{"id":7835,"date":"2016-06-09T17:59:42","date_gmt":"2016-06-09T22:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/?p=7835"},"modified":"2018-06-20T07:22:11","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T12:22:11","slug":"climate-change-and-the-oceans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/?p=7835","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change and the Oceans"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Antarctica is calling…..<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

The poem below was inspired by Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins. They are a tough bunch of creatures. Living each day on the edge. In one of our discussions about the penguins someone asked, “What is their strength?” A fellow traveler answered:<\/p>\n

They are what they are
\n<\/strong>Lawrence Wade<\/p>\n

\"Gentoo<\/a>

Gentoo Penguin colony<\/p><\/div>\n

I am the gentoo,
\nLife and death are constant companions
\nThe skua waits for my chick – to move out of reach
\nAn orca may eat me for a snack
\nIt is of no concern to me
\nInterwoven into the fabric of life
\nI am what I am.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Gentoos<\/a>

Gentoos climbing ice floe
Photo by Rodrigo Moraga Zu\u00f1iga- Antarctica XXI<\/p><\/div>\n

I live between two worlds
\nLand and sea.
\nEveryday is an impossible journey
\nOn the ice floe.<\/em>
\nStep by Step.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Gentoo<\/a>

Gentoo Penguin Tracks<\/p><\/div>\n

Falling down \u2013 getting up.<\/em>
\nA trek towards freedom,<\/em>
\nThe ocean.<\/em>
\nThen slowly climb back up<\/em>
\nStep by step.<\/em>
\nMy chick is up there,<\/em>
\nAnd must be fed.<\/em>
\nI am what I am.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"P1110342\"<\/a>I am the human.<\/em>
\nRaw wildness of Antarctica,<\/em>
\nExposes false truths.<\/em>
\nOpportunity to see with fresh eyes<\/em>
\nUnexpressed pain<\/em>
\nOld patterns and beliefs die slowly<\/em>
\nAn unknown path to travel<\/em>
\nI am what I am<\/em><\/p>\n

Two steps forward \u2013 one step back<\/em>
\n Murky water<\/em>
\n Embrace abandoned self<\/em>
\n Reach out for help<\/em>
\n More oxygen<\/em>
\n More hope<\/em>
\n An impossible journey back to myself<\/em>
\nI am what I am
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Chinstrap<\/a>

Chinstrap Penguin<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Deception Island<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Whale try pots where whale oil was rendered.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 2016, I visited two shore-based whaling stations established in the 1920\u2019s or 1930\u2019s. At Deception Island there were eight rusted ovens where the whale blubber was rendered into oil. When I realized what I was looking at, the horror I felt was beyond words. It was like walking through a World War II German death camp.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Whale bones<\/p><\/div>\n

At Whaler\u2019s Cove, we found a pile of large whale bones (probably blue, humpback or fin whales). One of the goals of our group was to \u201clisten\u201d to the land. For most of us it wasn\u2019t hard to hear what the land was saying. From my perspective, there was agony on that beach. The agony of so many whale’s lives cut short. On the day of a whale kill, the beach and water around that cove must have been red with whale blood.<\/p>\n

Whale bones litter the beach<\/em>
\n Reminders of the genocide<\/em>
\n So long ago.<\/em>
\n Still, the air smells of agony<\/em>
\n Humans breath in the pain<\/em>
\n Breath out hope and caring<\/em>
\n Tears fall to the sand<\/em>
\n Removing the stain on the land<\/em>
\n Healing<\/em>
\n For whales and humans<\/em><\/p>\n

Since the 1970\u2019s I have been aware of the Antarctic whalers who decimated the blue whale population in the early 20th century (over 200,00 blues were killed). Sometimes, it is hard to be a human. So much ripping apart of the whale tribes to support the greed of a few people. I have carried this burden with me for 40 years, and I am finally free of it.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Fin Whale<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Antarctica climate change<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Zooplankton NOOA<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Shelf Coral, Great Barrier Reef
Colin Anderson<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Fan Coral
Jane Ball<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

Brain Coral, Yucatan Coast, Mexico (Aaron Wade)<\/p><\/div>\n

\"\"

coral bleaching
photo by Michael Webster<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Coral Bleaching
Reef Resilience Network<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Sea Level Rise<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Causes of Sea Level Rise A. Cazanave LEGOS-CNES<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  The poem below was inspired by Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins. They are a tough bunch of creatures. Living each day on the edge. In one of our discussions about the penguins someone asked, “What is their strength?” A fellow … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7835","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7835","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7835"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7853,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7835\/revisions\/7853"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/oldnaturalist.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}