Ghostly whale for World Oceans Day

Have you ever seen any of the Kiwi (New Zealand) videos on YouTube about the beached whale? They're quite funny! Here's the first (enjoy the accents):

Well apparently the creators have gone and killed their whale for World Oceans Day!!! Poor guy ate too much plastic... I can't seem to embed it, so go see it here.

Well, let's see if this works (embedding):
<iframe frameborder="0" width="100%" height="100%" src="http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid2321945773001/?bctid=3608261666001" ></iframe>

Sunday June 8th is World Oceans Day!!! And sadly this year I don't think I'll have time to do anything... After 5 straight years of Oceanic Blog-A-Thon... *sob* I'll see if I can find time to put something up.

Remember to "Wear Blue and Tell Two"! ;o)

The Crazy Awesomeness of Skeleton Sea

So in my previous post (Playing with Trash) I said I was going to share some of Skeleton Sea's art with you. They had several statues/creations (I don't quite know what to call them!) on display at the entrance to the Volvo Ocean Race Village here in Alicante (plus two more in the VIP area which I didn't get to see). It's amazing at how creative these three guys are, how they can look at all this trash, and find a way to turn it into an art project! It's all a part of their passion for the ocean (all three are surfers), and you can hear it in their voices when you talk with them about previous projects and the crazy things they've found on beaches around the world... Anyhow, without further ado, I give you the Art of Skeleton Sea! (the name of each is linked to their website, where you can find more info on each project, the texts come from the panels accompanying each piece)

 

MSAMBWENI ARK.

by João Parrinha, Xandi Kreuzeder

Made of plastic beach sandals and mixed media (size 170x120x120 cm)

"The Msambweni Ark is rising in the sky, saving the last African wildlife from the great pollution on earth and in the water."

Playing with Trash to Keep the Oceans Clean!

You remember me talking about that beach clean I helped organise here in Alicante, as a part of an environmental initiative hosted by the Volvo Ocean Race (story about the Volvo in Alicante here)? I hinted at there being another reason behind the trash collection than just cleaning up the beach... that the trash had a "higher purpose"! Well, it's time (way past it if you ask me! :p) to reveal said purpose: ART!

"Huh? ART??? In the same sentence as TRASH???  Whaaaaaaat???"

I hear you! But let me explain! There's this group of crazy artist surfer dudes who wanted to do something more for the marine environment that is pretty much their home, so they travel around the world collecting trash that the ocean has dumped back on our beaches (or directly abandoned there by man). With this trash they put together some pretty amazing sculptures (which I will share with you in another post) and show them in exhibits in the hopes of raising awareness for the problem of all that damn trash that's floating around in our oceans. Their name: Skeleton Sea. And they're collaborating with the Volvo Ocean Race this year on a project called Keep The Oceans Clean! At each race stopover port they'll organise a beach clean, then with the trash collected (and more "quality" rubbish previously collect elsewhere) they'll organise a series of workshops during which they will create a sculpture with the help of the local population. And Alicante was their first spot! It's a good thing they did bring all that extra beach rubbish with them, because although we picked up a lot of junk during our beach clean up, most of it wasn't "quality" trash, not of much use for the sculpture...




Not much you can do with cigarette butts and lollipop sticks, huh?

Marine Debris and Seal Entanglement

Before I bring back to life series of posts like Fishy Fridays, Page vs Screen, or Come Dive With Me, I've got to finish up with a couple of posts I had prepared just before the holidays and which I didn't have time to work on because of all the Christmas blogging and holiday activities! :p

I'm hoping you remember a few posts I wrote back in October (so long ago, how time flies!) about cleaning up local beaches, particularly the one organized by the Volvo Ocean Race and Skeleton Sea which was to be linked with a workshop centered on creating art from the marine debris... The second part of that post is coming soon (playing with trash!), but first I wanted to share this video with you about how marine debris can inflict harm on Stellar Sea Lions in Alaska. I hope you have 10' to watch it. It's interesting, sadly quite informative about this problem and does offer a few simple suggestions of things we can do to help, even if we don't live on the coast! (for example cutting loops... soft drink / beer six packs anyone?)

And let me launch the first reminder: World Oceans Day is only 5 months away!!! (June 8th) ;o)

WOD: The Pacific Trash Vortex

Did you know there's a massive garbage heap - roughly the size of Texas - floating around in the Pacific Ocean? It's called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or the Pacific Trash Vortex and I think the name is a pretty good indication of what it's made of... NOT PRETTY!!! So think twice about all the plastic you use, and remember next Wednesday is World Oceans Day!

And here's a fun version of this trashy story for the kids:

Bag the bags!

So, are you preparing your post(s) for the 3rd Annual World Oceans Day Oceanic Blog-A-Thon this weekend? I am!!!I look forward to reading what everyone else is willing to share with us! See you here in a few days! :o)