Pop Culture

In further proof that Google is taking over the world and that maybe it's not such a bad thing, conservationists working with the ubiquitous search engine have unveiled (at the IUCN) a
tool in Google Earth that lets you view protected marine areas and displays icons indicating sensitive areas of the world's oceans.

Plus, National Geographic unveiled a live, underwater feed of a coral reef near Belize in Central America, WildCam Belize Reef.

I just took a gander at the WildCam -- pretty nifty. Unfortunately, my computer is a bit slow for Google Earth -- has anyone had a chance to check it out?

Move over, Jack Johnson, there's a new Hawaiian singer-songwriter in town, and this guy's got a message about plastic in our oceans. Together with the Algalita Marine Research Foundation, creators of the afore-blogged Junk Raft, Micah Wolf made this great music video for his new song “One By One” to raise awareness about the harmful effects of plastic in the environment. For more info on plastics, check out Algalita’s http://plasticsareforever.org, and don't forget to sign our plastics pledge if you haven't.

A Japanese zoo's efforts to be green turned its polar bears, well, green.

Three bears in the zoo got the eco dye job because of their pond's algae overgrowth, a result of high temperatures in July and August and less-frequent water changes due to the zoo's conservation efforts.

As much as my fellow DCites might dismiss it, New York fashion week is going on right now, and I can't help but pay a little attention, especially because this year, Be Eco Chic kicked things off a few days ago in a blue-green way at the Milstein Hall of Ocean Life at the American Museum of Natural History.

It was all about sustainable materials, local food, low energy lighting, carbon offsets...and a giant whale hanging from the ceiling.

And of course, star power. Everyone who's anyone was there, dahling, including blue-greenie Lauren Hutton, who attended Oceana's awards gala last year.

[image via the Green Loop Blog.]

Warning: this post is not for the squeamish.

The Telegraph reports that a British artist has decided to pierce the skin of her back with shark hooks and hang herself from a shop ceiling to protest the practice of shark finning. (In case you're curious, the story link includes a cringe-worthy photo...)

The artist is quoted as saying: "I am doing this because the demand for shark fin soup and other shark products is wiping out the shark population."

Well, it's certainly an attention-getting stunt, that's for sure. But do you think this kind of stunt is a worthwhile way to get the word out about sharks?

Three years ago tomorrow, Hurricane Katrina steamed through the Gulf Coast and left a trail of human and environmental suffering that is still largely unhealed. As Gustav eyes the Big Easy this week, I can't help but think back on my time as a New Orleans resident. From 2001-2005, I maintained the naive idea that "the big one" would always miss the city. In 2004 I waited out Hurricane Ivan at Igor's on St. Charles Avenue, sipping Bloody Marys and playing pool.

Katrina was big enough to expose the shoddy engineering and poor planning that plagued southeastern Louisiana three years ago. It's easy to get mad when I think about everything that went wrong, but a book I'm reading now is helping put things into better perspective by acknowledging the countless heroes who helped save people's lives and sanity.

Smithsonian Magazine's September cover story spotlights the still-pristine pockets of the sea.

The author lauds the success of the ocean's protected areas, beginning with the world's largest -- a marine reserve the size of California established by the remote nation of Kiribati this past January.

Then there's the United States' version, the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, established in 2006 around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. It's about 140,000 square miles -- larger (and harder to pronounce) than all the other U.S. national parks put together.

The question posed here seems to be, "Hey, look how well these protected areas of the ocean are doing. Could this be part of the answer to our problems?" (Hint: Our president seems to think so.) Read the piece and decide for yourself.

As noted by our friend over at Shifting Baselines, apparently Aussie cats are consuming more seafood than their humans.

Excuse me?

That's correct. The country's cats consume on average 13.7 kg of fish and seafood, which is 2.7 kg more than the average human Aussie. And the worst part? They are eating cat food made of wild forage fish -- think sardines, herrings and anchovies -- which are important in the diet of larger fish like tuna and swordfish.

I know you have an old computer monitor lying around, or an Ikea coffee table you're sick of, or an old VHS collection that's gathering dust and making you feel old. Instead of turning to your friend Craig and his fabulous list, try out the recently launched http://Remarkd.com -- It's like craigslist or e-bay... with warm fuzzies.

On Remarkd you post things for sale, and then you donate a portion to the cause of your choice -- more specifically, US! (See how we're being highlighted at http://remarkd.com/oceana.)

What a bright idea!

A wild dolphin in south Australia has been teaching members of her group to walk on their tails, a behavior usually seen only after training in captivity.

Scientists are scratching their heads -- why would the dolphins do this?

Well, one of the female dolphins, Billie, could have learned the behavior by observation during her brief stint in a dolphinarium.

Or they might be watching too much Olympic gymnastics. Plus, it just looks like fun.