Photograph by Max K. Hoberg/Institute of Marine Science/University of Alaska Fairbanks/courtesy COML

courtesy of National Geographic

This is one of the new species found in the 10 year survey, including scientists from 80 countries who are exploring the 95% of the oceans that have hardly been explored till now.

It is well worth the time popping over to see the pics of some other species discovered, some of them are extremely beautiful and surprisingly colorful.

This survey, Due 2010 has uncovered some very interesting finds, among them a kind of jelly fish living at 23,678 feet (7,217 meters), that has previously been thought to be to deep to support this kind of life, as well as discovering a kind of bacteria which the scientist call a “living fossil” since it has thrived since the earliest oceans were formed millions of years ago.

If that is the case, the species was able to adapt from anoxic, or oxygen depleted, environments to an era of oxygenated oceans. For this reason, scientists think marine bacteria could be used for bio-remediation of polluted ocean floors.

Hope over to National Geographic to see and read some more.

Thanks Marine Conservation News for pointing me  in the right direction

A lot has been said recently and  not so recently about global warming and subsequently about the Northern Hemisphere sea ice.

I am not a scientist, and it the charts and explanations are often unclear to me or go right over my head to be quite frank. However, on the other hand I am no idiot and can’t understand the need to have to persuade people time and time again that global warming is happening - and for proof check out the Northern Ice.

Every time you think someone has got it, and joined the ‘believers’ (sad term but apparently relevant) some one else will pop up and say, “Hey  - Look at all that ice, there is no decline compare this years to last…” and so on.

Open Mind, in yet another commendable attempt to explain the whole issue has posted another post on the Northern Ice, most of which was to fill of graphs for me to want to contend with, but what is quite clear to me, even without getting to the bottom of the issue - is that people really don’t want to recognize the trend for what it is and prefer to float around on tiny pieces of ice choosing to believe there is a whole iceberg attached, when in reality, lets face it, there isn’t.

I sure hope you are out there doing your thing taking responsibility for the future of this country and in fact the world.

Don’t be lazy - go out, take action, make change happen.

Source

photo courtesy of steve gerecke

Canadian activist Maude Barlow, who is co founder of the Blue Planet Project, a group that works to protect fresh water from trade and privation internationally, has been appointed as the UN first senior adviser on water issues. She will work with the current the president of the general assembly Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann.
In a press releas Barlow said:

“This is a wonderful opportunity to advance a more democratic and transparent method of policy making around water at the global level than now exists,” Barlow said in a press release. “Water is a commons, a public trust and a human right.”

At last some good news.
thank you Water Wired for the heads up.
(Water Wired is a great place to go to read all about fresh water internationally in politics and so on)

Source

I am a Little behind in posting this but as they say - better late than never.

The 16th of October was the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, for the 15th consecutive year.
According to Womenstake.Org UNICEF released a report proving strong connections between poverty and maternity poverty.

I suppose that is kind of an given, at least for any western woman at child birthing age, to be extremely grateful for all the different options in prenatal, postnatal and child birth that are offered to her today, full knowing how privileged we are as apposed to women from developing countries and even to our mothers and grandmothers.
Even with this knowledge - the numbers are staggering.

Over half a million woman die each year do to complications from pregnancy and childbirth 99 percent of which occur in developing countries.
That last figure alone sould be an eye opener. lets do the math - 500,000 women die each year due to the above, and only 5000 of them die in the “western world”
Women Stakes says

Most of these deaths can be prevented with better health care during pregnancy, delivery, and post-partum periods. Poverty, inequality, and societal attitudes towards women’s health help produce these staggering statistics. India alone sees about 80,000 pregnant women and new mothers die each year from preventable causes like hemorrhage, eclampsia, sepsis and anemia.

The situation may be improving, if slowly. Between 1995 and 2005, the number of women in Asia who had a skilled attendant with them during delivery rose nine percentage points to 40 percent. Moreover, the developing world experienced a 15 percentage point jump in antenatal care, rising to 75 percent.

UNICEF Goal is to reduce these deaths by 75 percent by 2015 (7 years)