Recent trends in agriculture, restaurants and “sustainable” farming have given eco-friendly meat lovers everywhere ways to continue enjoying their barbecues while preserving a guilt-free conscience. 

In today’s New York Times,  James E. McWilliams asks whether there in-fact is any way for there to be sustainable industrial agriculture with minimal cost to the environment and our health. 

In his OpEd he expresses that the real environmental questions is not HOW do we produce animal products but “whether we should produce them at all”. 

An article that is sure to inspire a heated debate. 

Read it here. 

Blockbuster director James Cameron set a different kind of record on Monday by becoming the 1st person to reach the Challenger deep site (the deepest recess of the Mariana Trench) solo. While on his voyage 11 kilometers below the surface of the ocean, Cameron collected samples that will play a large role in helping us understand the biology of the deep water habitat. 

It’s so exciting that there are still so many places in the world that we know very little about. Discoveries and missions like the one led by National Geographic and Mr. Cameron should inspire a whole new generation of scientists and researchers and that, is something that Avatar can’t claim!

Innovation and discovery have always been a double edged sword. While our society and culture progress with new inventions, these same inventions can tend to create new problems. It’s a story as old as time. The printing press helped spread knowledge and educate the masses, but also provided a tool for propagandists. Nuclear energy has helped provide electric power to countless households without the need for fossil fuels, but has also allowed for the engineering of weapons of mass destruction. The list goes on. 

In the 21st Century, the Internet has helped give everyone a voice; it has connected people and alerted them to injustices taking place halfway around the world, but it has also helped facilitate atrocities. In a recent article, the BBC has highlighted the dangers of sharing newly discovered species on the Internet. While we should rejoice in learning of wildlife discoveries, the article tells of a sordid twist of fate. Due to the rarity of many such species, writing about them can help them become objects of desire for limitless illegal wildlife collectors worldwide. While wildlife enthusiasts read of discoveries around the world, so do smugglers and traffickers. 

This reality puts conversationists in a bind. It is difficult to raise money for new discoveries and conservation efforts without sharing findings but sharing findings can make their work more challenging. Some conservationists argue that listing species as endangered can seal their fate. The BBC article offers no solutions to the problem but we ask you: How would you solve this dilemma? 

Read the BBC piece here. 

Great video explaining how shark tags work. 

We are so excited to have been a part of this trip! 

You can follow Berry the tiger shark here: http://rjd.miami.edu/learning-tools/follow-sharks/track-berry.html

Eleanor Phillips, Program Director, North Caribbean Program at The Nature Conservancy, explains the importance of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) in The Bahamas. 

MPAs, such as this one in the South Berry Islands, are exactly the sort of real world conservation efforts that our players are supporting by playing MyConservationPark. 

More from our trip to the South Berry Islands MPA! 

In this video, Neil Hammerschlag, PhD, leading Shark Tagging Scientist with R.J. Dunlap Marine Conservation Program at the University of Miami, talks about the severe threats facing tiger and great hammerhead sharks, their peculiar nature and the great challenges of shark research in the newly created MPA in the South Berry Islands, Bahamas.

Enjoy this clip of our team taking measurements and tagging a lemon shark while in the Bahamas 

Other than a hairy paddle-boarding excursion across the open ocean with the first man to have crossed the Bering Sea kitesurfing (see this p.s. it was my first time paddle-boarding), I made it back in one piece from the South Berry Islands where I joined The Nature Conservancy and Summit Series in surveying our newly minted MPA. It was a thrill to witness a sanctuary that our game players are helping to support!! There is so much to tell, but some key takeaways are: 

1. Shark research is hard: trying to capture key data, take a biopsy, blood and a dorsal fin sample, as well as fix a satellite tag to a tiger shark in under 7 minutes while keeping it calm is, well, pretty challenging. As one friend on the trip put it, it’s like a Formula 1 pit stop and many things can go wrong. 

2. Patience is a virtue: despite the University of Miami team having extensively chummed the waters the night before and throughout the day, sharks do not show up just like that. We spent several 8-9 hour days in a 25 foot tender surrounded by shark bait and were fortunate to have caught and released 3 sharks on one lucky day - and only 1 had a dorsal fin capable of supporting a satellite tag. Frankly, I think they were on to us.

3. Once you do capture and secure a shark, don’t get off until Neil tells you to: Capturing a shark is like few things I’ve experienced before and you grow deeply concerned about the welfare of the animal. Trying to fasten a satellite tag on the dorsal fin of a tiger shark while straddling its back is tricky - don’t lose your concentration! There’s a lot going on of course and a large team hopping madly around the stern of a not very big boat as the UM scientists shout out commands to us all. But with all the commotion sometimes a few instructions get lost in the shuffle, e.g. “Don’t get off the shark!” I commend Dr. Neil Hammerschlag and his team including Austin, Virginia and Curt for how they are pushing the boundaries of shark research and involving people from all walks of life in the experience in an effort to protect these awesome creatures.

Hats off again to Thayer Walker at Summit Series for bringing together such an interesting group of people on such short notice for this once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Amazing.

-Gregory

February, 2012

This has been translated from the original Portuguese. To read the original article please click here. 

Combining gaming and social causes has turned out to be a very effective way to engage players on Facebook and a great way to raise funds for philanthropic causes. Last year, Zynga raised money through some of their games to benefit victims of the earthquakes in Japan and Haiti. Today, we are seeing increasing use of social games for philanthropic initiatives. 

The startup Good World Games is developing games for Facebook whose sole objective it is to combine the power of humanitarian causes with the virality of social gaming. Their first game is called MyConservationPark and it aims to have players protect animals from human and environmental threats while creating a sustainable habitat with diverse fauna and flora. 

There are two game modes for players to choose from. In Play mode, new challenges appear continuously and players must overcome them to save and protect their endangered species. In this mode, ecosystem and hero health directly affect the players’ performance and ability to deal with these challenges. 

In Decorate mode players can create a biodiverse environment for their species by adding animals, trees, water, food, sheds and other elements. In this mode players can purchase rangers, native species, watchtowers and even insects. 

All in-game purchases of virtual items in MyConservationPark directly benefit Good World Games’ charity partners with 15% of revenue donated to selected causes. Each park benefits a different non-profit partner. Some project partners are: the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, Sea Shepherd, WildAid and Orangutan Outreach. Players are able to see what percentage of revenue has been donated to each non-profit. 

Photo from the field! Tiger Shark Pup caught in the Bahamian MPA getting some measurements taken prior to being released back in to the ocean.