Sea Shepherd's Operation Milagro: a miracle for the vaquitas.

I'm sorry I haven't been writing for a while but I'm very busy with my university exams. I promise that from now on I'm trying to write posts more often...starting with this one, a Sea Shepherd's operation that I care very much. Enjoy :) 

The vaquita porpoise is considered by many to be the rarest species of marine mammal in the world – it is critically endangered, at imminent risk of extinction. It is estimated that as few as 97 vaquitas remain, living only in the warm waters of the northernmost tip of the Gulf of California (Sea of Cortéz), near Baja California, Mexico. The smallest of all seven porpoise species, it is also the smallest cetacean in the world. The vaquita, which means “little cow” in Spanish, is also known as the “smiley panda of the sea” due to its signature dark marks around its eyes and mouth.

Vaquitas have a comparatively short lifespan of approximately 20 years, and have never been held in captivity. With a slower rate of reproduction than that of other porpoises – giving birth to only one calf every two years – these petite porpoises are being wiped out far quicker than they can reproduce.

The vaquita population drastically plummets by 18.5 percent every year and it is estimated that it could be extinct by 2018 if they continue to fall victim to by-catch. 

Sea Shepherd with the R/V Martin Sheen is collecting data in an effort to collaborate with scientific and conservation efforts to contribute to the survival of the remaining vaquitas. 

Watch the captain of the R/V Martin Sheen, Oona Layolle, talking about the operation and the incredible and wonderful sighting of a vaquita! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5Gcqv4TQwY 

VIP...for the oceans!

The oceans are more and more endangered and this problem is capturing the attention of several famous people and here are some of them: 

CHRISTIAN BALE 

BRIGITTE BARDOT 

DALAI LAMA 

SAM SIMON 

LENA HEADEY 

Some actors from the HBO series "Game of Thrones" (IAIN GLEN, JASON MOMOA, NATALIA TENA, MILTOS YEROLEMOU and FINN JONES) 

...and lots of others, like Beau Bridges, Holly Marie Combs, Isabel Lucas, Shannen Doherty, Sean Penn, Sean Connery, Martin Sheen, Pierce Brosnan, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ross McCall. 

Join them and all the others who stand for the oceans with Sea Shepherd and other organizations. 

"If the oceans die, we die." Captain Paul Watson 

Pesticides: a vicious circle.

The indiscriminate use of pesticides sets off a vicious circle: 

• natural predators are destroyed 
• emergence of pests resistant to chemicals 
• without predators, pests increase 
• new, more powerful pesticides are created 
• more predators are destroyed 
• emergence of new, more resistant strains 
• without predators, crop pests increase dramatically 
• a new pesticide is put on the market
• ...and the spiral goes on... 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Russia-Iran: the "animal diplomacy" doesn't stop.

Russia and Iran want to reintroduce the leopards in the Caucasus. The Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology and the Iranian Ministry of Environment are about to sign a draft agreement for cooperation in the protection of the environment. 
The Russian vice Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Igor Maidanov, during a visit to Iran signed a document which "is regulating the cooperation between the two countries to preserve the biodiversity and to develop the protected natural territories. The parties have signed the agreement during a meeting in Teheran (on the 29th of December of 2009) between the Russian vice Minister of the Resources, Igor Maidanov, and the Deputy Director of the Iranian Organization for the environment, G. B. Saduk". 
This document disciplines the cooperation between the two countries "in the field of biodiversity conservation, development of particularly protected natural zones and Convention of Teheran". Iranians and Russians also examined the practical aspects of the programme of reintroduction of the Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) in the Western Caucasus. 

The programme, which started during September of 2009, aims to restore the population of these extremely rare felines, which are at risk of extinction, in the Russian part of the Caucasus, restoring the presence of the leopards in their ancient areal. 
In September Maidanov asked the Iranian Ambassador in Moscow, Mamud Reza Sajjadi, if Iran could give some Persian leopards to reintroduce them in the Caucasus. This request concerns at least two female specimens so that they mate with the two males which were given to Russia from Turkmenistan and that are housed in a reserve near Sochi. 
The leopard project was wanted directly from Vladimir Putin as a demonstration of environmental commitment on the occasion of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. Putin, who has a penchant for large carnivores, went to the city on the shores of the Black Sea to personally welcome the Turkmenain leopards. 
Iran is one of the last shelters of Persian leopards, which once populated all the forests and mountains of the Caucasus and central Asia, Small populations of these leopards resist also in Armenia, Georgia and Turkmenistan. 

Things we lost... Falkland Islands wolf.

The Antarctic wolf (Dusicyon Australis) was a native of the Falkland Islands. 
Because of its small size, it was perfect for life on those islands, rich of low and dense forests. 
It hunted birds and small mammals, both in the green spots and in the moors, swept by the cold southern winds. 
Darwin described it, in 1833, as common and meek. Unfortunately, these features couldn't save it from the inhabitans of the islands, who came from England and massacred it, up to the last specimen with the excuse that they had to protect the flocks of sheep. 
It became extinct just twenty years after the arrival of the Europeans in the Falkland Islands. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

The dangers of soluble fertilizers.

Chemical soluble fertilizers are manufactured in liquid, powdery or granular forms. 

In the last 50 years they have been widely used to meet the farmers' requirements for productivity. As a matter of fact, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers don't only improve plant growth but dramatically increase crop yields. If fertilizers, adequately used, are good for plant development, they're not so for soil life. Some potassium fertilizers are lethal to earthworms so, as time goes by, the soil loses its fertility. Moreover, too much potassium makes the plants walls thin and too much nitrogen causes a watery growth. Therefore, the plants become more susceptible to pests and diseases. 

Soluble fertilizers move in three different directions: downwards, sidewards and out of the farm boundaries. 

The downward movement is harmful, as fertilizers go down to the deepest layers and pollute the water tables. 

The sideward movement is also dangerous, as fertilizers reach rivers and waterways, causing the growth of water weeds and algae: the consequence is that insects and fish die. 

Fertilizers which go out of the farms can be found inside the vegetables in our diet, particularly in leafy vegetables. 

However, they shouldn't be confused with chemical pesticides and fungicides, which are highly polluting and have devastating effects on human health and the environment. 

(Thanks to Lorenzo S. for helping me writing this post)

Sharkwater: a shark lover, a battle.

Rob Stewart has been a shark lover since the very first years of his life. In 2007, he made a documentary film to report the dangerous situation in which the sharks are. 
In the film he interviews some people who think it's right to hunt sharks and kill them because they are "man-eaters", a danger to people. Well, this is the result of ignorance surrounding these incredible creatures, which rarely attack men and never do it to eat them, but simply because it can happen that they confuse them with seals or because they are annoyed by electronic equipment. Sharks tend to be afraid of human beings, even our heartbeat can scare them. 
In collaboration with Sea Shepherd, he went to the places that have the largest presence of sharks in the world to show the corruption and exploitation surrounding even the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. 
Sharks have gone from predator to prey because of the demand of their meat and especially of their fins, with which a prized soup is made (even if shark fins have no taste). 
I could see that Sharkwater is a beautiful, well made documentary film and I strongly advise you to watch it! 

"An eye-opening film...visually stunning...this movie will change the way you see our oceans."
- Bonnie Laufer, Tribute Magazine