U.S. Ban + Bluefish Tuna+ Rate of Extinction

The U.S. is supporting a ban on the trade of Bluefin Tuna, which a common in sushi  restaurants around the U.S. and world, especially in Japan. Research has shown that the population has declined by 80% since 1970 and the fish are now being placed on the endangered species list.

http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309051819

There are two populations, the eastern and western bluefin, that would be affected by the ban. The western Atlantic population lives from the Gulf of Mexico to Newfoundland.  The eastern Atlantic population ranges from the Canary Islands to south of Iceland.

The U.S. backing global trade prohibition of the beleaguered fish comes ten days before almost 175 countries meet to debate the proposal at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) conference in Doha, Qatar. The proposal, sponsored by Monaco, would prohibit international commercial trade in the species. The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas has predicted that if current levels of fishing continue, the Eastern Atlantic population of bluefin will fall to 6% of historic levels.

Will we actively cause the extinction of a species for our own selfish needs. And if we go down this road what will the consequences be for future generations of people and animals that we consume.

Nightclub Shooting Victims Sue Rapper Plies

The Rapper Plies is essentially getting sued because of his rap lyrics that talk about a nightclub incident that he was involved in. Because he has a reputation as a gangsta rapper and of glorifying trademarks of gansta rap (violence, money, drugs). Several people wounded in a Florida nightclub shooting think he should have to pay up.

Its incredible that music is under attack in such a way.

Nationwide Student Protest

College students on more than 100 campuses nationwide plan walkouts, rallies and other actions Thursday to protest budget cuts, layoffs and tuition increases, which they say erode quality of education and limit access.

Students in today’s world have more power than they think and over the course of history have played a major part in making topics of social change to local and national awareness.  Hopefully their display of protest will show the powers that be there is much need in educational system in college and universities just as much as K-12 grades.

The cost of an education that is crippling graduates with loan repayments is an issue that can not afford to be muted any longer. Especially with increasing news of presidential salaries and increased endowment funds.

Floyd Mayweather vs. Shane Mosley May 1

Floyd Mayweather (40-0, 25 KOs) in his second fight out retirement will be against Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs). Both fighters have been on top of their respected weight class. Mayweather, the best american fighter pound for pound welterweight and Mosley who is one of the best fighters of his generation have avoided fighting each other for their entire careers, and maybe justifiably so, it may be one of the biggest pay offs for both fighters careers in a sport desperate for attention.

Mayweather agreed to the bout only after several weeks of negotiations with Manny Pacquiao failed to produce an agreement on what’s likely to be the richest fight in boxing history, if it ever occurs.

Police partner with license plate readers

Police are now identifying your cars; hopefully for saftey and theft related crimes. Im not the biggest fan of the red light stop cameras that can detect if you didnt stop at a red light or stop before the designated marker. You later recieve a ticket in the mail (mine for $100) showing the accused crime in a still photo.

The cameras read license plates of parked and moving cars — hundreds per minute — and check them against vehicle databases, alerting authorities to stolen or unregistered vehicles.

The American Civil Liberties Union also is concerned about the systems being used to compile vehicle movement records, legislative counsel Christopher Calabrese said.

I’m slightly concerned as well, how about you?

Earthquakes Across The Globe

There have been some considerably large earthquakes near highly populated regions of the world in recent months. The first noticeable one was that in Haiti which killed an estimated 200,000 people and destroyed that country’s economy and infrastructure.

Then another seismic 8.8 magnitude quake that hit off the coast of Chile on Saturday severely damaging the cities Concepcion and Curico  killing  800+ people and displacing 1.5 million. Trigger Tsunami and alerts for most of the Pacific Ocean. It was also reported by NASA that the massive quake slightly shifted the earths axis shortening the rotation and length of days by the slightest of nanoseconds.

Last Friday a 6.9 magnitude earthquake struck Japans southern island of Okinawa, fortunately not causing a high death toll or sever infrastructural damage. Japan is one of the world most earthquake prone countries. The last major earthquake, a 7.5 magnitude in 1995 killed an estimated 6,400 people.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/02/26/world/AP-AS-Japan-Earthquake.html?scp=8&sq=japan%20quake&st=cse

Then the most recent one being early this morning near Taiwan. That one was recorded as a 6.4 magnitude.

All these quakes make you wonder if things are related but geologist say that they are not. It’s common for earthquakes to happen everyday but either in the ocean,remote areas or have a small magnitude (all these factors usually not news worthy). In an average year there are sever  million earthquakes.

According to long-term records (which exist since about 1900), the U.S.G.S. expects that about 17 major earthquakes (magnitude 7.0 – 7.9) and one great earthquake (8.0 or above) will affect the world in any given year.

he three recent Pacific quakes are all related to the so-called “ring of fire,” a seismically active region that surrounds the ocean.  However, the distances between the quakes are far too great for there to be any relationship between them (so they say).

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2010/03/are-the-recent-earthquakes-related/1

The recent earthquakes have shown us that we don’t live in a secure world and need to be aware of the size of everything around us and not just when the ground is shaken.