2011 Blue Vision Summit

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Blue Vision Summit 2011Join the Blue Frontier Campaign and members of the national and international marine community at the 2011 Blue Vision Summit as the oceans community comes together again to raise its profile and work towards the enactment and enforcement of national ocean policy, addressing climate change impacts and Gulf restoration. Recent setbacks in our efforts for healthy seas such as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and on-going and growing concerns over the collapse of marine wildlife and ocean acidification reinforce the importance and timeliness of this event. Read more

1planet1ocean is out. Ocean Doctor is in.

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1planet1ocean is out. Ocean Doctor is in.

1planet1ocean is out. Ocean Doctor is in.

1planet1ocean is out. Ocean Doctor is in. The reason? When my daughter came up with, “Ocean Doctor,” it was clever, catchy and immediately caught on as my moniker and even as the name of my radio show. 1planet1ocean – a project of The Ocean Foundation, served us well since 2004, but in a frenzy of New Year cleansing and simplifying, I felt it best to let go of the old and embrace the new. Read more

PBS “Nature” 2010-11 Premiere Features Dr. David E. Guggenheim’s Work in Cuba

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Cuba: The Accidental Eden features the work of Dr. David E. Guggenheim

Cuba: The Accidental Eden features the work of Dr. David E. Guggenheim

With the episode, “Cuba: The Accidental Eden,” the 2010-11 season premiere of the acclaimed PBS series, “Nature” features Dr. David E. Guggenheim, along with other Cuban and American colleagues. The episode can be viewed in its entirety online (see below) and is now available on DVD and Blu-ray disc.

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Leading Ocean Scientists Issue Consensus Statement to End Dispersant Use in Gulf

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Chemical dispersants being released near Houma, Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico (USCG photo)

Chemical dispersants being released near Houma, Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico (USCG photo)

Leading ocean researchers and conservation leaders have issued a joint Consensus Statement calling for the immediate halt of the use of chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico. BP has used nearly two million gallons of Corexit chemical dispersants in the Gulf of Mexico as part of the cleanup effort with support from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The massive volume of dispersants and the way they have been applied — both on the surface and one mile below the surface — is unprecedented. Once oil is dispersed in deep water, it cannot be recovered. Read more

Gulf Spill: MSNBC Appearance by Dr. David E. Guggenheim, the "Ocean Doctor"

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President of 1planet1ocean, Dr. David Guggenheim, the “Ocean Doctor,” appeared on MSNBC‘s Dayside with Alex Witt on June 6, 2010 to discuss the impacts of the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico:

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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

Acid Oceans: The Gravest and Most Immediate Planetary Threat Yet?

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Ocean acidification may present one of the gravest threats to our planet’s ecosystems and yet it is also one of the least publicized aspects of the global climate change issue. Acidification is occurring very rapidly, causing unprecedented changes to the chemistry of the oceans. It’s been estimated that roughly half of human-produced CO2 emissions over the past two centuries (since the beginning of the industrial age) have been absorbed by the oceans, leading to a drop in ocean surface pH of nearly 0.1 units (on the logarithmic pH scale).

Coral Reef in Timor (Photo courtesy of Nick Hobgood)

Coral Reef in Timor (Photo courtesy of Nick Hobgood)

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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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Roz Savage Solo Row Across the Pacific Now Underway

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Roz Savage aboard Brocade in the PacificOn May 25, 2008, Roz Savage rowed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge and into the Pacific Ocean, which she is now attempting to cross — rowing solo. She has already completed such a journey across the Atlantic, and is using her adventures to raise awareness of environmental issues and inspire others to rise to their own challenges. Our friends at Blue Frontier Campaign, including its founder, David Helvarg, have been keenly engaged in Roz’s journey and working with Roz to make sure that her journey brings strong awareness about the oceans. (1planet1ocean president David E. Guggenheim is a member of Blue Frontier Campaign’s Advisory Council).
As a courtesy to Roz and her many fans around the world, 1planet1ocean has assembled a special tracking page to help you track and participate in Roz’s incredible journey. You’ll find an interactive Google map, and you can even track her adventures using Google Earth. The map has links to Roz’s photos and to her blog posts, which she is continuing to provide via satellite from sea. For more information, please be sure to visit Roz’s web site.

New Species Found, New Records Set, Beneath the Bering Sea

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A New Species of Sponge: Aaptos kanuux, Discovered During Last Summer's Greenpeace Expedition to the Bering Sea (Photo © Greenpeace/Thomas Einberger)BERING SEA, Alaska — On August 1, 2007, Kenneth Lowyck took his tiny sub to one of the expedition’s “shallower” dives, to about 700 feet into the Bering Sea’s Pribolof Canyon, where he extended the sub’s manipulator arm and collected rock containing a tiny, unassuming white sponge. Months later, there would be no doubt: This was a new species, named Aaptos kanuux, the word “kanuux” being the Aleut word for “heart,” in honor of the Bering Sea’s canyons, considered to be the heart of the Bering Sea. It was the first time the genus Aaptos has ever been documented in the Bering Sea. The discovery comes on the heels of Earth Day and will likely herald future announcements of new species discovered during last summer’s Greenpeace expedition to the Bering Sea’s two largest canyons. Read more