This past year I've been somewhat of a recluse. I haven't been avoiding social contact, but my "social-ness" has certainly been limited. This is best for me right now as I feel like I need quite a bit of time alone (although "alone" can mean either by myself or alone with Frederick ( Read more... )

Some days start out routine, but turn into very good, interesting days. Such was my yesterday ( Read more... )

By now I think we've all heard various stories of impending environmental doom. Stories like "Humans are causing mass extinctions," "Coral reefs are dying," and "All the world's fisheries will collapse by 2050" are commonplace in the news, but at the same time it is quite easy to shrug those things off as something that will happen in the future ( Read more... )

An article about sea lions ran in the most recent San Francisco Weekly: To Cute To Shoot?. (Article opens in a new window. Go ahead and read it; I'll wait ( Read more... )

After last week's post about "Tillie" the sea lion, I wanted to give an update on his condition. Last Tuesday Tillie was two days post-surgery. He was lethargic, extremely weak, and not eating on his own (because of the fishing net wrapped around his head and mouth it had probably been weeks since he had eaten, or even swallowed anything). When ( Read more... )

If you've ever paid attention to any of the information relating to sustainable seafood then you've probably heard the word "bycatch." It refers to the unwanted or unintentional species caught, and often killed, in the course of collecting your target species. One example would be if you're fishing for trout and you catch a bass, then the bass ( Read more... )

The NOVA special featuring the Marine Mammal Center aired for the first time last night and it was exciting to watch! Sometimes when you're mired in day-to-day workings you don't realize the far-reaching effects of your work, and this just brought it all home for me ( Read more... )

For years my eating habits have been becoming more and more environmentally conscious. Years ago, when I first heard about the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch Program I began eating only fish on their "Best Choices" list. Then last year I began volunteering at the Marine Mammal Center, hearing the stories, and seeing the animals. The ( Read more... )

I read Mark Morford's latest column this morning. In there he talks about the Cottonelle Toilet Paper FAQ. Yup, that's right, answers to "frequently asked questions" about stuff you use to wipe your butt ( Read more... )

I just finished watching the second of a four-part series on PBS entitled Jean-Michel Cousteau: Ocean Adventures. It's a fascinating series (*much* better than Tivo's description makes it sound), following Cousteau and his research crew as they journey northwest through the outer Hawaiian Island chain, 1200 miles from Honolulu ( Read more... )