Ever since Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus recognized the Sun as the center of our universe in 1543, Man has calculated time by the motion of celestial objects. And while I am mostly the Ocean type, our solar system, galaxy, and deep space are entrancing topics.

I can’t help revere the brilliance of Stephen Hawking as I attempted to read his book “A Brief history of Time” http://www.hawking.org.uk/ and the works of theoretical physicists like him who can calculate and explain deep space and the fourth dimension; time. They peer into deep space and see the beginning of time, meanwhile deep Ocean exploration has barely begun. Both up and down are wondrous and worthy of exploration.

I’ve always been puzzled by the difference between one Earth rotation and one Earth-day. Now that I’ve mentioned that there is a difference perhaps you are curious too, so here

Do You Know Where Your Seafood Was Swimming???

Oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill formed an underwater plume of hydrocarbons the size of Manhattan, a lingering cloud of trace chemicals in the Gulf with an unknown long-term impact. U.S. National Science Foundation research vessel explored the plume—22 miles long and more than a mile wide—as it snaked along t 3,000 feet below the surface.

Scientists have confirmed that oil from the well is suspended below the surface in pools of microscopic oil drops and petroleum-based trace chemicals, which were degrading more slowly than many had expected. The plume resembled a mist of trace chemicals, rather than a river of oil, however as much as 79% of the spilled oil may still be in the Gulf. Oil is already settling into the sea floor in a prime spawning ground for fish called DeSoto Canyon east of the damaged well, according to University of South Florida scientists.

Woods Hole researchers saw little evidence in June, two months after a wellhead explosion triggered the spill, that oil-eating microbes had reduced the cloud of chemicals. In fact the oil is degrading relatively slowly. In normal circumstances, crude oil floats to the surface, where it can be skimmed, burned off or evaporated. Floating on the waves, it can be churned into smaller drops readily digested by bacteria.

But oil broken down by chemical dispersants are held at depth by water pressure, forming microscopic droplets not buoyant enough to break through the transition layer that separates warm surface currents from the cold bottom water. Researchers said they found high concentrations of benzene, toluene, xylene and other so-called BTEX petroleum compounds that could be traced to the leaking well. The plume contained between 5% and 6% of the signature BTEX petroleum hydrocarbons released during the spill. Yummy! You going to feed that to your family?

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has evidence about how the Gulf water is interacting with the mass of oil wich directly challenges government estimates that the vast majority of the 4.9 million barrels of spilled oil is already gone from the Gulf or is being rapidly broken down by bacteria. The report indicates the oil that spilled from the Deepwater Horizon has produced a drifting plume of hydrocarbons the size of Manhattan. Some of that oil persists deep underwater—at levels thousands of times higher than natural oil seeps that dot the Gulf sea floor—where it eludes conventional detection and cleanup efforts.

This news will deal another blow to the fishing industry, which may never return to normal even though state and federal waters were reopened in recent weeks. The demand for Gulf seafood has nearly disappeared amid images of oil-slicked waters even though the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says seafood from the parts of the Gulf open to fishing pose no health risks. How can we believe that?

No one can know how long an oil plume of this magnitude will last or what the long-term impact will be. But experts are concerned that if the trace chemicals linger long enough, they could damage fish eggs, larvae, and plankton- the backbone of the food chain which many fish feed on. “These hydrocarbons may well show up somewhere else, running undetected below the surface,” said Richard Camilli from the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole group, who was chief scientist on the research.

Ten GREEN Improvements for 2010; saving cash & carbon.

While the climate change debate rages on, energy-efficient moves are finally financially attractive for today’s homeowner.  Heating and cooling bills are even more important in a way-down economy; we’re all squeezing nickles. I few years back we were laughing at Grandma.  “It’s a nickle for cryin’ out loud!”
In 2010: Homeowners are spending their money in new less flashy ways, like high-efficiency appliances. It’s a whole new attitudes towards energy efficiency, and why not? Energy-efficient homes have substantially lower utility bills while reducing the carbon footprint.
BONUS: The federal government is handing out tax credits up to $1,500 for certain energy-efficient home products. Plan on going green? Better get moving because tax credits expire at the end of 2010.

This is the year to do a lot of those things because Uncle Sam is going to help you pay for it.      [read on ...]

August 04, 2010 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard celebrates 220 years of service to America.

The Coast Guard began its service to America in 1790 within the Treasury Department as the Revenue Marine, later renamed the Revenue Cutter Service. The Revenue Cutter Service joined with the U.S. Lifesaving Service in 1915 to create the Coast Guard.  The U.S. Lighthouse Service was added to the U.S. Coast Guard in 1939, followed by the Steamboat Inspection Service in 1946. The Coast Guard transferred from the Treasury Department to the Department of Transportation in 1967 and to the Department of Homeland Security in 2003.

I proudly served aboard the USCGC Diligence stationed in Key West Florida.

From its genesis as the Revenue Marine, the Coast Guard has evolved to become the world’s premier multi-mission, maritime service, conducting operations around the globe to execute its 11 missions “Coast Guardsmen are agile, adaptable and multi-missioned,” said Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Robert J. Papp Jr. “Born as revenue cuttermen, lighthouse keepers, steamboat inspectors and surfmen, we have expanded to meet the maritime needs of our nation. As Coast Guard men and women, we share a bond of pride in our rich heritage and a common purpose to uphold our honorable traditions.”

“We are still keepers of the lights, but we also now patrol far more distant waters,” said Papp. “We readily go wherever there are important, difficult and dangerous maritime duties to be performed.”

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Playfull Belugas are a bunch of… Bubble-Makers?

Belugas enjoy themselves. They’re very curious and playful. Hiroya Minakuchi shot these inside the whales’ tank at Japan’s Shimane Aquarium. Belugas can actually form their lips to create the doughnut-like shape.

Like dolphins, belugas play, tossing and retrieving floats and balls and other objects. Both types of cetaceans can create their own fun, like blowing ’smoke rings’ (minus the smoke).

Wild dolphins also blow bubble rings, usually to signal frustration, excitement, anger, or curiosity, says Fabienne Delfour, who studies animal cognition. With belugas, this behavior seems to have been observed extensively only in captivity. Yet Dove wouldn’t be surprised if they fashioned these ephemeral diversions in the Arctic waters where they live in the wild, too. “They’re very gregarious,” she says.

In 2005 trainers at Shimane observed bubble-ring blowing and seized the opportunity to reinforce the activity. With training (and reward) the rings eventually became the whales’ favorite toys.

Two male elephants entwine trunks in friendship and mutual trust.

In the matriarchal world of elephants, males are known as mostly independent sorts. Females maintain close, lifelong family ties, while bulls tend to wander off solo, at times banding with another male or more loosely with groups of them.

Or do they? During a six-year study in Namibia’s Etosha National Park, Stanford University behavioral ecologist Caitlin O’Connell-Rodwell observed for the first time intense, long-lasting bonds among a dozen or so bulls—a tight-knit group of teenagers, adults, and seniors up to 55 dubbed the Boys’ Club. Older males serve as mentors and mediators for younger ones, enforcing a strict social hierarchy, keeping underlings in line when rowdiness erupts as hormones rage.

In drought-prone Namibia, rank becomes most rigid when water is scarcest. “In dry years the strict pecking order they establish benefits all of them,” O’Connell-Rodwell says. “Everyone knows their place.” That means young bulls supplicate more frequently to their elders—and peace is maintained while everyone gets to drink.

—Hannah Bloch

Learn more about wildlife on the new Nat Geo Wild network. Visit: http://natgeowild.com

Oil & Water STILL Don’t Mix.  June 27, 2010 satellite imagery:

This high-resolution image shows Petit Bois Island (top right) and the eastern end of Horn Island (top left) on June 26.  Oil-covered waters are silvery and cleaner waters are blue-gray. This pattern is especially consistent farther from the islands.

>> Click for full screen image >>

A total of 674 sea turtles have been verified stranded from April 30 to July 16 within the designated spill area from the Texas to Florida. Of the 674 turtles verified from April 30 to July 16, a total of 464 turtles were found dead, 58 stranded alive.

The good news (if there is such a thing): There have been no confirmed observations of oil from the Deepwater Horizon near South Florida. Monitoring presently consists of daily overflights by trained observers to check for oil near the Loop Current, and vessels searching for tar balls approaching the Florida Keys.

What Could Move the Oil to South Florida? Ocean currents in the Gulf of Mexico determine where the oil spilled from the Deepwater Horizon wellhead will go, and how quickly the oil will travel. The current that most influences whether the oil could reach South Florida is the Loop Current. This current flows west-to-east through the Gulf, first pushing up into the Gulf from the Caribbean Sea, then looping south and eastward to pass between the Florida Keys and Cuba (eventually merging with the Gulf Stream). It often spins off large eddies.

At present, the main slick and the Loop Current are separated by about 300 miles. Southerly winds could  push the oil north to Florida’s shorelines while being swept by the Loop Current through the Florida Straits. The worst news: Presently, some oil has entered an eddy, which is about 60 miles from the main slick. This oil will remain within the eddy, circling and weathering in the open waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Eddies sometimes reattach to the Loop Current. If this happens, the oil within the eddy may enter the Loop Current and be transported eastward.

While we are all thrilled no oil is currently being released into the Gulf of Mexico that is only the beginning of the recovery. Now comes the appropriate action to keep it that way. It is important that all decisions are driven by the science; not politics. Ultimately, we must ensure no irreversible damage is done which could cause uncontrolled leakage from numerous points on the sea floor.

The Gulf of Mexico wasn’t in great shape prior, but the status is quickly fallen to a bad state of affairs due to the never-ending escape of crude oil. While the oil plume is substantial the Gulf is a massive body of water. I was pleasantly surprised the mess had not spread more quickly and I have been in touch with my contacts in Key West, praying the oil doesn’t catch the Straits of Florida. The 4-knot Gulf Stream would carry the slick North in just a matter of days!

The Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic Drift is a powerful, warm, and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico.  As the disaster passed day 50 all rational people recognize there is more oil than the Gulf is able to absorb.

This FLOG is not here to pass judgment, politicize, or chastise the parties; there’s enough of that in the public forum. We are sad and mad, but rather than posting disturbing images of dead birds we will focus on the massive public efforts necessary to regain and restore some sort of ecosystem AND the ongoing watch-dog efforts to protect the deep waters, coastlines, fishes, mammals, and birds. Yes BP will pay up the whazoo, but that won’t cut it. You know in your heart that won’t return the Gulf to glory.

Imagine how confused these magnificent animals are finding their world is choked off from oxygen and poisoned with a strange thick poison.

How can we help? Have your voice heard and your efforts count!

Stay tuned; better yet register your email with us today because we have a major announcement coming soon. A way you can help and reap a token gift for your efforts. It’s not enough to donate cash to a cause. You want a focused effort, a managed structured organization with the capacity to handle and responsibility distribute your funds where they will have maximum impact - Yin & Yang - to the maximum impact oil is having on our precious Gulf!

We are teaming up with these organizations right now, so stand by for more info. You can help and have a piece of history you can pass to future generations so we don’t repeat history.

Register today - we’ll send the appropriate information as soon as possible.

Jacques Cousteau ~ world legend

Jacques-Yves Cousteau was born June 11, 1910.  A car accident ended his early dream; to become a navy fighter pilot. Lucky for us he looked down and found the Ocean.

He began his underwater explorations and began working on a breathing machine. In 1942 he and Emile Gagnon adapted an automotive fuel regulator and invented the AQUA LUNG which started the scuba revolution. In 1948 Cousteau purchased a minesweeper, The Calypso, to further his explorations. Cousteau produced numerous films and published many books as a means to finance his exploration. No big deal to him, but his films The Silent World (1956) and World Without Sun (1966) both won Academy Awards for best documentary.

In 1968, Cousteau produced The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau which introduced the public to a world of sharks, whales, dolphins, sunken treasure, and coral reefs. His voice narrations still resonate in my head.

Cousteau was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Reagan in 1985 and again in 1989.

On January 11, 1996 his precious Calypso sank in Singapore harbor. In his last years, Cousteau was involved in a legal battle with his son, Jean-Michael over the use of the Cousteau name. I do not know nor do I care to know the result, however his grandson is following the family tradition.

My hero, hero to many, Jacques Cousteau died on June 25, 1997. [ read more link ]

“We must save the oceans if we want to save mankind”

~ Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Helping Hands ~ What Inspires

Caring for a capuchin monkey is similar to caring for a human child if the kid had super-human strength AND a tail. She was like a very hairy child with thumbs on both feet and hands who requires nearly as much time as a human child. (Probabally shouldn’t keep a kid in a cage… with a lock.) Foster parents bathe and diaper their monkeys so the monkey is a part of the family’s activities.

A foster family’s responsibility involves loving and caring for a monkey in their home. Caring for a monkey is fun and rewarding, but it is not easy. Two-out-of-three is still very time consuming, entails some expense, and requires a considerable amount of patience.

The Hardest Part: Foster parents must be willing to return the monkey when Helping Hands determines necessary. This can be very difficult. Foster families invest time, energy, and love in caring for their foster monkey. The primary comfort for foster parents is the knowledge that the monkey will eventually go to a disabled person who will live out his or her life with more freedom, independence, and companionship because of this special friend. It is the gift of part of one’s self.

Buy, print, share, make others aware of Helping Hands Monkeys.

“We cannot see our reflection in running water.”

Taoist Proverb

Dear Reader,

Thank you all for viewing, reading, and commenting on this FLOG (FLOATING Blog) We have hit another exciting mark in April. Average readership per day, not counting spam or search engine spiders, is 170. With that I rededicate myself to research and author more articles for you about Earth, Ocean and the human impact. We live on a dynamic planet; there’s lots going on if we take a moment to look beyond our own back yards.  ~ Paul

Our blue planet is dynamic; always changing. We live and depend on the Earth’s crust, formed and reformed by millions of once-active volcanoes and tremendous volumes of magma.The crust is magma that cooled below the surface. Volcanism has resulted in many valuable natural resources throughout our world. For example, volcanic ash from Iceland will blow over thousands of square miles of land resulting in increased soil fertility of forests and agriculture by adding Earth’s natural nutrients and acting as a mulch. Global cooling too! Heating and cooling, and heating again is the cause of fjords. It would be a catastrophe if the planet was stagnant for billions of years, but that’s not an excuse to abuse, waste, or liter. Read about fjords: http://hd2o.tv/flog/2009/polish-academy-of-sciences-challenge-gore-theory/

Mount Pinatubo in 1991:

The June 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo was global. Slightly cooler than usual temperatures recorded worldwide and the brilliant sunsets and sunrises have been attributed to this eruption that sent fine ash and gases high into the stratosphere, forming a large volcanic cloud that drifted around the world. The sulfur dioxide (SO2) in this cloud — about 22 million tons — combined with water to form droplets of sulfuric acid, blocking some of the sunlight from reaching the Earth and thereby cooling temperatures in some regions by as much as 0.5 degrees C. An eruption the size of Mount Pinatubo could affect the weather for a few years.

Tambora in 1815:

A similar phenomenon occurred in April of 1815 with the cataclysmic eruption of Tambora Volcano in Indonesia, the most powerful eruption in recorded history. Tambora’s volcanic cloud lowered global temperatures by as much as 3 degrees C. Even a year after the eruption, most of the northern hemisphere experienced sharply cooler temperatures during the summer months. In parts of Europe and in North America, 1816 was known as “the year without a summer.”

Pompeii in 79 A.D.

map of Pompeii

This Roman town near Naples in the Italian region of Campania, was destroyed and completely buried during a long catastrophic eruption of the volcano Mount Vesuvius spanning just two days. The volcano collapsed roofs and buried Pompeii under 20 m (66 ft) of ash and pumice. It was lost for 1,600 years before its accidental rediscovery in 1592.

So the answer is YES, volcanoes have a very profound affect on weather! Volcanoes cool planet Earth. They also affect Man, and there is nothing we can do about it… or the weather. But we can positively impact our space: recycle.

via CVO Website - Do Volcanoes Affect Weather?

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