Ocean News

Nations Will Start Talks to Protect Fish of the High Seas | New York Times

More than half of the world’s oceans belong to no one, which often makes their riches ripe for plunder. In late July, after two years of talks, diplomats at the United Nations recommended starting treaty negotiations to create marine protected areas in waters beyond national jurisdiction — and in turn, begin the high-stakes diplomatic jostling over how much to protect and how to enforce rules.

The commercial interests are powerful. Russian and Norwegian vessels go to the high seas for krill fishing; Japanese and Chinese vessels go there for tuna. India and China are exploring the seabed in international waters for valuable minerals. Many countries are loath to adopt new rules that would constrain them.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
see also: The Outlaw Ocean
Stowaways and Crimes Aboard a Scofflaw Ship
Few places on Earth are as free from legal oversight as the high seas. One ship has been among the most persistent offenders.
Murder at Sea: Captured on Video, but Killers Go Free
A video shows at least four unarmed men being gunned down in the water. Despite dozens of witnesses, the killings went unreported and remain a mystery.
‘Sea Slaves’: The Human Misery That Feeds Pets and Livestock
Men who have fled servitude on fishing boats recount beatings and worse as nets are cast for the catch that will become pet food and livestock feed.
A Renegade Trawler, Hunted for 10,000 Miles by Vigilantes
For 110 days and across two seas and three oceans, crews stalked a fugitive fishing ship considered the world’s most notorious poacher.
Tricked and Indebted on Land, Abused or Abandoned at Sea
Illegal “manning agencies” trick villagers in the Philippines with false promises of high wages and send them to ships notorious for poor safety and labor records.
Maritime ‘Repo Men’: A Last Resort for Stolen Ships
Thousands of boats are stolen each year, and some are recovered using alcohol, prostitutes, witch doctors and other forms of guile.
Palau vs. the Poachers
The island nation has mounted an aggressive response to illegal fishing in their waters. How they protect themselves may help the rest of the world save all of the oceans.
Ending the Abuse of Laws, Workers and the Environment at Sea
Labor, human rights and environmental abuses are widespread largely because the oceans are so sprawling, jurisdiction is complicated and policing is rare.
Sailing Beyond the Rule of Law
How can law and order be brought to the high seas, as crime, piracy and pollution are rampant?

 

Push the UN into the high seas!

 

Global Warming Might Be Speeding Up | Bloomberg

It’s almost universally understood that the Earth will continue to get warmer for the foreseeable future. The rate at which the planet warms, however, won’t remain the same -- it’s likely to speed up. Warming projections based only on historical observations assume the pace of climate change will remain the same; the new study says that as time goes on, things may get worse faster.

A bonus for today: here's how to change a conservative into a liberal (or vice-versa).

 

The world's largest mutual fund provider is pushing companies to disclose how climate change could hurt their business | Business Insider

• Vanguard, the world's largest provider of mutual funds, is pushing companies to disclose the risks climate change poses to their business.
• Vanguard is a top shareholder in many large US corporations, so it can impact how companies are run at high levels.
• It's a sign that investors are taking climate risks seriously.

 

Storm Waves With the Power to Heave Massive Boulders Over Cliffs | New York Times

Along various shorelines around the world are perched very large boulders. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences suggests that in many cases powerful storm surges swept the boulders inward rather than tsunamis.

They found that storm waves are powerful enough to wash massive boulders that originate beneath the ocean’s surface hundreds of feet inland — exactly where they’re found in western Ireland. Climate scientists predict these types of storms are bound to increase in our warming world.

A panoramic view of boulders at Annagh Head, on Ireland’s west coast.​

 

As Greenland Melts, Where’s the Water Going? | New York Times

Each year, Greenland loses 270 billion tons of ice as the planet warms. New research shows that some of the water may be trapped in the ice sheet, which could change how scientists think about global sea levels.

“Sea level rising is 3 millimeters [1/8"] a year right now,” Dr. Wagner said. “But in a hundred years, we could have one to five feet of rise.”

 

The most accurate climate change models predict the most alarming consequences, study finds | Washington Post

The climate change simulations that best capture current planetary conditions are also the ones that predict the most dire levels of human-driven warming, according to a statistical study released in the journal Nature. Under a high warming scenario in which large emissions continue throughout the century, the models as a whole give a mean warming of 4.3 degrees Celsius (or 7.74 degrees Fahrenheit), plus or minus 0.7 degrees Celsius, for the period between 2081 and 2100. But the best models, according to this test, gave an answer of 4.8 degrees Celsius (8.64 degrees Fahrenheit), plus or minus 0.4 degrees Celsius.

The study “would imply that to stabilize temperature at 2 degrees Celsius, you’d have to have 15 percent less cumulative CO2 emissions,” he said. The world can ill afford that — as it is, it is very hard to see how even the current carbon budget can be met. The world is generally regarded as being off track when it comes to cutting its emissions, and with continuing economic growth, the challenge is enormous.

 

You have lived a life style unparalleled in human history because of Science. You have enjoyed amazing advances in health, food, accommodation, communication and technology in general due to Science.

Science has also had to correct the errors man has made. Take DDT, Lead in Petrol, Chlorofluorocarbons, Acid Rain , bad medical practices and a million other things.

Now Science says "Your thriving has created a much bigger problem, we need to fix it".
and your response is "But I have a RIGHT to THRIVE. I am AMERICAN. I DESERVE IT ?

I have news for you - there are Billions more people who also have a right to thrive. (Millions of them have already fled the climate change effects in Europe, for example) They have a right to grow their own food without increasing drought and huge unseasonable deluges. They have a right to harvest food from the increasingly acidic oceans.

"Even though the ocean is immense, enough carbon dioxide can have a major impact. In the past 200 years alone, ocean water has become 30 percent more acidic—faster than any known change in ocean chemistry in the last 50 million years."

This is a very informative article on the phenomena, which as a Boat Forum, should be of interest.

Ocean Acidification http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-acidification

 

Science is a great system of learning. We must not allow it to fall prey to the dark motives of those who would use it to destroy our freedom and prosperity. Science has not shown that our prosperity is responsible for the evils of the world. On the contrary, true science has lifted billions of people out of much misery by making increased prosperity more accessible.

 

It would be good to have DDT back in use. It is of great benefit to mankind.

Bring Back DDT! http://21sci-tech.com/articles/summ02/DDT.html

 

It's really quite easy to find counter-arguments. Oh, well...

DDT, Junk Science, Malaria, and the attack on Rachel Carson

 

Her claims about DDT were largely untrue. The Truth About DDT and Silent Spring http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-truth-about-ddt-and-silent-spring
"Carson abused, twisted, and distorted many of the studies that she cited, in a brazen act of scientific dishonesty.[27]"

 

Study discovers why global warming will accelerate as CO2 levels rise | PHYS.org

In a new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, scientists explain that the influence of increasing levels of atmospheric CO2 on global warming will become more severe over time because the patterns of warming of the Earth's surface will lead to reduced cloud cover in some sensitive regions and less heat being able to escape into space.

The findings are supported by observations, suggesting that forecasts made by climate models evaluated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change are realistic.

 

Science HAS not shown that our prosperity is responsible for the evils of the world. I quoted several in a previous post. DDT, Acid Rain, Chlorofluorocarbons, Particulates from exhausts ( kills 10,00 people a year in London), depletion of groundwater, eradication of species including many important fish, destruction of rainfall catchments, destruction of arable land, near eradication of popular timber species . I can go on and on.

Even if you ignore global warming, Prosperity creates a HUGE number of Evils.

You live in an ipsy dipsy, "USA is right", blindfolded world of ignorance.

 

Yeah, but she wasn't totally wrong.

"Some of the older data still commonly thrown around about DDT toxicity was wrong. However, that doesn't mean that DDT use is completely safe, either. It is still toxic to many organisms and is still very persistant in the environment. There are still a lot of problems associated with its use, as well as legitimate reasons for the proper use of the material as an IRS,"
http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/67365/1/WHO_CDS_WHOPES_2002.5_Rev.1.pdf

DDT finally linked to human health problems
"Pregnant women exposed to the insecticide DDT are much more likely to give birth prematurely, or to full-term but low birth weight babies, says a US team."
DDT finally linked to human health problems https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn1012-ddt-finally-linked-to-human-health-problems/

DDT environmental effects
Twenty years on, Glen Johnson from the Department of Sustainability and Environment says its effects are still being felt on the environment.
"Johnson says pesticides such as DDT's are long lived and have a long half-life. "Perhaps up to half a century on some and they are highly toxic and have the ability to persist and spread throughout the environment. However twenty years since its ban in Australia, Johnson says there are signs of recovery from the effects of DDT; "There has been a dramatic increase in the reproductive success of a whole range of birds like Peregrine Falcons in Australia."
DDT environmental effects - ABC Goulburn Murray - Australian Broadcasting Corporation http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2007/10/09/2054547.htm

Being exposed to the pesticide DDT in the womb could delay a woman becoming pregnant as an adult, researchers suggest.
The chemical has already been linked to premature births and low birthweights.
BBC NEWS | Health | DDT pregnancy warning http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3023416.stm


And Finally, Science on Pesticides in General

Unsafe at any Dose? Diagnosing Chemical Safety Failures, from DDT to BPA
Piecemeal, and at long last, chemical manufacturers have begun removing the endocrine-disrupting plastic bisphenol-A (BPA) from products they sell.
"But the true scandal of BPA is that such sagas have been repeated many times. Time and again, synthetic chemicals have been banned or withdrawn only to be replaced by others that are equally harmful"
Unsafe at any Dose? Diagnosing Chemical Safety Failures, from DDT to BPA https://www.independentsciencenews.org/health/unsafe-at-any-dose-diagnosing-chemical-safety-failures-from-ddt-to-bpa/