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Post by moabiter on Jun 18, 2010 17:15:40 GMT -8
Whale poo curbs carbon emissions Posted on: June 16th, 2010 The need to stop whaling has been given greater urgency by new research that shows Southern Ocean sperm whales play an important role in removing carbon from the atmosphere. The study by Trish Lavery, a Flinders University PhD candidate, turns existing thinking on its head by demonstrating that instead of increasing atmospheric carbon levels through respiration, Southern Ocean sperm whales offset their carbon emissions by defecating – or pooing – iron on phytoplankton. “Sperm whale poo is rich in iron, which stimulates phytoplankton to grow and trap carbon,” Ms Lavery said. “When the phytoplankton die, the trapped carbon sinks to the deep ocean. By this process, sperm whales in the Southern Ocean remove approximately 400,000 tonnes of carbon from our atmosphere each year – more than double the amount of carbon they add by breathing out carbon dioxide,” she said. It is estimated that the reduction in sperm whale populations by whaling has resulted in an extra 2 million tonnes of carbon remaining in the atmosphere annually. More: blogs.flinders.edu.au/flinders-news/2010/06/16/whale-poo-curbs-carbon-emissions/
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Post by moabiter on Jun 18, 2010 17:45:00 GMT -8
This story is all over the place, Mother Jones, BBC, Yahoo News, especially with the whaling changes/issue upcoming. The krill paradox bit is interesting too. BBC - Over the last decade or so, many groups of scientists have experimented with putting iron into the oceans deliberately as a "fix" for climate change. Not all of these experiments have proved successful; the biggest, the German Lohafex expedition, put six tonnes of iron into the Southern Ocean in 2008, but saw no sustained increase in carbon uptake.... The scientists suggest a similar mechanism could underpin the "krill paradox" - the finding that the abundance of krill in Antarctic waters apparently diminished during the era when baleen whales that eat krill were being hunted to the tune of tens of thousands per year. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10323987.stmTuesday, 15 June 2010
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Post by moabiter on Jun 18, 2010 17:48:49 GMT -8
PREVIEW-Whaling commission to seek way out of deadlock Thu Jun 17, 2010 10:30pm GMT * Commission to consider compromise deal at annual meeting * Deal would lift whaling ban, but impose tight control * Proposal angers anti-whaling lobby; whalers suspicious By Lamine Ghanmi RABAT, June 17 (Reuters) - Replacing a whaling moratorium with a controlled cull will be discussed by negotiators who gather next week to forge a compromise between nations who say hunting whales is their birth-right and those who call it a crime against nature. A moratorium has been in force for 24 years but Japan, Norway and Iceland have caught thousands of whales since the 1980s, arguing that they are not bound by a total ban despite international condemnation. A proposal to be debated when the 88-nation International Whaling Commission (IWC) meets in the Moroccan city of Agadir offers a compromise: the moratorium would be lifted for 10 years but in return whaling would be subject to strict control. That idea has been given qualified support by some in the anti-whaling camp who say if the killing cannot be stopped for now, the pragmatic approach is to try to limit it. Continued...af.reuters.com/article/moroccoNews/idAFLDE65G1J920100617
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Post by Avigdor on Nov 11, 2010 16:31:59 GMT -8
Ozone layer holes causing sunburn among whales London, November 10, 2010 Last Updated: 18:53 IST(10/11/2010) The problem was the most acute for blue whales, the study found. In 2007, just six out of 48 blue whales had sunburn. By 2009, 15 out of 22 whales studied were suffering. "A likely cause is rising ultraviolet radiation as a result of either ozone depletion, or a change in the level of cloud cover," [Nazi death stars] said Martinez-Levasseur. www.hindustantimes.com/Ozone-layer-holes-causing-sunburn-among-whales/Article1-624468.aspx********* Whale Song www.youtube.com/watch?v=WabT1L-nN-ETheOceaniaProject | June 08, 2008 songlinesofthewhales.orgAn encounter with Sweetheart and her calf Heartthrob. An hour long encounter unique in the fact that it was the first time in our twenty years of research that a mother allowed a calf to interact directly with us in total trust. We name the whales mnemonically. We give them a name associated with a bodily marking or personality trait which helps us to remember and quickly recognize them in future encounters...
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Post by moabiter on Jan 6, 2011 6:42:40 GMT -8
Japan Offered Bribes, Prostitutes To International Whaling Commission To Get OK To Keep Killing Whales Jun. 14, 2010, 8:42 AM The bribes come in anticipation of this month's IWC meeting in Morocco, when the whaling group is expected to impose a 200 whales-per-year limit on Japan. Japan has already rejected this proposal, preferring to hunt an unlimited number of through the "scientific research" loophole of international whaling law. www.businessinsider.com/japan-offers-bribes-prostitutes-to-international-whaling-commission-2010-6
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Post by moabiter on Jan 6, 2011 6:51:35 GMT -8
Monday, January 03, 2011 Wikileaks Reveals Sea Shepherd is a Serious Concern to Japan’s Illegal Whaling Operations Wikileaks has revealed that the Japanese government views Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as a very serious threat to their illegal whaling activities. In a classified U.S. Department of State document released by Wikileaks to the El Pais newspaper in Spain, the Japanese Deputy General Director for the Japanese Fisheries Agency Mr. Yamashita, pointed out that “the harassment of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society had kept the Japanese whaling fleet from reaching its quotas these last few years.”... The following is the full document release published by the Spanish newspaper El Pais on January 2, 2011. www.seashepherd.org/news-and-media/news-110103-1.htmlUS-Japan discussed 'action' against anti-whalers - Mon Jan 3, 4:31 am ET news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_wikileaks_japan_whaling
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Post by clone on Jun 16, 2011 23:45:27 GMT -8
Japan launches Pacific 'research' whaling From correspondents in Tokyo From: AFP June 11, 2011 3:42PM The three-vessel fleet, led by the Nisshin Maru, plans to catch 260 whales including 100 minkes until late August to study their stomach contents, DNA and other information, according to the Institute of Cetacean Research. The government-affiliated institute has organised such operations since 1987, citing a loophole in a 1986 international moratorium on commercial whaling which allows hunts for scientific research. Anti-whaling nations and environmentalist groups condemn the activity as a cover for commercial whaling but Japan said it is necessary to substantiate its claim that there is a robust whale population in the world. www.heraldsun.com.au/news/japan-launches-pacific-research-whaling/story-e6frf7jo-1226073492230
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Post by clone on Jul 3, 2011 22:04:17 GMT -8
63RD ANNUAL AND ASSOCIATED MEETINGS OF THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION IN 2011 Scientific Committee: Tromsø, Norway, May/June 2011 Commission Sub-groups and Commission Plenary: St Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands July MEETING TIMETABLE There will be an interval of approximately three weeks between the close of the Scientific Committee meeting and the start of the Commission sub-group meetings. The Commission sub-groups will meet between Tuesday 5 July and Thursday 7 July, with Friday 8 July being set aside for finalising reports. As last year, a full day has been set aside for a private meeting of Commissioners to be held on Sunday 10 July. The Annual Commission Meeting will last four days and take place from Monday 11 July to Thursday 14 July. iwcoffice.org/meetings/meeting2011.htm
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Post by 30m on Dec 7, 2011 8:49:26 GMT -8
Japan using quake disaster budget for whaling aid(AFP) – 6 hours ago TOKYO — Japan on Wednesday confirmed it planned to use some of the public funds earmarked for quake and tsunami reconstruction to boost security for its controversial annual whaling hunt. Greenpeace charged that Tokyo was siphoning money from disaster victims by spending an extra 2.28 billion yen ($30 million) on beefed up security amid looming battles between the whaling fleet and environmental groups. Japan's whaling fleet left port Tuesday for this season's annual hunt in Antarctica, with the coast guard saying earlier that it would deploy an unspecified number of guards to protect it from anti-whaling activists. www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gWxI6h-UgUzFTOJrp-iZrVauXvtw?docId=CNG.31023f05a9be9f5ee699bbf17a37bdf2.2e1
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Post by moabiter on Feb 14, 2012 20:22:46 GMT -8
Unplanned 9/11 analysis links noise, whale stress February 8, 2012 BOSTON (AP) — An ocean experiment that was accidentally conducted amid the shipping silence after Sept. 11 has shown the first link between underwater noise and stress in whales, researchers reported Wednesday. The analysis indicated that a drop in a stress-related hormone found in the right whales was tied to a dip in ocean noise that followed a near-standstill in ship traffic, due to security concerns following the attacks. www.usnews.com/science/news/articles/2012/02/08/unplanned-911-analysis-links-noise-whale-stress
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Post by clone on Jun 13, 2012 13:06:19 GMT -8
22 May 2012, 6.34am AEST What’s in it for Germany? Sea Shepherd arrest ‘absolutely unusual’ Captain Paul Watson, founder of the marine conservation organisation Sea Shepherd, was arrested last week in Frankfurt, Germany, on an international arrest warrant issued by the Costa Rican government in October 2011. He was released on bail last night while Germany considers whether to extradite him. The warrant arises from an incident that occurred in 2002, when Watson intercepted a shark finning operation in Guatemalan waters while shooting a documentary about the illegal shark fin trade wwf.worldwildlife.org/site/PageServer?pagename=can_results_shark [Shark Finning Prohibition Act]. The shark finning operation in this case was being carried out by a Costa Rican vessel, the Varadero. * According to the WWF, shark finning is responsible for the deaths of up to 73-77 million sharks a year. * 2002: The Costa Rican government charged Watson with seven counts of attempted murder, but all charges relating to the incident were dropped after video footage of the incident was viewed by the prosecutor. * The Japanese Institute of Cetacean Research, the body under whose auspices Japan continues its annual whale hunt in the Southern Ocean, launched civil legal proceedings against Sea Shepherd in the USA. * the Costa Rican government issued an arrest warrant for Watson relating to the 2002 incident on the basis of “violation of shipping traffic”. * Why did Germany act on the warrant? In the seven months since it was issued, Watson, a Canadian citizen, had visited numerous countries (including Australia) and none of these countries sought to detain him. * Furthermore, Interpol announced via its website that it would not be issuing a Red Notice (a request to member states for the provisional arrest, pending extradition, of wanted persons) for Captain Watson. The Interpol Office of Legal Affairs did not believe that Costa Rica’s request complied with Interpol’s constitution and rules, implying political motivation. * The Sea Shepherd 2002 documentary on shark finning, Sharkwater, alleged corruption and collusion between the Costa Rican government and the shark fin black market based in Taiwan * Watson was arrested at Frankfurt International Airport and detained while German authorities confirmed that the Costa Rican government wanted to proceed with extradition. Having received that confirmation, Germany announced on 16 May that they would proceed with the extradition of Watson to Costa Rica where he will face legal proceedings arising from the charges. Sea Shepherd legal advisers believe that he is unlikely to receive a fair trial, given his exposure of Costa Rican government corruption relating to the shark fin trade. theconversation.edu.au/whats-in-it-for-germany-sea-shepherd-arrest-absolutely-unusual-7146Wiki: Shark fin soup (or shark's fin soup) is a popular soup item of Chinese cuisine usually served at special occasions such as weddings and banquets,[1][2] or as a luxury item in Chinese culture.[2] The shark fins provide texture while the taste comes from the other soup ingredients.[1] The soup originated centuries ago during the Ming Dynasty. Demand for the soup has increased as income levels of Chinese communities worldwide have risen. Concerns over the sustainability and welfare of sharks have impacted consumption and availability of the soup. Wiki: local fisherman are forced into harvesting shark fins, despite only getting about one dollar per pound on an average Each Shark Worth almost $2 million dollars Shark Week www.discoverychannel.ca/Article.aspx?aid=33701 up to one-thousand dollars in Asian fish markets, while dried-processed fins generally sell for $350 dollars per pound. most prized shark fins can cost hundreds of dollars, with the average being about US$450 (HK$3500) per pound ________________________________ Prestige MYTH: Shark Fin Soup is a great symbol of wealth because its so valuable and expensive. TRUTH: While shark fins can cost up to $300 USD per pound at the restaurant, the fisherman who catches the fin sells it for $0.80. So what happens to the other $299 dollars? Most of this money goes to feed all the middlemen in between the oceans and the restaurant. In addition to businessmen who profit off of the shark fin trade, shark finning has ties to organized crime and the black market who illegally fish for sharks. The truth is that a pound of shark fin is about as valuable as a pack of bubble gum. And all that money being spent on a bowl of soup funds the black market and the slaughter of upwards of 77 million sharks a year. www.sharktruth.com/truths/prestige/
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Post by clone on Jun 13, 2012 16:29:10 GMT -8
The 4WD with seats made of whale penis October 16, 2009 A Russian armoured-car builder is boasting that its latest vehicle has seats covered with “whale-penis leather”. The €1 million ($1.6 million) Dartz Prombron Monaco Red Diamond Edition armoured car has been developed by the same company, RussoBaltique, that built armoured vehicles for Tsar Nicholas, Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky. On its official website, the company says the whale-penis leather is the same as that used by Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis on the yacht Christina O. more: news.drive.com.au/drive/motor-news/the-4wd-with-seats-made-of-whale-penis-20091016-gzsq.html
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Post by i love CO2 on Jun 13, 2012 16:36:54 GMT -8
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Post by sonic screw driver on Jun 16, 2012 13:34:32 GMT -8
Japan Offered Bribes, Prostitutes To International Whaling Commission To Get OK To Keep Killing Whales Jun. 14, 2010, 8:42 AM
The bribes come in anticipation of this month's IWC meeting in Morocco, when the whaling group is expected to impose a 200 whales-per-year limit on Japan. Japan has already rejected this proposal, preferring to hunt an unlimited number of through the "scientific research" loophole of international whaling law.
www.businessinsider.com/japan-offers-bribes-prostitutes-to-international-whaling-commission-2010-6 Media Media release Harassment & terrorism www.icrwhale.org/sitemap.html75% of Japan's NW Pacific whale hunt unsold: official - Tokyo (AFP) June 13, 2012 The Institute of Cetacean Research, a quasi-public body that organises the country's whaling, said around 75 percent of roughly 1,200 tons of minke, Bryde's and sei meat from the deep-sea mission did not find buyers... Japan also argues that whaling is part of its tradition and accuses Western nations of cultural insensitivity. The country's powerful fishing industry, as well as right-wing activists, have urged no compromise. www.terradaily.com/reports/75_of_Japans_NW_Pacific_whale_hunt_unsold_official_999.html
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Post by clone on Jul 14, 2012 22:26:48 GMT -8
South Korea's whaling backflip is a 'massive relief' AAP July 13, 2012 12:14PM FEDERAL Environment Minister Tony Burke says South Korea's backflip on plans to proceed with "scientific" whaling is a massive relief. South Korea announced at an International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Panama last week that it planned to follow Japan's lead and use a loophole in the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling to proceed with a scientific research program. But Foreign Minister Bob Carr on Thursday said he had been assured by his South Korean counterpart Kim Sung-Hwan that Seoul had decided against going ahead with program. www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/seouls-whaling-backflip-massive-relief/story-fnd134gw-1226425279958
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