World of Nature

Dove

2008-08-27T22:11:00.000-07:00

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My Technorati

2008-08-27T22:03:00.001-07:00

Technorati Profile

DO NOT STOP ME

2008-08-08T20:45:00.000-07:00

See my blog archives for more photos.

Taal Volcano and the Coconuts

2008-08-08T20:38:00.000-07:00

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Sunset in Makati

2008-08-08T20:36:00.000-07:00

Clouds in Our House

2008-08-08T20:29:00.000-07:00

Poor Dog

2008-08-08T20:24:00.000-07:00

I want you to meet Stan... He's cute isn't it?

Stinging Tentacles

2008-08-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

In Barcelona, a blue patrol boats crisscross the swimming areas of beaches here with their huge nets skimming the water's surface. The yellow flags that urge caution and the red flags that prohibit swimming because of risky currents are sometimes topped now with blue ones warning of a new danger: swarms of jellyfish.

In a period of hours during a day a couple of weeks ago, 300 people on Barcelona's bustling beaches were treated for stings, and 11 were taken to hospitals.

From Spain to New York, to Australia, Japan and Hawaii, jellyfish are becoming more numerous and more widespread. While jellyfish invasions are a nuisance to tourists and a hardship to fishermen, for scientists they are a source of more profound alarm, a signal of the declining health of the world's oceans.

The explosion of jellyfish populations reflects a combination of over fishing of natural predators, like tuna, sharks, and swordfish; rising sea temperatures caused in part by global warming; and pollution that has depleted oxygen levels in coastal shallows.

Jellyfish, relatives of the sea anemone and coral that for the most part are relatively harmless, in fact are the cockroaches of the open waters, the ultimate maritime survivors that thrive in damaged environments, and that is what they are doing.

Within the past year, there have been beach closings because of jellyfish swarms on the CÃ´te d'Azur in France, the Great Barrier Reef of Australia, and at Waikiki and Virginia Beach in the United States.

In Barcelona, one of Spain's most vibrant tourist destinations, city officials and the Catalan Water Agency have started fighting back, trying desperately to ensure that it is safe for swimmers to go back in the water.

Source: http://www.wikio.com/more/home?start=15&count=15&sort=0&wfid=66644064

Trees Near the Sea

2008-08-02T02:33:00.000-07:00

This is the perfect view in Zamboanga, Philippines. See my blog archives for more pictures.

Delicious Lobster

2008-08-02T02:26:00.001-07:00

My first treat when I arrived in Zamboanga, Philippines. See my blog archives for more pictures.

Magnificent Sunset in Zamboanga

2008-08-02T02:15:00.000-07:00

The magnificent sunset in Zamboanga, Philippines. See my blog archives for more pictures.

Sunset in Zamboanga

2008-08-02T02:09:00.000-07:00

The beautiful sunset in Zamboanga, Philippines. See my blog archives for more pictures.

My Trip to Zamboanga

2008-08-02T02:03:00.000-07:00

This is my trip to Zamboanga, Philippines. See my blog archives for more pictures.

Alpine System

2008-08-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

Alps, great mountain system of south central Europe, forming an arc some 1200 km (750 mi) long from the Gulf of Genoa to the Danube River at Vienna. The Alps are the highest and most densely settled mountain belt of Europe, occupying an area of about 200,000 sq km (about 80,000 sq mi) and inhabited by some 20 million people. The valleys of the Alps are areas of year-round settlement; the flatter upland tracts comprise pastures and seasonally inhabited settlements, and the zone above the timberline serves as pasture and for recreation. Important economic activities include tourism, dairy farming, forestry, the production of hydroelectric power, and the extraction of salt and iron ore. With its important pass routes between central and southern Europe, the Alps have been an area of transit trade since ancient times.

Structurally, the Alpine mountain system is divided into the Western and Eastern Alps by a furrow that leads from the Rhine Valley in northern Switzerland, across Splügen Pass to Lake Como in northern Italy. The Western Alps average about 1000 m (about 3300 ft) higher and are narrower and more rugged than the Eastern Alps. The highest peak of the Alps, Mont Blanc (4807 m/15,771 ft), is on the Franco-Italian border. Among the principal ranges are the Maritime, Ligurian, Cottian, and Alpes Grées in France and Italy and the Bernese, Glarus, and Pennine (or Valais) Alps in Switzerland. The Jura Mountains are a northwestern outlier of the French Alps. From Lake Geneva the Alpine ranges curve northeast and become more widely separated, attaining a width of 250 km (155 mi) in the center of the arc. The ranges of the Eastern Alps diverge, finally to plunge to the Danubian Basin near Vienna. Well-known mountain chains of the Eastern Alps are the Bavarian Alps, Allgäu Alps, Hohe Tauern, and Niedere Tauern in the north and the Dolomite and Carnic Alps in the south.

Summit regions above 3000 m (about 9800 ft) are glaciated. Peaks and crests, however, rise above the ice, displaying jagged shapes (toothlike horns, needles, and knife-edged ridges). About 2% of the total area of the Alps is covered by ice. The longest valley glacier, the Aletsch Glacier in the Bernese Alps, is 18 km (11 mi) long.

Broad and deep longitudinal valleys, which hold the courses of the upper Rhône, upper Rhine, Inn, Salzach, Mur, and Drava (Drau) rivers, separate the structural units of the Alps, and contain the main settlements and the principal arteries for traffic. Deeply incised, transverse tributary valleys lead up to the pass regions. Passes at elevations above 2000 m (about 6600 ft) are blocked with snow during the winter months; these include the Mont Cenis, Great Saint Bernard, Simplon, and Saint Gotthard passes. Brenner Pass, at 1,371 m (4,497 ft), and Reschen Pass, at 1508 m (4948 ft), provide the easiest crossings. Engineering feats, such as tunneling of the higher passes for highways and railroads, have lessened the barrier effect of the Alps.

Source: Encarta

Foggy Afternoon in Baguio

2008-07-27T01:07:00.001-07:00

See my blog archives for more wonderful beauty of Baguio, Philippines.

Beautiful Clouds in Baguio

2008-07-27T00:56:00.000-07:00

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The Lion King

2008-07-25T21:43:00.000-07:00

So Beautiful Cliffs

2008-07-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

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Cliff

2008-07-25T21:14:00.000-07:00

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It is Getting There...Thunder

2008-07-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

So in LOVE

2008-07-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

Sunset

2008-07-25T20:27:00.000-07:00

The Beautiful Sun

2008-07-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

So beautiful.....

Global Warming Causes Glacier to Grow

2008-07-24T22:21:00.000-07:00

The glaciers on Mount Shasta in California are growing because of global warming, experts say.

"When people look at glaciers around the world, the majority of them are shrinking," said Slawek Tulaczyk, a University of California, Santa Cruz, professor who studied the glaciers.

But the seven glaciers on Shasta, part of the Cascade mountains in northern California, "seem to be benefiting from the warming ocean," he said.

As the ocean warms, more moisture evaporates. As moisture moves inland, it falls as snow — enough on Shasta to more than offset a 1 C temperature rise in the past century.

The three smallest of the Shasta glaciers are more than twice the length they were in 1950.

Other glaciers in Norway, Sweden, New Zealand and Pakistan were in the same position as Shasta, but are now shrinking because rising temperatures have more than offset the increased snowfall.

As many as 90 per cent of Earth's mountain glaciers are getting smaller, said Lonnie Thompson from Ohio State University.

A U.S. government inventory found that, with one exception, Shasta's glaciers are the only ones growing on the U.S. mainland, said Andrew Fountain, a professor at Portland State University, who worked on the assessment.

The exception is a small glacier that is shaded in the crater of Mount St. Helens, Wash. It's unlikely to continue to grow once it leaves the shade, scientists said.

Four glaciers on the shady north and east sides of Mount Rainier, Wash., are stable.

The Beauty of Tubbataha Reefs

2008-07-24T22:20:00.001-07:00

The name 'Tubbataha' is the Samal word for "long reef exposed at low tide". Samals are seafaring people of the Sulu Sea and are one of the few people who have accessed the Park in early 1980's. Cagayanen people who are more geographically associated with Tubbataha Reefs referred the Park as ‘gusong’.

Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park (TRNP) lies in the middle of the Sulu Sea and falls under the political jurisdiction of Cagayancillo, an island municipality situated 130km to the north. The park is around 150km south-east of Puerto Princesa City - capital of the Province of Palawan - the usual jump-off point for visitors and dive boats going to Tubbataha.

The reef is composed of two atolls, North and South Reefs. Each reef has a single small islet that protrudes from the water. The atolls are separated by a deep channel 8 km (5 miles) wide.
Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park is home to some of the most beautiful coral reefs in the world. Rising from the volcanic depths of the Sulu Sea in the western Philippines, these magnificent atolls encompass an astonishing diversity of marine life.

The park is an underwater sanctuary where nature can thrive. Tubbataha is the Philippines' only National Marine Park and is also a UNESCO World Heritage Site, a place of global importance, being preserved for generations to come.

From majestic whale sharks to elusive seahorses - Tubbataha supports an unparalleled variety of marine creatures. Colourful reef fish crowd corals growing in the shallows while sharks and manta rays haunt the steep drop offs to the open sea.

A team of rangers are stationed on the reef year-round and, from March until June, divers visit Tubbataha to experience the wonders of this unique underwater world.

To view gallery of Tubbataha click here.

Did you know that...

The Manila city council passed a resolution that urged Filipinos to vote online for the Tubbataha Reef in Palawan as one of the "New Seven Wonders of Nature"?

The Nature of Puerto Princesa

2008-07-24T22:13:00.000-07:00

PUERTO PRINCESA CITY, Palawan-- Palawan derived its name from the very shape of the island. It is shaped like an umbrella hence "Paragua" (Spanish) or "Pa-lao-you" (Chinese). It has a total area of 1,703,075 has. and 1,780 islands and islets.

Successful enforcement of the city's ban on compressor fishing (City Ordinance No. 267) was found to result in an over-all improvement in coral cover, including an increase in number, species and size of fish and other indicator species, such as the priced suno.This was the finding of a marine resource assessment (MRA) in the 234-hectare Manyukos Island Marine Sanctuary (MIMS) last August 24 in Purok Mangingisda, Barangay Buenavista, Puerto Princesa City. The over-all conditions of the seagrass and coral reef ecosystems of the MIMS were assessed and compared to data from a 2003 MRA. Members of the MRA team, led by the Samahan ng Maliliit na Mangingisda ng Buenavista (SAMMABU) and assisted by the young fishermen of Buenavista, ELAC and student volunteers,found that the ban had relieved the threat of overfishing in the sanctuary.The nine species of seagrass in Buenavista remain intact but are showing signs of stress due to erosion from upland kaingin, construction, and pollution from a nearby fishpond of the Watchers Multi-purpose Cooperative, which continues to operate despite the lack of required permits.Meanwhile, an MRA done for the 174-hectare Tabang Cove Marine Sanctuary in Barangay. Sta. Cruz, also in the city, revealed that both corals and seagrass have been extensively damaged and overfished due to triple-net fishing and abalone gathering. Most of the massive corals have been either broken or overturned by fishermen collecting abalone from underneath the corals. The findings alarmed the Tabang Cove Sanctuary Management Board (SMB), which immediately passed a barangay ordinance that included the launching of a more aggressive information and education campaign to generate support from the adjacent barangays of Salvacion, Manalo and Tagburos, whose residents frequent the area for fishing. The SMBs of both sanctuaries are now expected to give higher priority to regular sanctuary monitoring after the MRA results were presented to them. Monitoring activities include the deployment of additional buoys and the construction of a guardhouse.

In Memorandum Circular No. 129, Series of 2002, issued by the Secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, local chief executives and sanggunians were enjoined to enact local ordinances banning the use of compressor fishing as fishing apparatus in all fishing activities because of its hazardous effects which resulted to death and paralysis.

Because compressor fishing allows fishermen to go down to depths of more than a hundred feet, improper ascents can result in decompression sickness or “bends”, the effects of which range from headaches and dizziness to paralysis and death. Compressors are also usuallly used in cyanide and dynamite fishing, both of which cause overfishing and the destruction of coral reefs.

Moreover; a light mist of saltwater spray cools my face, as the barka, a motorized outrigger, makes its way across the placid sea. Below the water surface, coral reefs are visible with the naked eye. The water is teeming with marine life, just waiting to be discovered by lucky scuba divers and snorkelers. We run parallel to a coast, covered in thick green jungle. The peak of St. Paul’s mountain rises high above the undisturbed beauty of the rainforest.

And because of the patience and urge of the community of Puerto Princesa, it is now the most "Cleanest and Greenest City in the Philippines". In addition to that, it is one the candidate for the new seven wonders of the world (Subterranean National Park) along with Tubbataha Reef (Sulu), Chocolate Hills (Bohol), and Mount Mayon (Albay). To vote, just log on to http://www.new7wonders.com/ .