Marine Biologist Asha de Vos Works To Protect Blue Whales (VIDEO)

Please watch this beautiful short video, In The Land Of Blue Whales, about the wonderful work being done with magnificent blue whales by Sri Lankan marine biologist, Asha de Vos.

Her passion and love for these gigantic creatures is self-evident. It is remarkable to think that blue whales are actually bigger than any dinosaur that we know of, including prehistoric sea creatures, because gravity makes it unlikely that anything as large as a blue whale could ever exist on land. Certainly no evidence has been found of a creature that is larger.

So, in oceans around the globe, sharing the planet with us today, are living creatures bigger than any of the giant reptiles that so fascinate us. In fact, the main arteries of a blue whale are so big that a human could comfortably swim through them!

Tragically, blue whales were hunted almost to extinction in the 20th Century. It is only thanks to the efforts of marine biologists and conservationists such as Asha de Vos that more attention is being paid to them today.

Our planet is a wonder and we should treasure it - not least, these huge sea mammals. Whaling should be completely outlawed and far more should be done to protect blue whales and other creatures from the injuries and deaths caused by shipping.

For more information about Asha de Vos, please follow her on Twitter @ashadevos and check out her TED Fellows page, Asha de Vos.

Many thanks to the New York Times for producing this wonderful video and for running the related article, Growing Ship Traffic Threatens Blue Whales.

Comments

The High Tower Apartments and The Long Goodbye

Photograph by Dwayne Moser. This beautiful apartment complex in Los Angeles is called the Hightower or High Tower Complex (the High Tower name refers to the central elevator, I believe), and was designed in 1935-1936 by architect Carl Kay - and made famous in 1973 by my favorite film, Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye (see Why I Love Robert Altman's The Long Goodbye ). Although Altman used the building as Philip Marlowe's apartment in his somewhat post-modern Long Goodbye (the film plays with references to Old Hollywood and opens and closes with the song, Hooray For Hollywood ), the building has another direct connection to Raymond Chandler. It was apparently the inspiration for Chandler in his book, The High Window (the first Chandler novel I ever read), in which Chandler describes the residence of Philip Marlowe as being on the cliffs above High Tower Drive in a building with a fancy elevator tower. (Thanks to the Society of Architectural Historians Southern

Thank You Sonora ER, Dr Trujillo and Dr Johnson.

Microphone stand designed by Hudson. Our eight year old son, Hudson, has been having severe abdominal pain over the past week to ten days, and this week we took him to see Dr Jennifer Neufeld-Trujillo , one of our regular pediatricians at the Forest Road Pediatric Clinic in Sonora, and also to ER at Sonora Regional Medical Center. We just want to say a big thank you to everyone - including all the very friendly and helpful staff at ER - for their care of and concern for Hudson, who is gradually starting to feel better. We would also like to make a special mention of Dr Lisa Johnson , who was on call tonight for Forest Road Pediatrics, and who had a long telephone conversation with me, in which she answered many questions with a depth of knowledge and experience that was both highly reassuring and informative, and who left us feeling confident that we are on the right path for the weekend - always a difficult time when your child is not feeling well. Hopefully, Hudson will cont

Please Sign Up For Email Updates To This Blog And My Writing Workshops

The Malteste Falcon, 1941. For those of you wishing to keep up to date on my writing workshops at the Central Sierra Arts Council , the most efficient way is to sign up in the "Follow This Blog By Email" box in the right sidebar beneath the Buddha. You will then receive an email update every time I post to the blog, including any changes in times or dates or other details of the workshops (although I shall try not to mix things around). I would also greatly appreciate it if you would "Like" this blog on Facebook , by clicking on the "Like" button also beneath the Buddha. This lets you follow the Facebook page associated with this wesbite, AlexanderStuart.com , which frequently has additional content not included in the blog. Blade Runner, 1982, courtesy of artist Gavin J Rothery. In the meantime, the first Writing Workshop of the New Year will be on Saturday January 21st 2012 , at the Central Sierra Arts Council, 193 S. Washington Str

Alexander Stuart

Search This Blog