H ALIBUT HERALD

December 17, 2009

Christmas Trees From Around the World

Thanks to Lani Mino (& my Mom!) for emailing a lovely collection of trees from around the world. If you are really into
decorative trees and you want to learn more about these photos (or see bigger version of them) just email me @
Emerald.Asuncion@vanaqua.org and I’ll fwd that on to you. Enjoy!

Reindeer Cleared to Land in Georgia Christmas Eve Before the Fall of the Reindeer People
Georgia Commissioner of In the freezing far
Agriculture Tommy Irvin northern reaches of
has granted a special 24- Europe, live an
hour permit for nine flying indigenous, semi-
reindeer to visit Georgia nomadic people of
on the evening of fishermen, fur
December 24th and in the trappers and
early morning hours of reindeer herders.
December 25th and has Like a thin but
received a certification stubborn sheet of
from the applicant that the ice, these people
sleigh and reindeer will be have inhabited
free of any foreign pests or Sápmi, a large but sparsely populated area covering parts of
invasive plant species. northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and Russia’s Kola Peninsula
READ ON: for thousands of years.
http://www.wctv.tv/news/headlines/79524622.html READ ON: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/featured/before-
fall-reindeer-people/18225
Bioluminescent Jellyfish 1.5 Sand Castle Explosions Backwards (Video)
Miles Beneath the Sea “Sand Blasters: The Extreme Sand
Sculpting Championship”. Over the
course of this intense two-day
competition, five of the eight sculptures
are randomly selected for complete
destruction by a Hollywood
pyrotechnics crew. The ill-fated blast
victims then have the remaining time to
create another world-class work of art
in order to contend for the
championship title.
WATCH:
About 90% of all ocean animals are http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x
bioluminescent. The feature is not only 15ph4_sand-castle-explosions-
used to attract prey, but has three other backwards-v2_extreme
important functions: camouflage; its
opposite, a warning message to potential Octopus Is First Invertebrate to
predators; and communication with The Oldest Lunar Calendar
members of the same species, for example on Earth Use Tools, Turning a Coconut
when mating. It’s like flashing your best, er, Into Mobile Home (Video)
tentacle forward.
READ ON:
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/fea
tured/bioluminescent-jellyfish-miles-
beneath-sea/18295

Dugong Returned to Sea

The Oldest Lunar Calendars and Earliest Scientists have found an octopus that is
Constellations have been identified in using a coconut shell as its own shell. It
cave art found in France and Germany. carries the shell along with it - squatting it's
The astronomer-priests of these late body inside, with its legs hanging over so it
Upper Paleolithic Cultures understood can walk along the ocean floor. When it is
mathematical sets, and the interplay ready to camp, it covers itself with the shell.
between the moon annual cycle, ecliptic, WATCH:
solstice and seasonal changes on earth. http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/12/
READ ON: octopus-is-first-invertabrate-to-use-
http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/f tools-turning-a-coconut-into-mobile-
A rarely seen dugong was saved by local
eatured/oldest-lunar-calendar/15204 home.php
fishermen in the proposed Tun Mustapha
Park, near Pulau Banggi, early Tuesday.
READ ON: Need Some Optimism
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cf
m?NewsID=69540
Around Climate Change?
Ode Offers "Solutions We Need Now"
Have You Ever Seen a Gray Killer Whale? FREE ONLINE EDITION!
Amidst the
controversy
and debates
of the
COP15, it is
refreshing to
hear
someone talk
about real
solutions.
FREE
EDITION:
Capt. Jim Maya of Maya’s Westside Charters photographed what appears to be a http://www.s
gray killer whale. The young animal was swimming south of Victoria with a group of olutionswen
seal-eating transient orcas known as the T-11s. eednow.org/
READ ON: http://pugetsoundblogs.com/waterways/2009/12/10/have-you-ever-
seen-a-gray-killer-whale/#ixzz0Zz9ivKXR
B is for B Corps Original Sound Track

Between impact investing and mergers, Lucy Bernholtz,

president of philanthropic consulting firm Blueprint
Research & Design, talked about B Corps, the designation
for businesses holding a social good certification (think
LEED for social enterprise) from a group called B Lab.
READ ON:
http://www.poptech.org/blog/b_is_for_b_corps
Designer Ricardo Seola created this educational music toy for children,
that features a train that literally plays the track. the design borrows
New VanAqua Parents in 2009 Deserve from the simple mechanics of wind-up music boxes and implements it
in a whole new way. Because the track is divided into sections,
Great Green Gifts! children can rearrange them to change the song in
new ways.
READ ON:
http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/8/view/8290/the-original-
sound-track.html

Overwhelmed by Green Gift Advice? Shop Sustainably

with 3 Simple Questions!
1. Is it up-cycled or made
from sustainable
Though fashionable kids clothing is great, it’s almost a materials?
certainty that they’ve already purchased tons of that stuff 2. Is it resource saving?
while in ‘the glow.’ Here’s a list of great green gifts for 3. Is it vintage or pre-owned?
new parents that are positively eco-cool and practical. READ ON: http://bit.ly/7audLq
READ ON:
http://www.inhabitots.com/2009/12/14/holiday-gifts-for-
new-parents/
Biking 2.0: MIT's big wheel in
Copenhagen (w/ Video)

This week @ the Cop15 Conference on Climate

Change, MIT researchers debuted the
Copenhagen Wheel -- a revolutionary new
bicycle wheel that not only boosts power, but can
keep track of friends, fitness, smog and traffic.
Though it looks like an ordinary bicycle wheel
with an oversized center, the Wheel's bright red
hub is a veritable Swiss army knife's worth of
electronic gadgets and novel functions.
READ ON:
http://www.physorg.com/news180212131.html
 A Fish Oil Story

“WHAT’S the deal with fish oil?”

I knew that concerns about
overfishing had prompted many
consumers to choose
supplements as a guilt-free way
of getting their omega-3 fatty
acids, which studies show lower
triglycerides and the risk of heart
attack. But I had never looked
into the fish behind the oil and
whether it was fit, morally or
environmentally speaking, to be
consumed….
Working with READ ON:
A Green Guide to long-time http://www.nytimes.com/2009/
Toothpaste (Including collaborator 12/16/opinion/16greenberg.ht
Fluoride and SLS Fluoride- Frank Gehry, ml?_r=1
Free!) BMD joined with
Panamanian and
world citizens to US Pledges $1B
create a new kind Toward Rainforest
of museum: the
Panama Museum Conservation
of Biodiversity
Puente de Vida
(“Bridge of Life”).
Located at the
Pacific entrance
to the Panama
Canal, the
Many people have a bit of a museum
love/hate relationship with eco- is a portal to the Speaking at an event in
toothpaste. You love that it’s so pure richest and most Copenhagen, Vilsack said the
and clean – but sometimes, you diverse U.S. would contribute $1 billion
hate the taste and miss the days of ecosphere on over three years to a $3.5 billion
blissfully brushing it up. And then earth. package pledged by Australia,
there is the controversy that is The museum France, Japan, Norway, and the
fluoride. Did you know that fluoride inspires as it United Kingdom to jump-start a
is considered poisonous? educates about program — known as REDD+
Check the link for your best biodiversity – — to slow and eventually
options!
a complex but essential vision of life that is both a leading- reverse deforestation in the
READ ON:
edge scientific theory and a tool to protect our most precious tropics.
http://www.greenopia.com/LA/ne READ ON: http://bit.ly/7ul6Xu
ecological resources.
ws/15733/12-22-2009/Our-Green-
READ ON:
Guide-to-Toothpaste-
http://www.brucemaudesign.com/#98209/Panama-
Museum-of-Biodiversity
SCUBA CLAUS! Featured… Caribbean Volcano Cam

Observations both visually and with specialized thermal imaging

cameras help the MVO to determine where the focus of activity
and dome growth is located and how this changes with time.
The other day my mom took me to see the most incredibly
amazingly awesomest thing EVER!!! You’ve seen Santa in the mall, This view shows a thermal image of the Soufriere Hills Volcano
you’ve seen him on TV, but have you ever seen him swimming in a overlain on top of a normal photograph. The thermal image was
giant tank with huge fishes at the Vancouver Aquarium? I HAVE! taken on Monday the 14th December at 3:05 p.m. Relative
Scuba Claus is there every weekend in December and also temperatures are shown in different colors. Blue is colder and
December 19-23 at 11:30am. yellow is hotter.
READ ON: http://vancouverisawesome.com/2009/12/18/scuba- READ ON: http://www.mvo.ms/
claus/

Archival Photo

Orca habitat, 1990. Photo by M. Butschler

 Library News
For more library news, book reviews, access to our online catalogue and much more, visit us on the
aquanet: http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/default.aspx

Get your up-to-the minutes news via RSS feed from the library’s What’s new pages. Currently, there are
two What’s new pages running a variety of interesting news feeds

What’s New – Animals and Nature – for news about birds, reptiles, marine mammals, and places such as
the Arctic http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/WhatsNewAnimalsandNature.aspx

What’s New – Business and General – for news about business, finance, tourism, visitor experience and
marketing http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/What%27sNewBGN.aspx

News on Environmental conservation and education will soon be available via the Conservation Current
http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/ConservationCurrent/Pages/Default.aspx

Did you know that the Library has access to over 100 journals and magazines??
At least 80 of these are available full text online.
For a complete hyperlinked list, visit the library journals page on Aquanet:
http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/Journals.aspx

As well, you can find new books and movies listed on this page of Aquanet:
http://aquanet.vanaqua.org/IS/CRS/Lib/Pages/LibraryCatalogue.aspx

Events
Twenty-four… yes 24!… Vancouver
musicians will be taking part in a day of
Busking for Change in support of War Child
Canada at 3 different locations in Vancouver
on Friday (18th).

The 3 locations include Library Square

(Homer & Georgia and Hamilton & Georgia)
and Vancouver City Centre (Granville &
Georgia).

See link for schedules and who is playing

when!

http://vancouverisawesome.com/2009/12/
16/vancouver-musicians-busking-for-
change/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UVy7uUceXw
The VAHC meetings begin at 7:30 p.m. in the
Aquatic Planet classroom on the first Wednesday
of each month. Meet at the Aquaquest reception
entrance. Talks generally get going around 8 p.m.
after a hobby club Q & A session. The
talks/meetings are free to attend, but if you find
yourself coming to quite a few, a membership to
the club is always a great idea (a mere $20/year!)