Sea Otters: yet another slap in the face!

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

A colleague of mine sent this link to me recently. It's about the alarming population declines of California Sea Otters.

Sea otters have already been impacted by a vicious change in the food chain here in our western coastal waters: Overfishing, algae-blooms, O2 dead zones have severely depleted our marine species of fish; this, in turn, has impacted seal and sea lion populations; this has led killer whale populations to seek a dietary alternative - sea otters, small and easy targets. The food web crash does not end there. Sea otters' favorite meal (aside from clams, mussels, and abalone!) is sea urchins. Well... the sea urchins are now out of control, and since these herbivorous echinoderms love grazing on the hold-fasts of kelp, now the kelp forests that blanket the waters offshore are in severe decline. It should be known that some of these kelp beds possess a diversity of life comparable to that of a rainforest! So, without them, there goes the whole California offshore neighborhood!

Here's the link. What's Killing the Sea Otters? - KQED QUEST Television Story

Please pass it along. Thanks.

Steven Krause

[drache]

does that mean the price of sea urchin at sushi restaurants will come down to the level of mackerel?
sorry - couldn't help myself - I love sea urchin
as for the environment: drive less, use less plastic, buy bulk, use less plastic, use less chemicals, get a shopping bag, use glass instead of plastic when you can
I know they're all around us and we're not conscious all the time, but as much as possible - avoid plastics
it's hard to think that they've not been around that long and people managed their storage needs before then (they had less stuff too)
be conscious of which plastics are recyclable and to what extent
and remember that our market imperative to consume is in direct conflict with the environment, so we're really in a no-win situation
I've probably posted this before
The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard
don't mean to get preachy or anything . . .

[infernalis]

I'm with you here Rhea......

Like I said before, how much longer before mother nature decides she's had enough of us??

[Stefan-A]

as for the environment: drive less, use less plastic, buy bulk, use less plastic, use less chemicals, get a shopping bag, use glass instead of plastic when you can
I know they're all around us and we're not conscious all the time, but as much as possible - avoid plastics
it's hard to think that they've not been around that long and people managed their storage needs before then (they had less stuff too)
be conscious of which plastics are recyclable and to what extent
and remember that our market imperative to consume is in direct conflict with the environment, so we're really in a no-win situation
I've probably posted this before
The Story of Stuff with Annie Leonard
don't mean to get preachy or anything . . .

There is also one environmental deed that is a complete taboo. It has to do with a certain biological imperative, and I don't think most people would seriously even consider it.

[Stefan-A]

Like I said before, how much longer before mother nature decides she's had enough of us??

She hasn't exactly been pulling any punches thus far.

[guidofatherof5]

Mother nature showes us the balance we need for our lives. Instead we opt for cheap, quick, and easy. If we look back in our history we see many examples of the balance we can have with nature and still have the "things" we need(Not just want).

[Stefan-A]

Mother nature showes us the balance we need for our lives.

I don't see it.

[Garter_Gertie]

There is also one environmental deed that is a complete taboo. It has to do with a certain biological imperative, and I don't think most people would seriously even consider it.

I've been a good girl. Granted it wasn't by choice, it just wasn't in the cards for me. And it sure wasn't for lack of trying. When that age everything known to science was used/tried and it still didn't work.

[infernalis]

Originally Posted by guidofatherof5


If we look back in our history we see many examples of the balance we can have with nature and still have the "things" we need(Not just want).

I don't see it.

Back before the Europeans decided they wanted this hunk of real estate, The original native American tribes had a balance with mother nature.

It was forbidden to kill anything without a reason, The whole way of life was to revere nature and respect it.

They made the best use they could from what they had, and without waste, a harmony, a balance..

Then one day a ship pulls up on the shore, and a more "Modern" man arrived.

This modern man came from a part of the world where it was acceptable to toss garbage into the rivers, It was acceptable to claim lord over the lands, kill for fun and sport, dig up the earth to remove whatever was wanted.

Native Americans would have been better off left alone.

Excuse me, sorry to carry on....

Thanksgiving is one holiday I have a hard time with, in just over 200 years time European influence has forever ruined continents....

Not something to give thanks for.

[Stefan-A]

Not quite what I was referring to, but anyway..