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February 13, 2009

The Scanner

Happy Friday the 13th, all! While you’re avoiding black cats and ladders, don’t forget to go out and see IMAX’s Under the Sea 3D, which opens in theaters today. This week in ocean news, …A new report on coral reefs in the western Indian Ocean connected poverty with overfishing. The reefs were in the worst shape in moderately developed areas that ‘have the technology to plunder their reefs, but not the institutions to protect them or the levels of development that allow for sufficient alternatives to fishing.”… Another one bit the dust. A few days after we told you about his bid, Sen. Judd Gregg withdrew from consideration for secretary of Commerce, following in the footsteps of Gov. Bill Richardson. Who will be the next brave soul?…Scientists at the AAAS annual meeting in Chicago warned that the world’s fish stocks are in deep doo-doo as a result of climate change. Changing ocean temperatures and currents will force thousands of species to migrate toward the poles. …Interior Secretary Ken Salazar announced a new framework for offshore renewable energy that will potentially include wind, wave, and ocean current energy…. In an effort to clean up the Anacostia River, DC may soon impose a five cent tax on plastic bags as well as paper bags. Says WaPo: “A recent study by the Anacostia Watershed Society found that plastic bags were “the single largest component of trash” in the eight-mile river and its tributaries.”…Charles Darwin turned 200. There’s even a blog carnival devoted to the bicentennial. Who wants to take a commemorative trip to the Galapagos?