I have learned throughout the years of vacationing with my favorite Orcas in the San Jaun Islands (this is Ruffles
the big guy of J-pod pictured here at sunset in July of 2009) that our oceans are in bad shape. The waters around the islands are heavily laced with PCB's (polychlorinated biphenyls), and the whales themselves have HUGE levels of these poisionous toxins in their blood. This substance KILLS. Sadly, many of my whale friends have passed away in the past 15 years, and researchers point to the toxins in the water, as well as to the decline of the salmon population, the Orca's main food source.There are huge garbage patches in the ocean, full of fishing nets and gear, plastic products, and other debris, I have read that one of those dumps is twice the size of Texas. Twice the size of Texas. Now let's think about that for a moment. That is one big trash heap, created by the carelesseness of human beings. Click on this link http://discovermagazine.com/2008/jul/10-the-worlds-largest-dump to read more about this terrible reality.
I also have to mention too that the world's oceans are becoming very acidic due to the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. We all know that CO2 is the main proponent of global warming, and is also the mainly the fault of, you got it, human beings. Sigh. The good news is that President Obama has made it a top priority of his administration to clean up the oceans - YAY President Obama! You can help and learn more by going to http://www.wearblueforoceans.org/ to learn more about this very important issue.
