Monday, April 22, 2019 The REAL Earth Day

An octopus's garden

Today is the real Earth Day. It's hard to believe the first Earth Day was celebrated 49 years ago - and our planet is in worse shape than it has been in all of human history. If I had to point to two things that - more than any others - got us here they would be greed and lust for power. Sad but true. (It seems those two issues are at the heart of most of our problems.)

Here is another Earth Day ocean reminder. Not even Mr. Spock's tri-corder could count all the different lifeforms in this photo. Can we really afford to lose even one? I don't think so. 

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children." -- Native American Proverb

April 21, 2019 (still not) Earth Day

I can't believe got that date wrong. Somehow I got in my head that Earth Day was the 20th, not the 22nd.

I did my first surf photo shoot in almost exactly two years yesterday. As you may know photographing surfers was a frequent, favorite activity before the hurricane. It was one of the things I missed during the long darkness without electricity or Internet. Even after power and Internet access were restored, There was so much work to be done - and so few potentially paying surfers around - that it just didn't make sense to spend my time photographing the few, mostly local surfers (who rarely buy photos anyway). Then we moved more than twice as far away from the surf beaches. The ROI on time and gas spent was negligible. So I never got back to it. Until yesterday. That was a private shoot for a friend, with a few bonus photos thrown in.

Today's (still not Earth Day) Earth Week ocean reminder photo is my friend Kari. She is brilliant and beautiful. She loves the ocean, is committed to protecting it, loves to surf, and is an absolute joy to watch when she surfs.

The reminder is there is beauty everywhere on, above and below the surface, and lots to love and protect in the ocean. Treat her like a lady

April 20, 2019 (not) Earth Day

(Note: no it's not Earth Day! I jumped the gun. Gotta get new glasses! Whoo-hoo! two more days to post ocean photos!)

Today is Earth Day. It's kind of been lost between the fire in Notre Dame and the fact that it falls on the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter.

Today's Earth Day ocean reminder is of one my favorite ocean creatures: reef squid. There are so many cool and unusual creatures in the ocean but reef squid are among the coolest. They are aware and wary of our presence in the water but unless we do something sudden and/or stupid, they usually don't swim away. In fact, if you lay quietly in the water, you can play with them. They normally keep their tentacles together in front of them. Sometimes they bend them down, sometimes they bend them up. If you put your arms out it front of you in the same position as their tentacles and then follow them - up, down, middle - it becomes like a dance. Elaine loves to play with reef squid like this. That's how she got her mermaid name: Dances with Reef Squid.

So it's Earth Day. Every day needs to be Earth Day. Honor Mother Earth and Mother Ocean. We need them a whole lot more than they need us!

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoy it. If you have any questions about island life or comments you'd like to make, feel free to post them here or email them to prsurfphoto@yahoo.com. I love hearing from you.And feel free to let others know about this blog. Maybe they'll like it too.

April 19, 2019 Earth Week ocean reminder

Tonight is the April full moon. For today's Earth Week ocean reminder here is one of my favorite snorkeling photos "Full Moon Under Bajuras." This huge brain coral, just below the surface, always reminds me of a rising full moon.

Whenever I snorkel there between Shacks Beach and Bajuras, I always look for this coral. It's one of those things I just can't stop photographing. Here's another shot from a few years ago.

April 18, 2019 Earth Week ocean reminder

You don't have to go deep to find the beauty of Mother Ocean. I found these guys in about a foot-and-a-half of water while snorkeling at Shacks Beach. Reminder: treat Mother Ocean like your life depends on her.

I hope I am preaching to the choir here. How can we, as individuals, make change happen?

First, be the change you want to see. A cliché? Maybe, but true none-the-less. Whether you live on an island, surrounded by ocean as we do now, or near the Great Lakes like we used to, or a river or stream or just visit a local lake in a park. Be the behavior you want to see in others.

Take a hint from backpackers - "take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but foot prints" and scuba divers - "take nothing but photos, leave nothing but bubbles." If you bring something to a beach, take it home with you, whatever it is.

Sunscreens are popular especially early in the summer season or on that mid-winter tropical vacation. Many sunscreen products contain oxybenzone and/or parabens. These chemicals are toxic to corals and other marine life. Even if you live far away from the ocean, your sunscreen can still be harmful.
Oxybenzone and parabens are not filtered by waste-water treatment plants. The sunscreen you shower off after at day at the beach winds up in a near-by stream or lake and eventually in the ocean. Research and use one of the environmentally safe(r) products. There are a number of them out there. 

Limit your use of single-use plastics like water bottles. I know it's hard. Our island is addicted to single-use plastics. But work at it. At least reduce your own dependence on them. National Geographic has a program called "Planet or Plastic," a multi-year effort "to raise awareness of the global plastic trash crisis."


All your personal choices matter.Take personal responsibility to make the planet just a little bit better. After all, this is the only planet we have. (Another cliché, I know.)

April 17, 2019 Earth Week ocean reminder

Beautiful delicate sea plume corals grace "the wall" off Rincon. This is today's Earth Week ocean reminder of how incredibly beautiful Mother Ocean is beneath the surface. Please, treat Mother Ocean - and all the lakes and rivers that feed her - like your life depends on her!

April 16, 2019

A diver descends

It's Earth Week. As a reminder that 71% of the Earth's surface is covered with water, this week I'm going to post some of my favorite underwater photos. Hey, we live on an island. We are surrounded by ocean. But people here still need to be reminded - or taught - how important Mother Ocean is to all of us, how we need to take care of her; this is not optional. If she dies, we die. We all need to treat her like our lives depend on her!