June 8 is World Ocean Day!

The Oceans of Earth cover 70% of the planet and is home to the majority of our plant and animal life.
How can we not have a day to honor our Oceans?

World Ocean Day was created at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea.

What kinds of things can we do to recognize World Ocean Day?

www.theoceanproject.org...

Change perspective - encourage individuals to think about what the ocean means to them and what it has to offer all of us with hopes of conserving it for present and the future generations.

Learn - discover the wealth of diverse and beautiful ocean creatures and habitats, how our daily actions affect them, and how we are all interconnected.

Change our ways - we are all connected to the ocean! By taking care of your backyard, you are acting as a caretaker of our ocean. Making small modifications to your everyday habits will greatly benefit our blue planet.

Celebrate - whether you live inland or on the coast we are all connected to the ocean; take the time to think about how the ocean affects you, and how you affect the ocean, and then organize or participate in activities that celebrate our world ocean.

If you happen to find any new articles for World Ocean Day tomorrow please do post them on this thread.

Fiji joins World Oceans Day event

Various stakeholders concerned with the environment held exhibitions in Suva yesterday as part of Environment Week.

WWF South Pacific Program co-ordinator Ashwini Prabha said Fiji would join the global community in celebrating World Oceans Day today.

"WWF Fiji, USP's Institute of Marine Resources, the Laje Rotuma Initiative, Department of Fisheries and the Ministry of Environment have actively worked to engage the corporate community in Fiji to support ocean and environmental protection," she said.

The finale to World Oceans Day activities in Fiji will be a formal turtle Benefit Ball.

California has launched ``Thank You Ocean Day'' to coincide with World Ocean Day.

California To Celebrate First Annual ``Thank You Ocean Day'' Friday, June 8
SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--California will celebrate its first annual “Thank You Ocean Day” Friday, June 8 to coincide with the internationally-recognized “World Ocean Day.” Thank You Ocean Day is designed to encourage public involvement and provide information about how to help protect Pacific Ocean health and resources.

“Thank You Ocean Day recognizes the role that all Californians play in protecting our precious ocean resources,” said Secretary for Resources Mike Chrisman.

To celebrate Thank You Ocean Day, a variety of events are scheduled around the state, from concerts and films to lectures and educational events. Many of California’s aquariums will offer reduced rates or free entrance and special programs. A list is attached.

People are encouraged to use Thank You Ocean Day as an opportunity to make a difference in ocean health by participating in a beach cleanup, writing lawmakers about ocean protection, or recycling.

All the cruise ships should hold off dumping human waste in the oceans today... out of respect for Ocean Day.

Originally posted by Nemithesis
All the cruise ships should hold off dumping human waste in the oceans today... out of respect for Ocean Day.

I vote next year, the day before world Oeean Day is world Curry Appreciation day!

Edit to add: Is Human a big problem out in deep waters? I mean compared to say the other running emmisions of said cruse ship.

Is is this a symbolic gesture?

[edit on 8/6/2007 by Now_Then]

Originally posted by Now_Then

Originally posted by Nemithesis
All the cruise ships should hold off dumping human waste in the oceans today... out of respect for Ocean Day.

I vote next year, the day before world Oeean Day is world Curry Appreciation day!

And the day before that can be world Asparagus Appreciation Day!

Edit to add: Is Human a big problem out in deep waters? I mean compared to say the other running emmisions of said cruse ship.

Is is this a symbolic gesture?

No, it's becoming a rather serious problem. With cruise ships averaging 2000 passengers and more and more traffic in specified lanes, the dumping of human waste into the oceans coming back to haunt us just like the factory waste dumping into rivers and lakes did back in the 1920's through the 1960's.
It was just a matter of time before the bacteria in human waste would naturally find a way to survive or evolve in salt water. Meet the Norovirus!

Look at these stats...
www.cdc.gov...

Many "experts" claim it's due to people bringing bugs on board, or the ship not being cleaned properly, but those statistics are overwhelmingly pointing to the same conclusion... they are sucking the Norovirus from the oceans and it's surviving the desalination process and going into the potable water supply.
There really isn't another viable explanation.


[edit on 8-6-2007 by Nemithesis]

[edit on 8-6-2007 by Nemithesis]

Nemithesis that’s interesting.

Must say I never given it too much thought. Before your post I would of said that the action of deep water would of rendered even a relatively large amount of human waste harmless in minutes, especially when the boat was under way.

Looking about a bit, it seems that a Reverse osmosis (RO) desalination pump is the standard for cruse ships. I've worked with water a bit, that will do more than just 'get the lumps out' but more is required to get the water to a drinking standard. The gold standard I suppose would be to superheat and condense the water, but thinking about cost, then it would be treated with chemicals.

Must say, In my naivety, I thought fresh water supplies were taken in tanks and restocked as necessary. And a desalination plant was just a back up. Hope the intake is at the front of the vessel - and the outlet at the rear!