Aurora Reservoir Beach Cleanup Join Ocean First Divers for a beach cleanup at Aurora Reservoir! Jun 18, 2010
Aurora Reservoir Beach Clean Up!July 10 from 8am - 2pm
Join the Ocean First Divers crew at Aurora Reservoir on Saturday, July 10 as we do our part to spruce up the diving area. OFD has joined forces with several other Colorado dive centers to clean up the beach area and we need your help! Divers must be at least 18 years old. Lunch will be provided for all participants.
Information meeting July 8 at 5:30pm
Please register for this event by sending an Email to: info@oceanfirstdivers com
or call 303.444.7234
Equipment Rental Prices (special price for this event only)
2 tanks, weights, weight belt, 7mm full wetsuit, BCD & regulator: $38 plus tax
2 tanks, weights, weight belt & 7mm full wetsuit: $20 plus tax
2 tanks, weights & weight belt: $10 plus tax
Please indicate what equipment you will need when you register for this event.
Gulf Oil Spill Now Bigger Than Exxon Valdez U.S. Geological Survey Director Marcia McNutt said two different teams of scientists calculated that May 27, 2010
Oceanic Defense: Bringing Light to Our Ocean's Plight Scientists say the loop current has changed and the Florida Keys are safe for now. Let's hope BP fig May 26, 2010
Growing low-oxygen zones in ocean worry scientists Lower levels of oxygen in the Earth's oceans, particularly off the United States' Pacific Northwest Mar 9, 2010
2009 Environmental Achievement Award Global Dive Operators Receive Environmental Honors Jan 1, 2010
Project AWARE Foundation honors dive operators around the world who display commitment and excellence in their efforts to protect underwater environments within business operations and their community.
"The Environment Achievement Award is about rewarding vision, excellence and pursuit of conservation. More importantly, this award ensures the enjoyment of underwater environments for future generations," states Dr. Drew Richardson, Chairman, Project AWARE Foundation.
2009 recipients operate in an environmentally responsible manner, take part in protection of local ecosystems and demonstrate an outstanding commitment to underwater conservation in three primary areas; education, advocacy and action.
Buy a billboard in China and strike a blow against shark fin soup A $100 donation sponsors a billboard against finning Dec 17, 2009
Demand for shark fin soup in Asia is the number one reason why shark populations are plummeting throughout the world.
Now you can take advantage of an unprecedented opportunity to make a direct impact in the fight to save sharks.
Shark Savers and WildAid are collaborating on a multi-media campaign in China targeting the consumers of shark fin soup.
Last year's billboard in Beijing featuring Yao Ming
You have a rare opportunity to make a difference.
For $100 you can fund a "Say 'no' to shark fin soup" bus stop billboardfeaturing basketball star Yao Ming,
one of China's most popular and influential citizens. This price includes production, installation, maintenance, and lighting for a full year. These ads are large, most are lighted, and they will be placed in many high-traffic locations in Beijing and Shanghai at eye-level.
Last year, WildAid had 200 billboards in Beijing for 3 months. In a survey, 19% of Beijingers responding remembered having seen the boards and 82% of those people said they would stop or reduce their consumption of shark fin soup. Imagine the power of 1000 billboards for an entire year. This campaign works and your billboard will have an impact!
Another view of last year's billboard in Beijing
The billboards are part of our broader shark fin soup campaign in China and will reinforce the message of television public service announcements, also featuring Yao Ming. They will direct viewers to the web site where they will learn about the environmental and health dangers of shark fin soup. At the web site, they will be invited to take a pledge promising to halt their own consumption, and be able to access campaign materials directed at restaurants, businesses, and those planning weddings.
Time is running out for sharks. Let's stop the problem at its source. Join Sharks Savers and WildAid in a proven campaign that truly motivates people to stop eating shark fin soup.
Take action now. Your billboard will make sure the citizens of Beijing and Shanghai see this important message every day.
Together we will make a difference. Thank you for your support.
The Boulder Public Library will begin offering Kill-A-Watt meters for check-out to patrons on Tuesday, December 15. The program, called "Power Check", is a collaboration with Xcel Energy and the joint City and County ClimateSmart program. Power Check encourages residents to use the meters in their homes and learn how much energy appliances and devices consume. The meters include instructions for use.
The Kill-A-Watt meters will be available at the Main Boulder Public Library, as well as the Meadows and Reynolds branches. The meters check out for three weeks and must be picked up at the front desks. The meters can be placed on hold in the library system using a library card. Users may search for the meters with "Power Check" in the library catalog.
"The Power Check program is one more clear way that your public library provides sensible resources for residents' everyday lives," says Library Director Tony Tallent. "Through this program, we're building a new partnership with Xcel Energy and ClimateSmart, as well as helping our community members understand more about their own household energy use, and for the library patron, it's as easy as checking out a book!"
The End of the Line How Overfishing is Changing the World and What We Eat Nov 19, 2009
"Imagine what people would say if a band of hunters strung a mile of net between two immense all-terrain vehicles and dragged it at speed across the plains of Africa.... left behind is a strangely bedraggled landscape resembling a harrowed field... this efficient but highly unselective way of killing animals is known as trawling... it is practiced the world over every day, from the Barents Sea in the Arctic to the shores of Antarctica and from the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean and the central Pacific to the temperate waters off Cape Cod."
As the world's fishing grounds reach the point of exhaustion, it becomes more and more important to consider what our actions are on the next seven generations. Depleting all the fish in the sea could result in a hunger epidemic unlike anything the world has ever seen. Do your part to promote sustainable fishing and choose your meals conscientiously.
On Tuesday, the opening day of dolphin-hunting season, marine mammal specialist Ric O'Barry (right) and his son Lincoln stand near a cove where fishermen often kill dolphins in Taiji, Japan.
This week marked the opening of dolphin hunting season in Japan. During the six-month season, thousands of dolphins are corralled into narrow coves and captured for sale to aquariums or amusement parks. Those not captured are killed for meat. But this year, something different happened.
After Taiji's annual dolphin hunt was covertly filmed for a documentary, the little fishing village has suddenly found itself at the uncomfortable center of a media spotlight.
Police and fishermen in Taiji don't allow filming of the hunt, part of the villagers' everyday lives. But a team of activists and filmmakers went undercover to shoot the footage, telling their story in the 2009 documentary, The Cove.
Since its release, the documentary — which won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival — has spurred an international outcry. In one case, Taiji's sister city — Broome in Western Australia — suspended its relationship with Taiji for as long as dolphins continue to be killed.
This week, activist and Cove star Ric O'Barry went back to Taiji for opening day of dolphin season. He was accompanied by a group of international journalists.
But this time, he didn't see any dolphins being killed. He didn't even see fishermen on the water.
That day, he blogged, "Today is a good day for dolphins."
While he's optimistic, O'Barry tells Weekend All Things Considered host Guy Raz that he isn't sure how long this will last.
The hunters are trying to figure out what to do, he says. They're thinking, " 'Should we go out? Should we be exposed? The world is watching.' And so far, they haven't killed any dolphins."
"I'm hoping it's over," O'Barry says, "that they'll just give up and stop killing dolphins." But he concedes that the future is cloudy. "We don't know what's going to happen. It's a day-by-day thing here. We just don't know."
The Cove is currently playing at the Starz Film Center in Denver until September 17. Click here for more information and movie times.
$3.2 Billion in Funding for Local Energy Efficiency Improvements
Mar 26, 2009
Recovery Act Announcement: Obama Administration Announces $3.2 Billion in Funding for Local Energy Efficiency Improvements
March 26, 2009
Vice President Joe Biden and Energy Secretary Steven Chu today announced plans to invest $3.2 billion in energy efficiency and conservation projects in U.S. cities, counties, states, territories, and Native American tribes. The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program, funded by President Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, will provide formula grants for projects that reduce total energy use and fossil fuel emissions, and improve energy efficiency nationwide.
The funding will support energy audits and energy efficiency retrofits in residential and commercial buildings, the development and implementation of advanced building codes and inspections, and the creation of financial incentive programs for energy efficiency improvements. Other activities eligible for use of grant funds include transportation programs that conserve energy, projects to reduce and capture greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy installations on government buildings, energy efficient traffic signals and street lights, deployment of Combined Heat and Power and district heating and cooling systems, and others.
To ensure accountability, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) will require grant recipients to report on the number of jobs created or retained, energy saved, renewable energy capacity installed, greenhouse gas emissions reduced, and funds leveraged. Funding is based on a formula that accounts for population and energy use.
Cities and counties will receive nearly $1.9 billion under the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, and states and territories will receive nearly $770 million. States will receive and administer funds for those counties and cities that are not large enough to qualify for direct DOE funding. More than $54 million will flow directly to Tribal governments.
Up to $456 million of this funding is planned to be made available under a separate competitive solicitation for local energy efficiency projects. That solicitation will be released at a later date.
Today’s announcement is in addition to DOE’s recent release of nearly $8 billion to support weatherization and state energy projects.
A detailed breakdown of the funding by state, county, city and tribal government is available on the DOE's Recovery Act Web site.
Following today's announcement at the White House, Secretary Chu and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis are visiting the Community College of Allegheny County in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Workers at the facility are being trained for the kinds of "green jobs" that the city and county are investing in—ranging from construction and facility upgrades of green buildings to installation of energy efficient street lights to building energy audits. Secretaries Chu and Solis will highlight the city and county efforts as a model for other communities and an example of how this funding can create local jobs and save energy.
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