the testimony of Dr. Sylvia A. Earle.

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Cuba Could Be Impacted by Gulf Oil Spill

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Cuba’s Northwestern Coast Along the Gulf of Mexico

For the most up-to-date information on the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill’s potential impacts on Cuba, please visit our special “Cuba at Risk” page.

Since its discovery of oil and natural gas reserves in the Florida straits, Cuba’s preparations for full-scale offshore oil and gas development has raised alarm in the United States, particularly in Florida where it is estimated that much of a catastrophic spill originating in Cuba would be swept by Gulf currents. Ironically, it is now Cuba that faces the threat of a massive oil spill by the United States. The disastrous oil spill from the BP Deepwater Horizon now threatens Cuba, the largest and most biologically diverse island in the Caribbean, due to those same Gulf currents. To make matters worse, the economic embargo imposed upon Cuba by the United States decades ago makes collaboration and coordination exceedingly difficult during this crisis. Read more

A Blueprint of Collaboration ? and Friendship ? with Cuba

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Nearly 60 representatives from Cuba, Mexico and the U.S. convened in Havana in October 2009 to finalize a "Plan of Action" for future collaboration in marine research and conservation focused in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean Sea

Nearly 60 representatives from Cuba, Mexico and the U.S. convened in Havana in October 2009 to finalize a "Plan of Action" for future collaboration in marine research and conservation focused in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean Sea


HAVANA, Cuba — On October 25-26, 2009 the third meeting of a growing partnership of U.S, Cuban and Mexican institutions dedicated to strengthening collaboration in marine research and conservation convened in Havana, Cuba and has resulted in the near-finalization of a new five-year “Plan of Action,” a blueprint for future collaboration. The ongoing effort, led by The Ocean Foundation, the Center for International Policy, the Cuban Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, and the Mexican Secretariat of the Navy has set the stage for an unprecedented level of collaboration among the three nations, including the creation of new projects and partnerships along with additional funding to support them. Read more

OMG, I Thought You Were Dead!

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You’ve seen it in the faces of infants when they recognize their mother’s smiling face above. You’ve seen it on the face of an old friend across the room when she suddenly recognizes you…after all those years. And Doug Shulz, producer at Partisan Pictures, saw it clearly on my face, when he tapped me on the shoulder and pointed toward an old friend I hadn’t seen in nearly 35 years.

When we humans recognize a friend, our faces convey it with a distinctive widening of the eyes. Combine that with the surprise of seeing someone we aren’t expecting to see, our eyes grow even wider, often accompanied by a cartoon-like jaw drop. Judging from Doug’s expression while observing my face, I can only imagine how wide my eyes were. Since we were 20 feet beneath Cuba’s Gulf of Mexico waters, it must have been difficult for him to discern between an expression of surprise and delight versus a textbook example of wide-eyed diver panic. My eyes were transfixed on my old friend with a funny name whom I hadn’t laid eyes on since I was a teenager. Larger than life, vibrant, and embracing the sun, my friend was very much alive and healthy, clearly enjoying the good life in Cuba.

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Cuba’s Offshore Oil Development ? Radio Discussion on NPR-WGCU

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Tune in to NPR station WGCU (Southwest Florida) on Wednesday, August 26, 2009 at noon Eastern/9am Pacific. Dr. David E. Guggenheim, the “Ocean Doctor,” will be part of a radio discussion on “Gulf Coast Live,” for a program focused on oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, and specifically, the fact that Cuba is now rapidly pursuing the development of its oil resources in the Gulf following the discovery of a major oil reserve there in 2004.

From WGCU: “The battle lines have been drawn and the fight over oil in the Gulf deepens. We’ll take a closer look at the pros and cons of drilling – we’ll hear from both sides as to whether or not it can solve our oil and gas dependency and whether it’s even safe. Also on the show – Cuba is ready to begin drilling off its northern coast. It may start leasing to companies willing to drill for oil by the end of next year. Is Cuba’s oil demand going to affect Florida’s waters?“

Listen to the archived broadcast at WGCU.

Cuba Loses its Mother Ocean

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Dr. Maria Elena Ibarra Martin

Cuba has lost its Mother Ocean. Dr. María Elena Ibarra Martín, director of the University of Havana’s Center for Marine Research (Centro de Investigaciones Marinas, CIM) since 1981, passed away yesterday afternoon after a month-long struggle following heart surgery. CIM is the only academic institution in Cuba where marine biologists are trained, and her loss is mourned by hundreds of her students, many of whom grew up to become her colleagues — and friends. Her selfless, tireless dedication goes far beyond words, and the impact she has made on education, conservation, and her unique model of personal integrity will no doubt endure for centuries to come. When I last saw Doctora in February, she was as busy as ever, wrestling mountains of paperwork on her desk while never letting go of her visionary perspective about conservation and education. Nor did she ever let go of her special fondness for sea turtles and her love for and dedication to her students.

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Event: A New Era for U.S.-Cuba Relations on Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation

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Event Summary
Cuba sits at the convergence of the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Its coastal waters are dense with islets, keys and reefs that provide critical habitats and spawning grounds for a rich array of fish, endangered sea turtles, manatees and other marine life. Preserving Cuba’s biodiversity is critically important to the natural resources and economies of coastal communities in the United States and other neighboring countries. Read more

Google Earth 5.0 ? Now With Genuine Ocean!

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The ExpeditionCasts podcast is back! The series returns with the video version of the Ocean Doctor’s popular blog post, “Attacked by the Giant Squid’s Cousins.” (You can access the video version below.) That’s big news. But the GINORMOUS news is that ExpeditionCasts returns along with a new version of Google Earth. Version 5.0 of Google Earth allows you to explore the other 70 percent of the planet — the world’s oceans — and access stunning underwater video content from around the world.  We have been privileged to be a contributor to this enormous, er, GINORMOUS project, and you’ll find five ExpeditionCasts videos among the others Google Earth 5.0. Look for them in Alaska’s Bering Sea and off the northwestern coast of Cuba.

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