30 Year Great Lakes ice decline

A study of the Great Lakes shows that ice cover has decreased by 71% in the past 30 years.

1st Boat around the Horn - Volvo Ocean Race

The French boat - Groupama is first around Cape Horn.  Now they can head north to warmer weather.   The American boat Puma, led by New Englander Ken Read, was 10 miles behind them.
Telefonica has rounded the Horn, tucked into the shelter of an island, and set to working on their repairs.
All others struggling with repairs.  Fifth place Abu Dhabi drilled 20 holes in the hull from the outside to bolt into place a reinforcing plate to deal with delamination of the hull  1,500 miles from Cape Horn they're on their own.

Broken boats and bodies as Volvo leaders approach Cape Horn

The leaders are a day from Cape Horn but the carnage is great.

The French  Groupama and the American Puma boats are in the lead after 11 days.

Telefonica is 3rd but will stop at Ushuaia for bow repairs.

Camper is sailing slow and heading to Puertto Montt on Chile's west coast for repairs.

AbuDhabi is sailing slow to assess hull delamination damage

Sanya returned to Auckland for repairs and is a board a ship bound for Savannah for repairs before resuming racing at Miami for the trans-atlantic leg to Lisbon.

Race Tracker - to see them on a map!

Louisiana Oystermen Still Struggling Two Years After Oil Spill | USA | English

Louisiana Oystermen Still Struggling Two Years After Oil Spill | USA | English:
Video HERE


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After the storm - Ventura

Nancy took some beautiful shots today along the beach in Ventura.
 
 

James Cameron Now at Ocean's Deepest Point

Bottoming out.  7 miles below the sea surface in the Mariana Trench  - the deepest place on earth.  Solo.
James Cameron Now at Ocean's Deepest Point:



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30 knots - under sail - in the southern ocean

This is it - downwind in the southern ocean.  30 knots and 7 meter waves.  Five boats heading east.  One, Sanya, limping back to Auckland with a broken rudder and a hole in the back of the boat.

I Still Don’t Believe Mets’ Owners “Knew” - George Vecsey

The great Times sports writer George Vecsey has been around New York baseball for a long time.  He has s somewhat sympathetic view of Messrs. Wilpon and Katz.  I don't know them.  I think they"should have known" that their good buddy Bernie Madoff was a creep: doesn't character show when you see people up close and over a long period of time?  
But I am nonetheless inclined to agree that greed blinded them - the Madoff constant (high) rate of return was rationalized: and they put themselves and their families at enormous risk - and, ultiamtely, great loss. - GWC
I Still Don’t Believe Mets’ Owners “Knew” - George Vecsey: "I think I am old enough to recognize a stricken look.

That is what I have seen on the faces of Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz in the past two years. They are of my generation – although a tad more wealthy – and I think I can tell the look of two people who felt betrayed by a friend. They have seen ruin and even death up close, to people they know.

Now they have settled their case, and perhaps they and the Mets can move on. Or not. But I come to this stage still unconvinced that Wilpon and Katz “knew” Madoff was cheating.

My belief is not based on their including Sandy Koufax in the Madoff web. That’s just one small piece of it.

I have read documents filed by the trustee, listing all the accounts held by Wilpon and his brother-in-law, Katz. The accounts are in the names of Wilpons and Katzes and other people clearly related to these two partners. The next generations, living mostly in favored suburbs of New York. "

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Defend the Magnuson Stevens Act - and our wild fish stocks

From NRDC Switchboard

For the first time in a generation, fish populations are getting healthier – science-based management and rebuilding requirements have led to the recovery of 23 fish species since 2000, according to NOAA Fisheries. This list includes popular fish like New England sea scallop, which comprises the second most valuable commercial fishery in the country, and summer flounder, a favorite for recreational anglers and local seafood markets in the Mid-Atlantic.

And it’s all thanks to the bipartisan, 36-year-old Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the law that’s helped to bring America’s marine fish populations back from the brink of collapse.

That law, however, is under attack right now by fishing lobbying groups that have organized a rally in Washington, D.C. today.  Preserving the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) is the most effective way to keep fishermen fishing by ensuring that enough fish remain in the sea to spawn the next generation. 

In fact, recreational fishing trips have actually increased since the major conservation provisions were added to the law.  In the Mid-Atlantic, for example, the number of recreational angler trips increased by nearly one-third (from 15 million to nearly 20 million trips) from the 1990s, when popular fish species were depleted, to the 2000s, as fish species were recovering to healthy levels.  Most interestingly, while the number of fish permitted to be brought ashore was restricted to allow populations to recover, the overall number of fish caught (including those thrown back) kept increasing along with the growing number of fishermen. 

Peter, Nancy & George near the Russian River

i/a 2007?