LISTEN TO YOUR (PENGUIN) HEART ~ HOW PRECIOUS!!!

LISTEN TO YOUR HEART ~ Mike Rowland, Film by Ruedi & Priska Abbühl Uploaded on Jan 29, 2011

Credit for this beautiful Emperor Penguin film goes to Ruedi & Priska Abbühl… And the Music … All glory goes to composer Mike Rowland from the album “My Elfin Friends,” who is currently compiling a book about the power of healing through music…I have the impression that to penguins, man is a different kind of penguin, unpredictable, occasionally violent, but tolerable company when he sits still and admires Nature and leaves it as he found it. ~Aetopus/AC

WHERE PENGUINS LIVE: Penguins do not live in the Arctic. They live on the shores of Antarctica and they also live in the south of Australia, New Zealand, America & Africa. The most northerly place that penguins live is on the Galapagos Islands which is near Ecuador in South America. Even though there is ice in Canada and the Arctic, penguins don’t live there or in the northern half of the world.

No other animal other than penguins can draw attention to the environmental damaged caused by oil and gas drilling (fracking and mountaintop removal), my reason for ending this video with the message “NO TO ARCTIC DRILLING!” ~Aetopus/AC
Please see my previous blog, “Fracking Hell ~ A Catastrophe!”                    

Here is a great YouTube video, “Birth and March of Emperor Penguins“, from Nature’s Great Events – In the coldest part of the planet, Emperor Penguins breed and give birth to their young, only to begin a great march toward the coast.

Links:
– PlanetSave: http://www.planetsave.com/
GreenpeaceUSA: http://www.youtube.com/greenpeaceusa

– Mike Rowland website: http://www.mikerowland.co.uk/
iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/mik…
Ambient Classical Mike and Jana Rowland: http://www.ambientclassical.com/

FATHOMS DEEP!!! ~ THE COUSTEAU LEGACY LIVES ON

FATHOMS DEEP ~ Protecting the Seafloor

“The future is in the hands of those who explore… and from all the beauty they discover while crossing perpetually receding frontiers, they develop for nature and humankind an infinite love.” ~ Jacques Cousteau

We have a great opportunity to watch an incredible video created by Alexandra Cousteau – YouTube Sep 13, 2012. I hope you  find this to be as educational and entertaining as I did.

In 2010 and 2011 Oceana partnered with SeaLife Conservation and their eco-research sailboat, the Derek M. Baylis, and the Monterey Bay Sanctuary to explore and document Monterey Bay and other incredible West Coast ocean habitats with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and camera  ~ “FATHOMS DEEP – Protecting the Seafloor”, narrated by Alexandra Cousteau.

“Mankind has had an affinity for the ocean since our earliest beginnings. Near or far, the ocean draws us in. The longer you stare at the ocean, the more you take in its wonder. The deeper you go, the more you appreciate its complexity.  Landing on the soft substrata of the sea floor is like arriving on another planet. It appears flat and barren, but in fact, it is teeming with life.”

Wikipedia web site has a lengthy bio on Alexandra Phillipe  Cousteau, the granddaughter of world famous French explorer and filmmaker Jacques-Yves Cousteau: “A member of the third generation of the Cousteau family to devote their lives to exploring and explaining the natural world, Cousteau first went on expedition with her father, Philippe Cousteau, when she was four months old, and learned to scuba dive with her grandfather, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, when she was seven. She grew up traveling the globe, developed a passion for adventure and learned firsthand the value of conserving the natural world. Of her father and grandfather, Cousteau says, “The best example they gave me was the importance of living a life of consequence, value, and meaning. I honor their memories by creating a legacy of my own in speaking out for the preservation of our blue planet and all its waters.”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexandra_Cousteau

Learn more about the expedition and adventure @ oceana.org

HOW AWESOME IS THIS?! SEADRAGONS PART 1

Part 1 of this blog is about the Weedy Seadragons ~
“Life – Weedy seadragons dance into the night” – BBC One
Uploaded by BBC on Nov 3, 2009

About the programme: http://www.bbc.co.uk/life
These two could teach Strictly Come Dancing a thing or two. Named for their uncanny resemblance to the plant life around them, a male weedy seadragon seduces a female with some very fancy fin work. Two months later, however, the male is the one whos left carrying the eggs.

Living off the coast of south Australia, weedy seadragons (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus) are the only known species along with sea horses and pipefish – where the male carries the eggs. Although the eggs start out in the female, she lays about 120 of them onto the tail of the male where they are then fertilized and develop until they hatch.

Feeding on plankton, larval fishes and small shrimp-like crustaceans, seadragons resemble swaying seaweed making them difficult to find in their natural habitats, even though they can grow to about 46 cm in length.

YouTube video, “Weedy Sea Dragons, uploaded by stephenjt on Feb 3, 2007 ~ Weedy sea dragons near Hobart, Tasmania, filmed mostly on a single dive in January 2007.

YouTube video, “Botany Bay Watch – Weedy Seadragon Project Aware Survey Trip”, uploaded by Aquapix on Aug 29, 2009 ~  Training Dive Botany Bay – The Steps August 29th 2009 Volunteer Training Course, www.botanybaywatch.com.au,

In this YouTube video, “Weedy Sea Dragon,  Uploaded by thelning on Dec 23, 2008, you can get an up close and personal perspective of these exotic creatures.The weird and wonderful weedy seadragon. Filmed at Jervis bay, NSW, Australia 1986. You can see at the end of the video how well camouflaged the weedy seadragon is, which makes it difficult to find them.

MALE WEEDY SEADRAGON HAS BABIES! ~ Published on Aug 3, 2012 by MontereyBayAquarium ~ In a first at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, a male weedy seadragon has had a brood of more than 80 babies. Like their seahorse cousins, it’s the male sea dragons that carry and hatch the babies. We’re only the fifth aquarium in the U.S. to breed “weedies.”

My next blog will feature the “LEAFY” Seadragons
~ just as awesome!!!
 

DAVID GALLO ~ UNDERWATER ASTONISHMENTS!!!

YOU WILL BE ABSOLUTELY AMAZED AT THE UNIQUE CAPABILITIES OF THESE UNDERWATER CREATURES!!!

http://www.ted.com David Gallo shows jaw-dropping footage of amazing sea creatures, including a color-shifting cuttlefish, a perfectly camouflaged octopus, and a Times Square‘s worth of neon light displays from fish who live in the blackest depths of the ocean. Uploaded by TEDtalksDirector on Jan 14, 2008

I think the “jaw-dropping” moment they refer to happens 4 mins and 24 secs. into the video – don’t miss it!!

The wonderful octopus the ‘Wonderpus’ in Lembeh Strait, Indonesia, was uploaded by TheDigitalCentreon 1 Mar 2011. Filmed in HD by The Digital Centre manager, Christian Loader. Music by Oka.   Eco Divers North Sulawesi, http://www.eco-divers.comWonderpus octopus – Lembeh Strait, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

This video, “octopus Camouflage” was uploaded to YouTube by oldenhaller on 2 Feb 2008. 

Deep sea creature‘s ability to camouflage for many reasons is absolutely fascinating!

TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, politics and the arts. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at
http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10

When I hear David Gallo mention that 97% of the ocean’s world  has yet to be discovered, I can’t wait to see what weird and wonderful mysteries of ‘the ocean deep’ will be studied and shared with us next!  

AUSTRALIA ~ TO CREATE MARINE HAVEN ~ PART 2

In the following breathtaking video, “Australia Great Barrier Reef“, you get a glimpse into the magnitude of the thousands of species that inhabit Australia‘s surrounding ocean ~ Uploaded by mojorisr on Oct 3, 2009; Music: Tiesto-A Tear in the Open, Chilling Crew-For Better Moments, Tribal Trance-Orance Leopard Moon. Quote from YouTube video information: “My intentions were to make a quality trip video. We took a 4 day liveaboard with Mike Ball Dive expeditions ending up at the amazing Osprey Reef. The diving was incredible.”
This is a truly spectacular video and a must see in FULL SCREEN.  I am so envious of the divers who experience this thrill of a lifetime!

Some interesting data about the species that inhabit the waters of Australia’s ocean and the Great Barrier Reef ~

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral reef in the world. It consists of more than 2,900 coral reefs, 600 continental islands, 300 coral cays and thousands of species making it one of the world’s most complex and diverse ecosystems. The animals of the Great Barrier Reef include some 1500 species of marine fish, 360 species of hard corals, between 5000 and 8000 species of mollusks, 600 species of echinoderms, 17 species of sea snakes, 1500 species of sponges, 30 species of whales and dolphins, 6 species of marine turtles, 22 species of seabirds and 32 species of shorebirds which breed on the reef’s many small islands.

Marine Fish of the Great Barrier Reef

There are more than 1500 species of fish that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef. They range in size from the tiny gobies, some of which weigh less than one gram, to the larger bony fishes such as the tuskfish and potato cod, to the massive cartilaginous fishes such as manta rays, tiger sharks and whale sharks. Damselfish, wrasses and tuskfish are among the most abundant fishes on the reef. Other fish of the Great Barrier Reef include blennies, butterfly fish, triggerfish, cowfish, pufferfish, angelfish, anemone fish, coral trout, seahorses, sea perch, sole, scorpion fish, hawkfish and surgeonfish.

Hard Corals of the Great Barrier Reef

The Great Barrier Reef is home to about 360 species of hard corals including bottlebrush coral, bubble coral, brain coral, mushroom coral, staghorn coral, tabletop coral and needle coral. Hard corals, also known as stony corals, are a group of marine animals that live in shallow tropical waters and are responsible for building the structure of a coral reef. Colonies of hard corals grow in various shapes and sizes such as mounds, plates and branches. As previous coral colonies die, new ones grow on top of the limestone skeletons of their predecessors. Over time, this growth creates the three-dimensional architecture of a coral reef. Colonies of hard corals consist of thousands of small individual invertebrates referred to as coral polyps. Each polyp is radially symmetrical with a tube-like body that has a tentacle-rimmed mouth at the tip that it uses to feed.

Sponges and Echinoderms of the Great Barrier Reef

Over 600 species of echinoderms and more than 1500 species of sponges inhabit the Great Barrier Reef.

Echinoderms are bottom-dwelling marine invertebrates. They exhibit a type of radial symmetry called pentamerous symmetry in which their body can be divided into five equal parts around a central axis. The echinoderms of the Great Barrier Reef include sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sea stars, feather stars and brittle stars.

Sponges of the Great Barrier Reef include the yellow burrowing sponge, tubular sponge, thick yellow fan sponge.

Marine Reptiles of the Great Barrier Reef

There are 23 species of marine reptiles that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef including 6 species of sea turtles and 17 species of sea snakes. Occasionally, the saltwater crocodile also ventures out to forage on the reef, although such visits are quite rare.

The sea turtles that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef include the green turtle, loggerhead turtle, hawksbill turtle, flatback turtle, leatherback turtle and the Pacific ridley turtle. Some sea turtle species, such as the green turtle, loggerhead turtle and hawksbill turtle, nest on coral cays. The flatback turtle nests on continental islands and the green and leatherback turtles nest on mainland Australia. When not nesting, these sea turtle species use the waters of the Great Barrier Reef as foraging grounds.

Among the sea snakes of the Great Barrier Reef are the olive sea snake, the turtle-headed sea snake and the sea krait. All sea snakes are venomous.

Marine Mammals of the Great Barrier Reef

About 30 species of whales and dolphins frequent the waters of the Great Barrier Reef including humpback whales, Irrawaddy river dolphins, minke whales and spinner dolphins. Dugongs also inhabit the reef, feeding on the sea grasses that grow in the shallow inshore waters.

Not all of these marine mammals are permanent residents of the Great Barrier Reef. Minke whales and humpback whales visit the reef in winter. Other rorqual whales such as blue whales, fin whales and sei whales also migrate through the Great Barrier Reef region but do not stay for extended periods of time.

Mollusks of the Great Barrier Reef

More than 5000 species of mollusks live in the Great Barrier Reef. These include giant clams, cone shells, nudibranchs, octopus, cuttlefish and squid.

 

 

 

 

In this video, “Australia to create marine haven”, Australia’s Environment Minister, Tony Burke, unveils plans for the world’s largest network of protective marine parks.  Published on Jun 14, 2012 by dawndotcom

 

VIDEO ~ “Australia to build biggest marine reserve“, posted to YouTube by Al Jazeera‘s Andrew Thomas from Sydney, Australia on Jun 15, 2012 ~ The Australian government has announced the creation of the world’s biggest network of marine parks (3.3 million square metres), covering an overall area the size of “India”

This video, “Marine Life off Perth, Western Australia”, just released by the Ocean’s Institute, University of  Western Australia, showing a sequence of video footage captured off Perth, Western Australia.  The marine life shown in this sequence now has a brighter future thanks to the plan for marine sanctuaries off Australia’s South West. Published on Jul 4, 2012 by SaveourmarinelifeWA

 Once again, I hope you all realize how vital the work being done by the World Resources Institute Insights is and will find a way to support their efforts ~ insights.wri.org. 

AUSTRALIA ~ TO CREATE MARINE HAVEN ~ PART1

The following four minute animated video, “Coral Reefs: Polyps in Peril” is presented by WRI Insights ~ insights.wri.org ~ Submitted by Lauretta Burke on July 9, 2012
We strongly recommend you visit WRI’s site to read the full article,”Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Coral Reefs“, . 

Ocean advocate Céline Cousteau and cartoonist Jim Toomey (creator of Sherman’s Lagoon) teamed up with the World Resources Institute to bring you “Coral Reefs: Polyps in Peril”. This short animated film tells the story of coral reefs with humor and admiration for these wondrous ecosystems.  Learn about the unique biology of coral reefs and their importance to people around the world, as well as the serious threats that they face due to overfishing, pollution, and climate change.  But don’t let that get you down!  The film also explores what individuals can do to help save coral reefs, including supporting sustainable seafood and tourism providers, reducing your CO2 footprint, and promoting coral reef conservation. Published to YouTube on Jul 9, 2012 by WorldResourcesInst

As a prelude to this topic you might like to preview two of my previous blogs on the Great Barrier Reef:
1) “Great Barrier Reef Video” ~ posted March 6, 2012 ~ watch the National Geographic totally awesome and mesmerizing video, “Exploring Oceans: Great Barrier Reef”.

2) “Coral Reefs Are in Crisis” ~ posted May 15, 2012.

In my next blog, “Australia ~ To Create Marine Haven”, I will be including four videos and very interesting data about the species that inhabit the waters of Australia’s ocean and  the Great Barrier Reef: Marine Fish;  Hard Corals; Sponges and Echinoderms; Marine Reptiles; Marine Mammals and Mollusks.

I hope you all realize how vital the work being done by the World Resources Institute Insights is and will find a way to support their efforts ~ insights.wri.org. 

See you back here for Part 2

SHARK WEEK 2012 ~ SWIM WITH GREAT WHITE SHARKS!

To observe Shark Week 2012, I’ve found two incredible videos to share with you that I know you will find to be entertaining and educational.

Why ‘Shark Week‘ Sells

The terror of the deep swims onto television screens this week as the Discovery Channel’s beloved ‘Shark Week’ kicked off Sunday evening. Executive producer Brooke Runnette explains the 25-year success of the Discovery Channel event ~ “The Discovery Channel works with scientists across the world to produce the programming that has made Shark Week the staple of every shark enthusiast’s summer. Runnette says marine biologists often pitch ideas to her and the network provides funding for their projects. Discovery Channel also works with the Ocean and Pew Charitable Trusts to sponsor legislation and public service announcements to promote shark conservation.”  ~ excerpt from: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/08/14/why-shark-week-sells

You will probably be amazed by the wealth of information about the great white sharks shared in the following video ~ CNN’S Anderson Cooper on Assignment for 60 minutes ~ YouTube video, “The Sharkman”  Uploaded by CBSNewsOnline on Jul 24, 2011.

Anderson Cooper dives unprotected with great white sharks and Michael Rutzen, known as “The Sharkman”, a South African who’s spent more time up close with the ocean’s most feared predator than anyone else.

According to Rutzen ,”the great white sharks are far from mindless killing machines – great whites are smart, curious and not out to kill humans.”  He says that when looking for a great white shark he can swim with, he needs one who is calm, curious and one he refers to as a ‘player’ – so relaxed, has a nice personality and woke up on the ‘right side of the reef’.

Another amazing video from YouTube ~ “THE SHARKMAN – Micheal Rutzen Hitches Ride On A Great White Shark“.

Michael Rutzen plunges freely with a great white shark. Rutzen eats, sleeps, breathes and dreams of sharks and is on a one-man crusade to prove that rather than being the crazed man-eater from Jaws they are in fact sociable and approachable creatures to anyone who understands their body language. Uploaded by halitkiraz on Aug 22, 2009

I trust that you enjoyed these videos and will share. Let’s hear from you ~ we appreciate your feedback.

25TH ANNUAL SHARK WEEK AUG.12 – 18

Shark enthusiasts world wide know that this week is the 25th celebration of SHARK WEEK,  and for those who didn’t ~ now you do.  Why not let us know how you’re celebrating the event. 

Philip De Franco is Discovery Channel’s host for Shark Week, 2012 and was asked, Why are we so fascinated with sharks? “Sharks are the last ‘wild’ thing. The power and the general awesomeness make them near the top of the food chain, and there is something interesting in all of that.”  “They’re smooth. They’re iconic. They’re a lot of species,” De Franco says of sharks. “They’re just awesome.”

“Great Whites of the Serengeti | Great White Highway” – Shark Week 2012, on the Discovery Channel ~Catch the premiere of SHARK WEEK 2012 Sunday, August 12, 2012 at 9PM e/p on Discovery. | http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/shark-week/#mkcpgn=ytdsc1 | The Pacific Ocean is like a Blue Serengeti, teaming with wildlife, great migrations and sharks. Very big sharks. “Great White Highway” is part of theShark Week

Check out the Discovery channel Shark Week’ viewing for this week:

http://dsc.discovery.com/tv/shark-week/#mkcpgn=ytdsc1

On Tuesday, Aug. 14th” you can watch, “Adrift: 47 Days with Sharks” (10 p.m., Discovery). The true story of soldiers who survived being in shark-infested waters for weeks is revealed in this documentary.

On Thursday, Aug.16th at 9 p.m. you can see, “Great White Highway” (9 p.m., Discovery). California‘s sharks don’t always swim around Hollywood deals. They can be found nearby in the ocean, too.

You’ll find many additional videos to watch with the same link above.

LET’S COOL OFF ~ ARTIC / ANTARCTICA ~ AH-H-H!

At this very moment so many of us are experiencing the unprecedented current heat wave that I thought it would be a great idea to be able to watch some videos to help us cool off ~ hope you enjoy your armchair visits to the top and bottom of our world ~ the Arctic and Antarctica.

Experience the peacefulness of the icebergs in the Arctic and belugas beneath the waves while listening to singer Demetra Penner’s beautiful voice ~ from explore.org

http://explore.org/#!/videos/player/belugas-power-of-the-sea

Crowning the top of the world, the frozen Arctic Ocean provides an unlikely home for a spectrum of enchanting creatures. Above the ice and below, beluga whales, narwhals, bowhead whales, walruses, and murres prosper ~ from nationalgeographic.com.

Lyn Jarvis, contributing editor of Across the Fence, travels to Punta Arenas Chile and then to beautiful Antarctica and presents two videos of his amazing journey.

“If Antarctica were music it would be Mozart; art and it would be Michael Angelo; literature and it would be Shakespeare and yet it is something greater ~ the only place on earth that is still as it should be ~ may we never tame it…”

Lyn Jarvis travels to Antarctica ~ among the highlights; penguins, seals, humpback whales, and a rolling iceberg!

These videos are so refreshing and cooling for me ~ hope they cooled you off as well. 

HOVER CAR ~ CHINA ~ NO WAY! ~ YES, WAY! ~ AWESOME!

THIS IS ABSOLUTELY THE ULTIMATE in the ‘MOST AMAZING THING YOU’VE EVER SEEN’ CATEGORY!!!

Volkswagen gathers ideas from the people of China to help innovate future cars. We took one girl’s idea for a hover car and made it into reality ~ uploaded May 7, 2012 by Proximitycn

Click link below and choose the FIRST OPTION on this web site for a short video with background info of the life of a young Chinese girl, Wang Jia, living in Chengdu, China and her dream come true.
http://www.zaoche.cn

THIS IS ONE VIDEO, “Volkswagen’s The People’s Car Project: Hover Car, Part 2″  YOU WILL DEFINITELY WANT TO SEE “FULL SCREEN”

Volkswagen takes ideas from the people of China to innovate future cars. We secretly took one girl’s idea for a hover car and made it into reality. Watch how Volkswagen – with the help of her friends and family – reveals the surprise to Wang Jia in the following YouTube video ~ “Volkswagen’s The People’s Car Project: Hover Car, Part 2”

I don’t know how any of our viewers feel about this car, but I KNOW that I DEFINITELY WANT ONE!!! 

Ottawa had better have the prerequisite underground minerals to enable me to ‘fly’ around this wonderful city of ours ~ no more traffic gridlocks ~ YAHOO!!!

Let us know what you think.