De-evolution Lurks in Hawaiian Waters

Dear Friends,

Last week Dohrea and I were in Hawaii, lovely Hawaii—Maui to be exact, and brought back with us a wonderful treat for your delight, a few seconds of Maui’s heavenly sounding ocean.

On the surface Hawaii looks and feels great, seems healthy to the casual tourist, but we know better, one only needs to look closer.  Scientists estimate that unless we take immediate action we could lose up to 70% of coral reefs by 2050 (The Nature Conservancy, 2012).  Hawaii has already lost much of theirs.  The coral reefs are the tropical rain forests of the oceans, home to most of its species.  This is just the beginning of the nightmare.
The Great Pacific Garbage Patch flows from southern California, to Japan, just barely missing Hawaii to its south—for now.  It is twice the size of Texas, a river filled with plastic debris.  Just like the acidification of our oceans that is killing our coral reefs, the warming of our planet which is melting our glaciers and raising sea levels worldwide, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch River is filling our oceans with a 100 million tons of plastic garbage that finds its way into the bellies of young birds.  It is the result of our unconscious, thoughtless consumerism that’s littering our planet with toxic waste.  This young albatros (in the picture to your right) died not on the shores of Laguna Beach but in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, on Midway Island.  An island that should be a tropical paradise but has become a garbage dump for cigarette lighters and plastic bags, all courtesy of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch River.  Ten thousand dead birds can be found on Midway.  This tragedy is chronicled by photographer Chris Jordon’s film, Midway: Message From The Gyre. Click on this!  You’ll get some great information and links.

But this is just the beginning of our discussion, isn’t it?  There is so much more to say.  The US currently has more that 85,000 chemicals in commerce.  There are approximately 2500 high production volume chemicals which are manufactured at a rate of more than one million pounds annually with nearly 45% of these chemicals lacking adequate toxicological studies to evaluate their health effects on humans and wildlife.  Most of these toxins find their way eventually to the oceans. Three-quarters of the earth’s surface is covered by oceans and one-half the worlds population live within a stones throw of the oceans.

Here’s Maui’s beautiful ocean’s song to us.  Just click on the picture:
Sincerely yours,

Seann Bardell

BioImmersion.com


Clinical Note:
“….everything on the earth has a purpose, every disease an herb to cure it, and every person a mission.  This is the Indian Theory of existense.”  Christal Quintasket (1888-1936) Salish.

We are presently, through our collaborating partners, making major inroads into relationships with the Native People of Alaska and the First Nation Peoples of Canada. Their elders intimate knowledge of the traditional use of the native plants is beyond exciting.  It is enlightening.

And, their attitude towards life, as expressed by Chief Seattle, bring healing to our souls:  “Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the earth befalls the sons of the earth.  If men spit upon the ground, they spit upon themselves.  This we know:  the earth does not belong to man—man belong to the earth.  This we know.  All things are connected like the blood that unites one family.  All things are connected.”

The Last Quiz Answer:

This little collection of young female goats is part of a 400 head herd of organically raised goats. They are very tame, very curious and well loved.  They have a laid back life style, migrating through different meadows for their food. Each goat is free of pesticides, herbicides, growth hormone and antibiotics. They produce a wonderful, high quality, nutricious milk and colostrum. We are working on our business agreement with their parents, who are very wonderful people.  Will share soon.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a very important environmental group to get to know.  For 50 years TNC has helped protect environmentally precious areas in the world using the simplest possible method.  It buys them.  It buys land at market prices, making it offlimits to environmentally damaging uses, such as development  or logging. (Made to Stick 2007)