http://drreese.wordpress.com/2009/10/19/sea-life-along-the-edge

The next time you are walking along the seashore, take a closer look at the wave-battered coast. The beauty of this extremely brutal ecosystem is enhanced many fold by a growing understanding of how it works. 

There is an intriguing collection of animal and plant life that loves along this edge. They are exposed to harsh physical elements: wind, sun and rain when the water recedes at low tide and waves breaking over them at high tide. 

The area between the high and low tides is the inter-tidal zone. Suzie and I and our children cherish the times when we get to explore this ecosystem.

Have you ever seen a starfish eat a mussel?

A starfish will drape itself over the mussel, lock its bone-like structures, called ossicles, onto its prey and form a rigid scaffolding. Using its tube feet, the starfish perches between a rock and each shell of the mussel. The starfish contracts its tube feet, prying the shell open. The starfish everts its stomach out of its mouth and squeezes into the narrow gap between the mussel’s shell. The starfish begins to digest the mussel while it sucks it out of the shell. 

At low tide amongst the exposed rocks you are likely to see clusters of seaweeds, algae, mussels and goose barnacles. Huddled between the rock crevices are starfish. Hermit crabs scurry between the rocks. The crab carries its house, the shell of a dead snail. 

Sea anemones live in tidal pools below mussel beds. As the tide rises, they wait for the waves to wash their prey into their grasp. The tentacles surrounding the anemone’s face are called an oral disk. The mouth is found at the center of its oral disk. A sea anemone has no anus; after digesting a meal, it spits the waste back out of its mouth – including entire shells!

The animal and plant life along the coastline are miraculously adapted to the constant crashing waves. They depend upon the water moving around them to bring oxygen and nutrients, to carry away their wastes, and to transport their offspring to new sites.

Floppy 10-foot-long algae and sea grasses flap and flail in the moving water. They hang onto wet rocks with amazing natural glues. 

Sea spiders crawl along the shoreline rocks and rely upon hooks on the end of their feet to prevent them from being swept out to sea. Snails stick to surfaces using their mucus.

The next time a rock is exposed at low tide, notice a distinct pattern in distribution of animals and plants. 

The top of the exposed rocks is usually colonized by acorn barnacles and periwinkle snails. Mussels and goose barnacles occupy the next horizontal band. Beneath them are turf algae, and lower still is a zone of larger seaweeds and surf grasses with starfish and sea anemones in tidal pools. 

Life at the top of the rock can contend with periodically drying out. Starfish and sea anemones at the bottom, on the other hand, cannot tolerate being sun-baked.

Scientists and engineers have examined a number of animals and plants from the inter-tidal zone; their natural properties are awesome and highly beneficial for humankind. An entire field of biomimetics has blossomed in engineering. The design of human-made materials, devices and structures is inspired by the design of living things.

Non-drip paint mimics the mucus of a snail, which is both a lubricant and a glue. Epoxy glues mimic phenomenal glues from the bottom of barnacles and holdfasts of seaweeds. 

The shell of a snail is made of calcium carbonate – an otherwise brittle compound, yet it’s tough because of its exquisite architecture. Present-day composite materials mimic this fine detail. 

One biomimetic design used hundreds of millions of times each day comes from starfish ossicles. The strength of the ossicle is derived from the molecular criss-cross formation of calcium carbonate compounds. This excellent design has been applied to stiffen the fillers in the rubber tires used on cars and trucks.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/healthy-oceans-can-help-save-us-from-climate-change-70396897.html

Healthy Oceans Can Help Save Us From Climate Change
International coalition advances marine conservation as part of the solution to climate change

WASHINGTON, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — A large international coalition today urged the United States to support marine conservation options that will help mitigate climate change.

The ‘Blue Climate Coalition,’ comprised of sixty-six conservation groups and interests and over 150 marine scientists and professionals, from 33 countries, issued communications today addressed to President Obama and the United States Senate.

Together, the coalition letters request the option for marine conservation solutions to climate change to be considered in national climate change legislation and international climate change treaties, and support for marine science research that further explores this concept.

Eminent oceanographer and conservationist, Dr. Sylvia Earle, endorsed the letters as the first scientist to sign-on. In her latest book, ‘The World Is Blue,’ Earle reveals how dangerous oceanic change threatens the very existence of life on Earth and argues for renewable strategies that safeguard the natural systems that sustain us.

News of the coalition’s effort made its way to Hollywood, and to the notice of Gilles Marini, most recently of ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Dancing With the Stars.’ Gilles signed the letters as a supporter of healthy oceans.

Philippe, Jr., and Alexandra Cousteau, grandchildren of Jacques-Yves Cousteau, signed-on, representing their respective conservation organizations EchoEarth International and Blue Legacy International.

A wide range of interests were represented in the coalition letters: environmental conservation, climate change education and advocacy, ecosystem restoration, the dive industry, ecotourism and sustainable travel, carbon offsetting, fishing, and scientific research.

Scientific Backing

The coalition’s message is supported by reports released recently by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). UNEP’s ‘Blue Carbon’ report highlights the carbon storage potential of coastal and marine ecosystems, such as mangrove forests, seagrass meadows, and saltwater marsh lands.

The UNEP report found that the restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems and a reduction in the clearcutting of tropical forests could mitigate anthropogenic carbon emissions by up to 25%.

The IUCN report, titled ‘The Ocean and Climate Change,’ finds that failure to recognize the ocean in climate change discussions will have profound consequences for humanity. The report also recommends for additional research to quantify the carbon value of ocean ecosystems. This recommendation is echoed in the coalition letters, to ensure full scientific backing any future natural ocean carbon policies.

“Utilizing the natural carbon functions of both the green and blue biospheres of our planet is an option that we simply cannot afford to ignore if we are serious about tackling climate change and making the transition to a sustainable low-carbon economy,” said Mark J. Spalding, President of The Ocean Foundation and signatory to the coalition letters.

The Urgency of Action

“The United States will play a crucial role in next month’s climate change discussions in Copenhagen,” said Steven J. Lutz, Executive Director of Blue Climate Solutions, the group that organized the letters. “We are asking the United States to show global leadership by advancing solutions for climate change that involve coastal and marine conservation. Many U.S. federal and state agencies are already pursuing actions that could be considered climate mitigation, such as the restoration of coastal and estuarine habitats. These actions need to be continued and encouraged.”

Recognizing the carbon value of healthy coastal and marine ecosystems may be significant for achieving consensus at the Copenhagen negotiations. The health of coastal ocean ecosystems is a critical issue for many developing countries, especially small island developing states. The need to restore the ocean’s natural carbon function could help direct billions of dollars towards conservation efforts, while simultaneously supporting local economies and countering the threat of climate change throughout the globe.

Economic stimulus associated with restoring the ocean’s natural carbon function include funding and investment for activities such as improving water quality, ecosystem restoration, coastal surveying, and the innovation of new environmental monitoring and restoration technologies.

“Restoring the ocean’s natural ocean carbon function is proposed as an alternative to potentially harmful ocean geo-engineering schemes recently discussed in Congress,” said Lutz. “Restoration activities that naturally fix carbon in to forms other than dissolved carbon will also not increase ocean acidification.”

Environmental co-benefits associated with natural ocean carbon solutions include renewed and sustainable fisheries, the conservation of endangered marine species and birds, and the restoration of certain coastal ecosystems. Mangrove forests are considered essential habitat for many fish species, and healthy seagrass meadows are indispensable for endangered sea turtles and manatees.

“Sea turtle hatchlings need healthy coastal and marine ecosystems in order to survive,” said Lutz. “It just so happens that we also need the same healthy ocean ecosystems to survive on this blue planet.”

SOURCE Blue Climate Coalition

http://www.marinephotobank.org/resources/Marine-Photobank-Bulletin-Library.php

Marine Photobank: Advancing Ocean Conservation through Imagery
see new images of ocean life and threats

http://livingstories.googlelabs.com/lsps/climatechange#OVERVIEW:false,false,false,n,n,n:null;

The Politics of Global Warming: Can World Leaders Reach a Climate Change Pact?

Summary: The international climate conference in Copenhagen ended with a watered-down agreement that some observers believe will be ineffective in slowing global warming. During the meeting, the U.S. agreed to contribute funds to help poorer countries deal with climate change. The European Union pledged $3 billion in such aid starting next year.

A new report released earlier this month found that an overall global warming trend is continuing and another study suggested that the steps needed to slow, or reverse, it will cost trillions of dollars.

Separately, three lawmakers in this country unveiled new climate change legislation in an effort to break a Congressional roadblock.

Read more…
Jan 5, 2010 C.I.A. Is Sharing Data With Climate Scientists
Dec 18, 2009 5 Nations Forge a Climate Deal, but Many Goals Remain Unmet
Dec 17, 2009 U.S. Offer of Long-Term Aid Pushes Climate Talks Forward
Dec 15, 2009 Delegates at Talks Scramble as Gulf on Issues Remains
Dec 11, 2009 Europe Pledges Billions for Climate Aid for Poor Nations
U.S. lawmakers are considering strategies like so-called “cap-and-trade” proposals under which companies could sell or buy pollution permits. The Obama Administration is also hoping to use legislation to stimulate the production of alternative energy and the creation of “green” industries.

The Copenhagen meeting follows an earlier international summit held in Kyoto, Japan, that produced an agreement in 1997 that did little to slow global warming. Negotiators have signaled that an agreement at December’s meeting is unlikely absent broad consensus among nations on how to share the costs of switching to lower-carbon technologies and fuels.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-helvarg/the-blue-bayou-climate-so_b_388065.html

David Helvarg President, Blue Frontier Campaign
Posted: December 14, 2009 11:51
The Blue Bayou Climate Solution

It’s been said that rainforests are the lungs of the world. In fact its tiny photosynthetic algae in the ocean that account for over half the oxygen we breathe. The oceans are the drivers of weather and climate, the generators of rain and storms. The top two feet of the sea contain as much heat as the entire atmosphere. But the oceans are also among the most susceptible environments when it comes to feeling the impact from anthropogenic — that is to say human generated — atmospheric carbon (See my Sept. 22 blog ‘Bad Acid Trip’).

To date much of the discussion on solutions to rapid climate change and ways to reduce our carbon dioxide outputs have focused on industrial sources and on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. The burning and clearing of global forests is the second largest source of human generated carbon after the burning of fossil fuels.

However, on October 14, the United Nation’s Environmental Program released a report on “Blue Carbon,” showing that as much as 7 percent of the carbon dioxide reductions needed to keep atmospheric concentrations of CO2 below 450 parts per million (the still too-high figure diplomats at the Climate Summit in Copenhagen are aiming for) could be achieved by restoring carbon sequestering mangrove forests, salt marshes, and seagrass beds around the world’s ocean shores.

These key marine habitats, along with coral reefs, act as the wildlife nurseries of the sea and provide protection from storm surges and tsunamis and filter and purify coastal waters, so protecting them would also provide additional benefits beyond fighting climate change. That’s the good news. The bad news, while covering only about .5 percent of the world’s oceans and coasts, they are among the most endangered habitats on earth, being destroyed by coastal development, commercial shrimp farms, bottom dredging and fishing trawls, runoff pollution and landfill.

In a strange and disturbing symmetry the U.N. report suggests that while these habitats could reduce our carbon pollution 7 percent their present rate of loss is also around 7 percent annually so that many of these productive brackish and salt water domains could be gone by 2020.

The report warns there is an immediate need to mainstream an ocean agenda into the climate negotiations now taking place in Copenhagen and to develop a global Blue Carbon Fund equivalent to what’s been discussed for the reduction of emissions from deforestation and degradation (a REDD Fund). The report doesn’t suggest a particular funding mechanism. Luckily I have an idea.

Almost all these Blue Carbon habitats exist in the territorial waters of coastal nations many of who already generate revenues by leasing their offshore waters to foreign fishing fleets and oil and gas companies. In the United States multi-billon dollar royalties are paid to the U.S. Treasury by the offshore oil and gas industry for operating on our public seas. This revenue stream shifts between the second and third largest source of government income after taxes and in close competition with custom tariffs, generating some five billion dollars a year.

Beginning in the 1960s a large part of these offshore revenues went to support the Land and Water Conservation Fund that offset the negative impacts of offshore drilling by buying up parks and wilderness areas for coastal protection and recreation. This was before we understood that oil drilling also represented a product liability issue. This product, used as directed, overheats your planet.

Today, along with land-based solar, wind, geothermal and other green energies a new sector for clean non-carbon production is emerging in offshore wind and tidal power, wave, current and ocean thermal energy conversion. As with oil and gas these offshore industries will be operating on public waters and subject to state and federal royalty payments.

It would make eminent sense if the public revenues generated by this new climate clean marine energy were used for a dedicated Blue Carbon Fund that would protect and restore carbon sequestering coastal wetlands, mangroves and seagrass meadows.

A recently established ‘Blue Climate Coalition,’ made up of marine scientists and conservationists from around the world is advocating for a range of funding mechanisms while also seeking increased scientific research funds to better understand the role these ‘Blue Carbon’ habitats play in regulating our climate.

Large scale restoration in the United States doesn’t need to wait on the emergence of a clean-energy boom offshore however but could start immediately if we’d implement existing (though to date largely unfunded) federal and state commitments of over twenty billion dollars for the reestablishment of ‘America’s Wetland,’ the rapidly declining salt marshes known as the Louisiana Bayous, also the recovery of the seriously degraded Chesapeake Bay Estuary and the extensive Florida Everglades, ‘river of grass.’ These are public works projects that could quickly generate ‘shovel ready’ jobs for unemployed workers while also protecting us from the worst impacts of climate change.

Saving our Carbon Blue habitats is just one practical way we can start taking climate action while also helping restore the living blue part of our blue marble planet. Like Rahm Emanuel says, ‘No crisis should go to waste.’