Carbon Footprint, what is it and how do I change it?

     A carbon footprint is defined as the total amount of greenhouse gases produced to, directly and indirectly, support human activities. 

      Once you realize the effect your carbon footprint makes on the earth, you can do simple things to change this. It is important to offset the CO2 emissions as much as possible as you can contribute to climate change. 

      Greenhouse gases are compounds that group together and trap heat under the Earth's surface. Greenhouse gases are the growing cause of our global warming issue. This mass problem affects all walks of life from our plants to our animals and oceans. 

    Walking or riding a bike is a way to avoid CO2 emission completely if you can't get to where you're traveling too easily by walking, then carpooling is a great option if applicable. Speeding and hard acceleration also emit more CO2 than needed and runs your mileage down by 33%. 

     When choosing appliances for the home, make energy efficiency a top priority. Turn off lights when you are not using them and replace bulbs with LED light bulbs. Set your thermostat so it can turn the heat or AC off while you are not in the home. Add solar panels to the roof of your home if you live in a mostly sunny area, you could eliminate your electricity bill and reduce your carbon footprint. 

     Eat local produce and organic food. 13% of US greenhouse gases come from the making and transport of food. Lessen your water usage by turning off the water when not in immediate use and make efficient choices when looking for faucets.  

     Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. 20% of greenhouses gases result from the mass production and transport of goods. Buying used products or recycling products you no longer use you will dramatically reduce your carbon footprint. 

     Find out what your carbon footprint is here

History Of Cetacean Captivity

     Since Blackfish came out in 2013 there has been a lot of backlash toward Seaworld (and rightfully so.) But cetacean captivity goes way beyond Seaworld and sometimes I think we can forget that. There are other marine parks all around the world exploiting these creatures for human entertainment. We are going to take a deeper look at the history of cetacean captivity, how it started and why. To further understand how to help empty the tanks, maybe we need to understand history.

     Cetacean captivity has been around far longer than any marine park will admit. In order to admit to this secret, these parks would be discrediting themselves, hiding the violent acts behind their past. Capturing cetaceans started all the way back in the 1860s and 70's when beluga whales and dolphins were captured to be shipped to marine parks across the US and Europe. Marine Studios, now known as Marineland Of Florida was the first park to house a captive bottlenose dolphin in 1974. This dolphin was the first captive-born ever.

     The 1960s is when whaling blew up as there were little laws protecting the capture of wild marine life. Between 1970 and 1971 ten orcas were captured off the coast of Puget Sound, Washington state. Five of these captured whales were sent to Seaworld, one (Lolita) was sent to Miami seaquarium and the rest were sent off to various parks around the states. All the captives besides Lolita died prematurely. For 15 years after, 307 whales were captured, 13 died during the capture process and 55 were sent to aquariums.

     In 1969 the Taiji dolphin drives also began. These dolphins are wrangled into a small cove where the best looking ones are captured and sent to marine parks while the others are brutally murdered for food. However, it is now illegal to send wild-caught dolphins into the U.S.

     In the mid-1970s people began questioning the ethics behind the captive industry. In 1972 the Marine Mammal Protection Act was set in place as an effort to protect animals from the live capture industry. But in 1994 the industry found a way around this law stating that if the captured is used for education or conservation purposes then they can breed without legal repercussions.

     In 1976 Washington state banned the capture of wild orcas within their state. However, Seaworld pioneers the captive and captive breeding industry, they opposed this legislation in Washington state and made it once again, internationally legal to capture whales and sell them into captivity. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species can regulate the trade of cetaceans but most cetaceans being captured are not on the "endangered species" list, their trade can not and will not be controlled.

     In 1992 the federal government blocked the trade of Taiji dolphins from being sent to Six Flags Discovery Park. In 1993, three Pacific White-Sided dolphins where captured off the coast of California and this capture set off a lot of controversy making these three dolphins the last US caught captives. This leads now into the problem of the captive breeding industry. However, in other parts of the world the capture and captivity industry is booming and marine parks are looking to expand outside of the US where people are less likely to care about marine captivity.

Article about Seaworlds opposition on legislature
Source for timeline

Orca Facts;

     Orcas are easily the most magical creature of the sea, there is so much we can learn about Orcas and before I begin my new monthly posts "Lost Freedom" I want everyone to understand fully what Orcas are, how they live and their way of life when free in the sea.

Basics. 
       Orcas are often called Killer Whales they get this name from being the top apex predator of the sea. However "Killer Whales" are actually part of the dolphin family and get their name from the fisherman who witnessed them kill whales larger than they are. Orcas have never been documented to hurt a human being in the wild. Orcas are known for their large dorsal fin and black-and-white coloring.

Habitat.
     The orca has a wide range of living spaces, they live in oceans close to coastal countries. Orcas will live in any climate from the equator all the way to the poles. The orca pod will never stay in the same area very long so it is very hard to document their movements. An orca can swim up to 33mph and travel 99 miles in a day.

Behavior. 
     Orcas live in pods, they are very social animals, most pods have up to 40 members. There are two different types of pods. The resident pod and the transient pods. Resident pods are less aggressive and like to fish. While transient pods are aggressive and work together in groups to take down large prey. Members of the pod will also help take care of the young, often females will help the mother orca care for her calf. Orcas use echolocation (location of objects reflected by sound) to talk among themselves.

Diet. 
     The orca is at the top of the predatory chain so they will prey on anything under them. Orcas will mostly feed on sea birds, squid, octopus, sea turtles, sharks, stingrays, seal, sea lions, and fish. The only exception is the river dolphins and manatees. The orca may beach itself on land to catch a seal or use techniques in big groups to catch prey. Orcas are actually very picky eaters and once their pod decides what they eat as a family they won't switch their diet.

Offspring.
     A female orca will give birth every three to ten years to one calf at a time. The pregnancy of a female orca will last around 17 months and an orca calf is born at about 8 feet and around 353 pounds. Calves will nurse for 5 to 10 seconds multiple times in an hour. Orcas will live for 50-100 years.

Sleep.
     Orcas have to remain conscious of sleep, unlike humans. The orca does not breathe automatically so they need to make the conscious decision to breathe. If an orca were to sleep like a human they would suffocate and drown because they are not present to make the choice. Orcas will only allow one part of their brain to sleep at a time, while the other half stays awake to breathe. They will only close one eye when they sleep. When an orca is asleep they will swim very slow and very close to the surface.

Threats. 
     Orcas face many threats such as fishing net entanglement, encounters with toxic waste, pollution ingestion, and boat collisions. In parts of the world, the orca is still endangered of whaling where they will be targeted to be killed for food or captured for captivity.

Illness and death. 
     The lifespan of an orca is dictated on a few factors, one being habitat. If the orca is living in a highly-populated area then they can be struck by boats, ingest pollution, be separated from their pods which leads to stress and essentially death. Their diet is another factor, are they eating healthy or contaminated food, and is the food an abundant source for them or is it too sparse leading them to malnutrition? The level of endangerment is another factor in orca deaths. If the pod is sparse and has fewer males to mate with, that can cause the eventual death of the pod. Whaling activities is another large reason for orca deaths as they are often killed for food or sold to captivity where they die sooner than expected. It is very rarely seen that an orca will die of illness in the wild unless it is genetic.

Conservation status.
      The orca population is unknown.

Lost Freedom; the first 10

• Wanda, captured in 1961 at the age of 7, died 2 days later at Marineland California - pneumonia and gastroenteritis.

• Moby Doll, captured in 1964 at the age of 5, died 3 months later at Vancouver Aquarium - drowning, skin disease and shock.

• Namu/C11, captured in 1965 at the age of 9, died 1 year later at Seattle Marine Aquarium - unknown.

• Shamu, captured in 1965 at 4 years old, died 6 years later at Seaworld San Diego - uterine infection and blood poisoning. 

• Katy, captured in 1967 less than 1 years old, died 3 months later at Seattle Marine Aquarium - unknown. 

• Kandu, captured in  1967 at 1 years old, died 4 years later at Seaworld San Diego - unknown. 

• Bonnie, captured in 1968 at 4 years old, died 4 months later at Marine World Africa - heart failure. 

• Lupa, captured in 1968 at 12 years old, died 7 months later at New York Aquarium - pneumonia. 

• Tula, captured in 1968 at 3 years old, died 3 months later at Dolphinarium - external fungus. 

• Natsidalia, captured in 1968 at 15 years old, died 7 months later at Pender Harbour - heart failure. 

   

Their Story; Katina.

      My name is Katina, I was born sometime in 1975. In October 1986 I was captured in Iceland and sent to Marineland, Niagara Falls, Canada. I was originally named Kandu 6, but in 1979 I was sent to SeaWorld San Diego and then again in 1982 I was sent to Ohio with another female named Kasatka. For two years we would perform in Ohio in the summer and then when winter came around we'd be moved to San Diego to perform. Finally, in September 1984 I was sent to SeaWorld Orlando where I lived the rest of my life.

     I became pregnant in early 1984 in San Diego, that summer I was sent to Ohio where they realized I was pregnant and then sent me to Orlando where I gave birth to my first girl Kalina. Since many other Orca calves had been born in captivity in the past, and not survived, when I birthed Kalina, I became the most successful and prime whale for breeding. In 1987, I mated with Kanduke and gave birth to my second calf, November 4th, 1988 named Katerina. They took both Kalina and Katerina away from me and sent them to different facilities. 

      When Tilikum showed up in 1992, I became pregnant again and gave birth to my first son Taku in September 1993. My next calf came in December 1996 called Unna. My fifth calf Ikaika came in August 2002. Taku, Unna, and Ikaika all had the same father which was Tillikum. I gave birth to my son Taku's calf in 2006 named Nalani and she performs in shows with me. In 2010 I gave birth to Makaio who is my seventh son.

      Currently, I am living in SeaWorld Orlando with two of my calves, Nalani and Makaio and one of my grandchildren Trua. I am still performing daily and I am SeaWorld's most reliable performance whale. This isn't the life I wanted for myself though, almost all of my children have been taken from me and most of them are passed on. I want to be in the ocean with my family, my pod. Swimming free, not performing. 

Plastic Free 2018!

     Everyone makes resolutions around the new year, if your resolution was to go plastic-free you have come to the right place! I've done a similar post to this before but I found some awesome new shops that sell plastic-free solutions to everyday needs, I'm super excited to share these new essentials with you!

     I have found The Zero Waste Collective on Instagram and they have done all of the work for me but I just had to shout out their Instagram page because they are awesome! Here are some of the products I have found with their help. 

Buy this 5 pack of reusable produce bags for $32.83 on amazon

A SILICONE reusable sandwich bag for $11.99 on amazon

  Reusable coffee cup with a silicone cover for $26.95 on amazon

Set of 6, washable cloth napkins for $15.99 on amazon

Bamboo cutlery set with straw for $12.99 on amazon

     The next shop I also found on Instagram called Package Free Shop their products are amazing and their Instagram is so aesthetically pleasing, I highly recommend following them.  Beeswax food wraps, variety or whatever size you need. 

Canning jar drinking lid 

A stainless steel ice pack

    

Fresh start for 2018!

     Hello everyone, it has been a long 6 months away from the keyboard. A lot has happened within that time, I am heading for Florida in May to permanently live there. I got a new job (well old, new job) and will have more time to focus on myself and this blog now that I'm out of the old job. I'm super excited for what this year is going to bring!
   
     What you can expect from this blog within the next year...

• Beach cleanup updates 
• Green living DIY 
• Their Story; will continue 
• Marine life facts
• SeaWorld updates

     I will also continue with recommendations on places to shop and people or businesses to support. I will be adding a segment monthly on the deaths of captive Orcas. This will be called "Lost Freedom" and I will be documenting whale deaths to show an impact on whales and their lives.  

     I am super excited to begin blogging again and seeing where my passion for the earth takes me and this blog next. Happy New Year everyone, here's to a GREEN new year!!