Oceans 4Ever

Hi O4E readers, this is Alexa.

In today’s post, I want to tell you that SHARKS DO NOT HAVE TO BITE.

Yes, they look fierce, with fierce teeth and everything, but, the look isn’t all there is to a shark.

I want to make you aware of our friend David Shiffman’s (of Why Sharks Matter fame)upcoming interview with Discovery Channel Senior Science Editor and Executive Producer Paul Gasek about Disovery’s Shark Week, which features movies on T.V. like “Deadly Waters” and “Shark Bite Summer,” that can make sharks look like scary predators that don’t deserve to be on this planet.

But dude, they’re not always fearsome. Sharks only attack if they feel threatened. Also, shark attacks are actually very RARE. Take the whale shark, for example (the biggest shark in the world). It’s actually a gentle giant that eats only plankton, krill and small fish.

If you’re concerned about the bad rap sharks are getting, too, please visit Southern Fried Science and check out David’s call for questions post and submit your own question or questions for the Discovery Channel. David may ask your question in his interview and post the answer he receives.

Remember, sharks are important to this earth, too.

Happy World Seaturtle Day from O4E!

We could draft a novel on seaturtles, but we think our friend Allie over at Oh, for the Love of Science! does it up right today, so we’re going to serve you something fun and let her take it from there.

First, check out Alexa’s footage of this gorgeous green gal from our Aquarium Road Trip #2, then head on over for the best-condensed dose of seaturtle conservation information on the web today right here at OH!

Stay tuned for more from our Aquarium Road Trip to Chicago for the grand opening of the Shedd’s ($50M) Oceanarium!

Happy World Oceans Day!

Are you wearing blue today? We are! We’ve been saving something to share with everyone today, on World Oceans Day, that we think embodies the spirit of a true ocean lover.

Recently, Alexa received a package in the mail which contained something magnificent and vivid yet very fragile (just like the oceans). Also in this package, which came from our dear Christie, of the Nerdy persuasion, was a letter.

This letter could also be exhibit A in a Child Encouragement 101 class if one existed. Thank you, Christie, for caring about oceans, about others who do, too, and for taking the time to encourage a young person.

Everyone – O4E hopes you take the time to share your passion for the ocean with a young person today. Trust us, you could make a huge impact – on the child, and hopefully ultimately the future of the Big Blue.

Dear Alexa,

I hope you like this gift I made for you. I thought that with your love of the sea, you might want a piece of it that you can take with you. I walked up and down the beaches of Florida to find these treasures!

The two teeth are fossils that are over 10 million years old! Way back then, bony fish like the ones that we have today hadn’t evolved yet. All of the fish were sharks!

And, as I’m sure you can imagine, all those sharks had a lot of teeth. When they fell out, they sank, and the minerals from the sand they landed in slowly replaced the cartilage, turning the teeth into rocks.

In the center of the necklace is the skeleton of a sand dollar. They’re flat creatures related to sea stars and sea urchins which like to burrow in the sane off our beaches. It’s very fragile, so be careful with it!

When I saw it, I was reminded of an old story. Once upon a time, there was a big hurricane that hit Florida. The next day, thousands of sand dollars were all over the beach. They weren’t dead yet, but they would be soon.

People stopped and stared, but one little girl ran onto the beach and started throwing them one by one back into the water. She was doing this for a while when someone finally asked her what she was doing.

“They can’t live on the beach,” she said. Didn’t she realize, they asked, that she could never save all of them? That she would save so few, it would almost make no difference?

“It made a difference to that one,” she replied, throwing another into the sea.

You, my dear, have her spirit. Don’t ever let anyone discourage you – you are going to make a big difference in this world.

Sincerely,

Nerdy Christie