Enjoying the ocean means taking care of it

by Brenda Yun on

A recent article in The Economist outlines how man is destroying the ocean. It reports, “Man has changed the landscape and the atmosphere. It would be odd if the seas, which he has for centuries used for food, for transport, for dumping rubbish and, more recently, for recreation, had not also been affected.” Despite being an avid ocean-goer myself, I have to agree with this assessment. Furthermore, it should not be too surprising that as man continues to utilize the ocean’s resources, whether it be for food, transportation, waste disposal, or recreation, the ecosystem below is changing.

The recent shark attacks in Australia and the shark sightings in Hawaii back in October clearly parallel this hard reality. While it’s important to enjoy our waters, it’s equally important to do our job as citizens in this world to protect them. That means doing small things like not touching the reef or getting in close contact with marine life. It also means choosing cleaner modes of water transport like sailing. It means being vigilant about where we throw our trash, and most of all it means we have to educate ourselves and understand the conditions of the sea.

With proper care and vigilance, the ocean can be a place our future generations can enjoy as we do. Otherwise, as The Economist article puts it, “The possibility of widespread catastrophe is simply too great.”

Bush goes green by creating blue sanctuaries

by Brenda Yun on

Yesterday afternoon marked an unprecedented day for marine lovers around the world. Bush announced the creation of three marine monuments that are protected under the Antiquities Act, which was created a century ago to safeguard areas of public interest. In this case, this new treaty places important restrictions on oil and gas exploration as well as commercial fishing for an area that covers close to 200,000 square miles in the Pacific Ocean.

Here’s a breakdown of the three major areas that have been declared as protected marine sanctuaries by Bush’s newest water treaty:

  • The northern Marianas Islands and the Mariana Trench (the deepest point in the world)
  • The Rose Atoll near American Samoa
  • Several remote islands in the middle of the Pacific, including Wake Island

These monuments make up a 50-nautical mile radius of protected islands and waters around the Mariana Trench and are full of marine life including sharks and coral, which are most crucial to a healthy ecosystem, as well as unique creatures found only in this part of the world such as the coconut crab and a bird whose eggs incubate by way of volcanic heat. The protected marine area will therefore inevitably become a bird sanctuary as well. In addition, it will

Back in 2006, Bush established a near 140,000 square-mile marine reserve (one of the largest in the world) near the Hawaiian islands, so this is his second good ocean deed in one term. Collectively, this is the most ocean a single person has protected. That’s a pretty admirable feat for a President who hasn’t been particularly green. Certainly, ocean lovers like myself fully appreciate Bush’s final environmental gesture. It’s something we will be thankful for for years to come.

[via the Washington Post and Time Magazine]

Hollywood stuntman to sail Atlantic in popsicle stick ship

by Abha Malpani on

31 world record breaker and former Hollywood stuntman Robert McDonald’s new adventure is to cross the Atlantic in a 15-meter ship made of 15 million ice-cream sticks, that looks like a replica of a Viking ship.

A lot of the sticks were used, steam-cleaned ones and about 13-million of them were donated by Unilever. He made the ship, stick by stick, with the help of his son and 5000 children from Holland; the sticks have been stuck together by salt-water proof glue. This ship is probably the world’s largest handmade recycled object.

McDonald’s creative and risk-filled life stems from the fact that he was injured in a gas explosion that killed his parents and six-siblings, and confined him to 5-years of hospital bed rest. All his feats are motivated by a strong and simple belief that he wants to share with kids: “you can do anything”. Part of McDonald’s fearless stunt portfolio includes climbing the Twin Towers in 1995, and free-climbing the Grand Canyon.

A dangerous expedition but possible; the ship is undergoing various sea-trials at the moment. Apparently, McDonald said that when a boat inspector analyzed one of his planks made of 5000 popsicle sticks, he pronounced it 5-times stronger than steel.(!)

According to a Reuters report, he currently is looking for a crew to sail the ship across Atlantic from Holland to America as well as of course, funding.

Where on Earth: Week 26 – Gozo, Malta

by Brett Atkinson on

Gozo is the smaller island that makes up the tiny Mediterranean nation of Malta. This is a stunning natural arch called the “Azure Window” on Gozo’s northern coast. The main island of Malta is fascinating but can feel crowded due to its concentrated population. Across on Gozo, it’s a totally different story, especially if you’re staying in one of the restored farmhouses.

Gozo deserves to be the new Tuscany. You heard it here first.

Band on the Run: Surfing & The Superferry in Maui, Hawaii

by Ember Swift on
Ember Swift, Canadian musician and touring performer, will be keeping us up-to-date on what it’s like to tour a band throughout North America. Having just arrived back from Beijing where she spent three months (check out her “Canadian in Beijing” series), she offers a musician’s perspective on road life. Enjoy!

My five days (four nights) in Maui went by too quickly. I filled them up with as much as I could, and even then the time seemed to slip between my fingers like sand.

On Thursday evening after the last family event that followed the wedding from the previous day, my roommate Elaine and I decided to skip out early and head to Kihei, a surfing town farther south by about an hour where she had spent a few days on her own before joining the wedding party earlier in the week.

My motivation for leaving (besides seeing another place other than “resort row”) was to connect with an old friend and fellow musician: Erin Smith. She and her husband moved out to these parts about three years ago and she is now making her living as a musician in Maui, playing almost every night and “touring without touring.” Basically, that means that she plays to new faces and new nationalities every night because Hawaii is such a tourist center, but she never needs to leave her home and pile into a van or a plane to do it.

Now there’s some foresight.

Before heading to Kihei, we stopped into the town of Lahaina where Erin was playing that night and headed to the venue called “The Cool Cat Café.” She was playing her acoustic and singing – no band – but had a two hour contract with the restaurant which included both original music and covers. The place was open air, as are most venues in Hawaii, and so the sound of her voice caught my ears as we were parking the car and I followed her voice music right up the stairs and into the café, as I’m sure other patrons do when they hear her soulful singing.

Brilliant. That’s marketing at its finest.

Erin noticed me as I walked in and flashed me a big grin while she was playing. Elaine and I sat down to some local beer and watched the last few songs before Erin was on break. At that point, she came over to our table and we chatted for about twenty minutes before she had to get back on stage.

Life on the island of Maui seems to have done Erin quite a bit of good. She is freckled and smiley and has taken up surfing. Seems funny to imagine a Canadian (non-coastal) girl on a surfboard, but I celebrate it for her. She talked about the surfing movement in Hawaii and how much of a state pastime it is. She even referred to the energetic wave (pun intended) that takes over the community when the swells are high. To me, the funniest thing she told me was that it’s not uncommon for people to “call in surf” (rather than sick) when there’s good waves to be catching. Employers generally accept it there! It’s to be expected after all.

Elaine and I slipped out of the café during her second set in order to get on the road for Kihei and to check into our accommodations that evening. We were staying in the same cottages that Elaine had rented before the wedding (Lihi Kai Cottages) and hers came with a cot for me since it was only the one night that I would be staying.

These cottages also came with full kitchens, full baths and a huge main room. Easily double the size of the resort rooms and half the price. Not to mention the fact that the kitchen came stocked with real cutlery! I had to laugh when I noticed this (and take a picture, of course!)

The next day, I had a lovely brunch with Erin and her husband Ross and then spent most of the day watching the surfers before having to catch my plane for San Francisco that evening. It’s not hard to get lost in the sea air, the rhythmic roar of the waves, the transit of the sun across the sky. I took it all in with every pore that day, eager to keep some of that ocean air in my system for as long as possible.

Just before packing up and heading for the airport, I caught a report on the news about the new “Superferry” in Hawaii and how environmentalists are trying to stop it from launching. They said that inadequate environmental assessments had been carried out and that whale calving grounds were in jeopardy. I looked up more information on the internet and found these interesting sites and articles, but had to leave before I could ask anyone who lives there anything else about it.

I did feel happy to hear that the environmental activists were at least being taken seriously enough to have the courts involved. I’ll be trying to keep up with it from here.

I waved goodbye to Hawaii from the departures lounge, a floor of the airport that has no walls. It is open air just like the cafes. You arrive on the sidewalk and you have no need to walk through any doors because there simply aren’t any. You just walk towards the desk of your airline.

I laughed out loud when I noticed that and one of the porters looked at me strangely. I just smiled back at him and checked into my flight at the very last possible moment.

There was still sand under my nails.

I’m taking some of Hawaii home with me, in more ways than one!