CALIFORNIA BANS ALL PLASTIC SHOPPING BAGS

 No More Plastic Bags: All plastic carryout bags, including thicker reusable ones, are banned at checkout.

• Paper Bags Required: Retailers must provide recycled paper bags for a minimum fee of 10 cents each
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Fee Retention: Stores keep the 10-cent fee to cover bag costs and educational efforts.
Increased Recycled Content: By 2028, paper bags must contain at least 50% post-consumer recycled content.
Applies To: Supermarkets, large retailers with pharmacies, convenience stores, and food marts. 

THE GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH ? WHERE IS IT? WHAT IS IT? (THE SIZE OF TEXAS!)

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EDU : GREAT PACIFIC GARBAGE PATCH

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is a collection of marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean. Marine debris is litter that ends up in oceans, seas, and other large bodies of water.

The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, also known as the Pacific trash vortex, spans waters from the West Coast of North America to Japan. The patch is actually comprised of the Western Garbage Patch, located near Japan, and the Eastern Garbage Patch, located between the U.S. states of Hawai'i and California.

These areas of spinning debris are linked together by the North Pacific Subtropical Convergence Zone, located a few hundred kilometers north of Hawai'i. This convergence zone is where warm water from the South Pacific meets up with cooler water from the Arctic. The zone acts like a highway that moves debris from one patch to another....

Keep reading! Go to that link above! 

CAL STATE LONG BEACH SHARK LAB : WHITE SHARKS LURK IN THE MUCK

A species older than the dinosaurs.

CSU LONG BEACH SHARK LAB

Sharks are not interested in humans as food...

CAL TECH : NEW TECHNOLOGY TO DETECT EARTH'S PLATES BELOW THE SURFACE

CAL TECH : NEW TECHNOLOGY - EARTH'S PLATES 

Excerpts: Caltech researchers have developed a new method to study the earth's structure deep beneath the surface, at the boundary between Earth's brittle crust and the underlying mantle, a region called the Mohorovičić discontinuity—Moho for short.

.....On continents, the Moho can be found at depths ranging between 20 and 70 kilometers beneath the surface; in Southern California, the Moho is around 45 kilometers belowground. Attempts had been made to image it using conventional seismometers, but these efforts either yield low-resolution results, on the scale of tens of kilometers, or were prohibitively expensive. With the DAS method, researchers can easily observe the structure of the Moho over large regions at a resolution of a kilometer, providing a far more detailed look at this geologically important region.

CALIFORNIA FIRES : SMOKE HUNDREDS OF MILES OUT OVER THE PACIFIC : IMPACT ON WHALES AND OTHER SEA CREATURES

Yes the smoke and debris in the air eventually settle down onto the earth and into the ocean waters. Here's am article on the impact from the PACIFIC WHALE FOUNDATION: PACIFIC WHALE FOUNDATION : WILDFIRE IMPACTS ON OCEAN AND SEA CREATURES

Excerpt:  OCEAN - A large influx of ash and debris, including metals and chemicals, enters waterways, especially following precipitation.  This massive sediment load smothers the coastal ecosystem, covering coral reefs, resulting in significant habitat loss and, eventually, fish and invertebrate mortality.  The resulting water cloudiness reduces light penetration necessary for plants to conduct photosynthesis.  The influx of run-off, which includes nutrients, and sedimentation can induce harmful algae blooms that deplete oxygen levels and cause fish and other animal die-offs.  Subsequently, ash and debris loads are spread wide by tides, currents, and winds, magnifying their effects though nearshore environments.

CALIFORNIA LIGHTHOUSE SOCIETY : AN 800 MILE COAST and FIFTY LIGHTHOUSE

CALIFORNIA LIGHTHOUSE SOCIETY   Use the interactive map to get information on the lighthouse that mariners have relied on for decades.  

MONTEREY BAY AQUARIUM RESEARCH INSTITUTE : INTO THE DEEP : SEA CREATURES IN THE MONTEREY BAY

 There are remote cameras in the bay operated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium....

The many creatures are named and listed are the depths they are found. Lots of squid and jelly.

HOW BAD WILL THE SEA LEVEL RISE BE FOR CALIFORNIA? SURFRIDER FOUNDATION RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT ON BEACHES

SURFRIDER ANNUAL REPORT  Not just the Pacific or California...  but California got an 'A'.

Go to the FULL REPORT.  Washington state improved. Florida and New Jersey got worse.

Go to the GUIDE to see what change you can make.

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Remember that the BEACH ecology impacts the OCEAN and EVERY MARINE ANIMAL IN IT!

BIOLUMINESCENT ALGAE MAKES SWIMMING DOLPHINS GLOW

DAILY MAIL SCIENCE : SWIMMING DOLPHINS BIOLUMINESCENT GLOW

Excerpt: According to Mr. (Patrick) Coyne, the footage was challenging to film and required the perfect conditions - with bioluminescence being both difficult to spot and inherently short-lived in nature.

The glowing effect, often referred to as 'the fire of the sea', is produced by microscopic, single-celled organisms known as dinoflagellates, specifically those of the species Noctiluca scintillans.

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Check out the amazing photos and video at the link.  The photographer Patrick Coyne explains how difficult it was to film.

AMERICAN CETACEAN SOCIETY - GRAY WHALE BEHAVIOR PROJECT - SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

ACS- LA WHALE CENSUS PROJECT 2018 American Cetacean Society

ACS/LA GRAY WHALE CENSUS AND BEHAVIOR PROJECT

EXCERPT:

Spotters also detail migratory behaviors observed, including breaching, spyhopping, rolling, courtship, apparent nursing, possible feeding, and interaction with kelp and with other marine mammals. Participants also note possible human impacts on gray whales, including boat interactions, possible harassment incidents, and entanglements. In addition, we identify and record behaviors of any other marine mammals that utilize these waters, including common dolphin, Pacific bottlenose dolphin, Pacific white-sided dolphin, Risso's dolphin, northern right whale dolphin, killer whales, false killer whales, pilot whales, Dall's porpoise, sperm whales, minke whales, humpback whales, blue whales, fin whales, California sea lions, harbor seals, northern elephant seals, and southern sea otters. When possible, attempts are made to cross-check and augment notes on individually identifiable cetaceans with photos and behavior data collected from commercial and private whalewatching boats.

....  December though may volunteers are whale watching!

HUNDREDS OF STARVING BABY SEA LIONS ABANDONED AND ON SHORE - OVERWHELMING RESCUE

SCIENCE WORLD REPORT - PUPS WASHED ASHORE by Catherine Griffin

Excerpts:

"While sea lion pups are usually weaned from their mothers in April, it seems that many of the young mammals have been separated from their parents earlier this year. In fact, it's estimated that about 45 percent of the pups that were born in June at island rookeries off the Southern California coast have now died...

The pups that have washed ashore tend to be extremely underweight and dehydrated. It's a miracle that they make it to the coast at all. That said, experts believe that the pups are using a combination of ocean currents and swimming to make the arduous journey...

Currently, the sea lion strandings are nearly three times higher than the historical average, and two weeks ago, the Pacific Marine Mammal Center declared a state of emergency due how many sick and stranded sea lions were being brought in.