"Hollywood legends never die, they just become … ghosts"

. . . Or at least that's what some believe.

Reported ghost sightings of celebrities at their old homes or former haunts date to the silent era. That spirited chapter of Hollywood continues today on websites, in books such as "Ghosts of Hollywood" by Marla Brooks and Jeff Dwyer's "Ghost Hunter's Guide to Los Angeles," and countless paranormal investigation series on cable television, including SyFy's "Ghost Hunters" and Biography's "Celebrity Ghost Stories," which features stars talking about their close encounters of a spirited kind



Montgomery Clift

The four-time Oscar-nominated actor, who died in 1966 at age 45, stayed at the Hollywood Roosevelt during the production of "From Here to Eternity," the Oscar-winning best picture for 1953. He must have enjoyed the digs, because he still is staying there, according to paranormal investigators.

Clift rented Room 928 for three months in 1952 and was known to pace up and down the hallway reciting his lines and also practicing the bugle for his role as the ill-fated Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt in the adaptation of James Jones' novel. Some guests say they have heard the sound of a bugle in the hallway; other visitors staying on the ninth floor have gone so far as to check out in the middle of the night, complaining of loud noises emanating from Clift's room — the really eerie thing was that no one was staying in Clift's room on those occasions.




Marilyn Monroe

The sex symbol, who died tragically in 1962 at age 36 of an overdose of sleeping pills, also tends to make "appearances" in multiple locations, including frequent visits to the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, where the ghost of many a star has been said to appear. Monroe's reflection has often been reported appearing in a full-length mirror that used to grace her cabana, Suite 246. The mirror is now near the elevators in the historical hotel's lower level. And fans believe that a ghost floating above her crypt at Westwood Memorial Park belongs to her.



Rudolph Valentino

The Italian-born silent heartthrob of 1921's "The Sheik" and 1926's "Son of the Sheik" died at age 31 in New York City on Aug. 23, 1926. Though his career was short-lived, his afterlife has endured for 85 years. In fact, according to Hollywood ghost lore, Valentino is one of the busiest spirits in Hollywood; even the ghost of his beloved Great Dane, Kabar, who died three years after his master, has been known to lick hands of those who pass his grave at the L.A. Pet Memorial Park in Calabasas.

Valentino supposedly haunted his Beverly Hills mansion, Falcon Lair, which was bulldozed in 2006. According to ex-wife Natacha Rambova, who maintained that she was in contact with him in the afterlife, Valentino refused to believe he was dead, so he wouldn't leave the premises, visiting the corridors, his bedroom and his stables. Veteran actor Harry Carey claimed to have come into contact with Valentino's ghost after he bought the mansion.

His ghost also supposedly has appeared at a vintage Hollywood apartment complex named Valentino Place that was the site of a speak-easy the actor frequented. Other locations where the ghost of Valentino has been "spotted" include a beach house in Oxnard that was his home during the filming of "The Sheik," a room at the Santa Maria Inn on the Central Coast and the Knickerbocker Hotel in Hollywood.

Valentino is buried in a crypt at Hollywood Forever, and his ghost supposedly has been spotted next door at Paramount, where the actor used to work. According to reports by security guards and others on the lot, Valentino "visits" the studio dressed all in white in his "Sheik" costume.

Remember when the only "special effects" was talent ???

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers

Tennessee Bats: the Halloween icon needs treats, no tricks, to fight fatal infection

It's coming up on Halloween, so let's talk about bats. There's bats in you hair, bats in your belfry, vampire bats - but the most frightening image is the one held by the bats themselves. Since 2006, over 1 million bats have succumbed to white-nose syndrome: a fungal infection that leaves a fuzzy white patch on the bat's nose but also eats away at their skin and wings. It also disrupts the bat's winter hibernation, causing the bat to expend needed energy to get through the winter months; and with reduced levels of bugs in the winter, many bats starve to death.

The white-nose syndrome has worked its way through many eastern states in the U.S., north and south, being transmitted from bat to bat but also from human contact via recreational cave explorers' footwear, clothing, and gear. However, states are trying to get a handle on the situation and the state of Tennessee has come up with a novel method.

When you think of the state in the U.S. with the most caves, what comes to mind? New Mexico, perhaps, because of the stalactite and stalagmite spires of Carlsbad Caverns. Well, as it turns out, it's Tennessee and they have a vested interest in keeping their cave-dwelling bat population healthy as a means of controlling the bug population, particularly during the warm summer months.

The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee in conjunction with the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Bat Conservation International, have proposed building an artificial cave, one that is disinfected with anti-fungal medication. Bats will frequently change locations, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that bats would move into the artificial cave, get a dose of medicine lining the walls, and then ultimately move on, leaving the cave for the next group of bats. Over time, it is hoped this would begin to stem the tide of the spread of white-nose syndrome.

The Chattanooga-based website, Nooga.com, quoted Cory Holliday, program director for The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee, as saying, “The fungus is really susceptible to a lot of things, such as heat and anti-fungal agents, but you can’t do what needs to be done in a natural cave setting because it would destroy other cave life forms, as well,” says Holliday. “This artificial cave is a pilot project, but if it works we are hopeful that we can build a lot of these things.”

The organizations involved are continuing to pull together the $300,000 needed to build this pilot project but they hope to begin construction soon, even before it is fully funded, as they see the situation as being a most dire and immediate threat.

According to Nooga.com, "Bats rank among our country’s most endangered wildlife, with seven in danger of becoming extinct in the United States alone. Their populations are declining as a result of habitat destruction (deforestation, cave flooding, vandalism, commercialization of caves), cave exploration disturbances, pesticide use, and 'pest control' efforts. Bats also collide with wind-energy turbines; bat fatalities have been documented at nearly every wind facility in North America."

So, bats have enough problems to deal with; no need to add a fatal fungus to the list. It has been estimated that the bats' ability to act as a flying pest-control service - pests that would devour agriculture - saves the U.S. agricultural industry as much $3.7 billion to as much as $53 billion annually. That's billion with a "B".

Cory Holliday said, “I do have hope for the bats; however, it is very distressing to go to white-nose syndrome sites and see bats that are dead or bats missing from caves where they should be. At the same time, it also drives me come up with strategies to solve this problem.”

This Halloween, the bats deserve all the treats - with no tricks - that they can handle.

To learn more about bats, check out Bat Conservation International.
To learn more about the proposed Tennessee artificial bat cave, visit The Nature Conservancy of Tennessee.

On Climate Change

London Bridge's 40th year

How can a bridge built in 1831 be turning 40? It's a bit of a trick question. The bridge is London Bridge on this side of the pond, and the 40th hoopla marks the year it was brought from England and carefully re-created in the Arizona desert.

If you've never seen it, now might be a good time to take a gander. The waterfront London Bridge Resort in Lake Havasu City marks the landmark's 40th year.

Mellah of Tazart

Karl Gerber of Los Angeles visited Morocco in 2007, venturing off the beaten path to explore Mellah of Tazart, a ghost town about 250 miles south of Marrakesh. The town was abandoned after the region dried up.

"historic village"

The historic center of Craco was first developed between the 9th and 10th centuries B.C., and the tall watchtower that hovers above this rocky village was built in 1000 A.D. The village has been abandoned since 1991, when a landslide forced out its remaining residents.

Iquique

Iquique (pronounced Ee-kee-keh) is a commercial hub with a big port serving northern Chile and Bolivia; its beaches have a reputation for being Chile’s best. If arriving from the Andean High Plateau the traveler may be worried about the weather by the ocean, especially during the winter; however, the area’s weather is mild during the entire year. Moreover, also the wild sun radiation on the plateau disappears once the seashore is reached.

The "wickedest town in the West"

BODIE, Calif. — Goodby God, I'm going to Bodie. --From 1881 diary of little girl moving with her parents to the"wickedest town in the West."

Howling winds bellowed down the mountain into town, flapping shingles on weathered homes and stores, tugging at walls and windows with fierce force, hurling dust through empty streets.

Nobody was home. Nobody but a park ranger is ever home in Bodie, abandoned since the 1930s.

Above the town, on Bodie Bluff, the wind had a different sound, a gusty sonorous whine mixed with the unceasing hum of three drilling rigs.

It is the discordant noise from the drilling rigs and the sight of mining equipment and trucks on the hill hovering over Old Bodie that has many people upset.

Ironically, fears are being voiced that this remote Mono County ghost town may be damaged or devastated by the very thing that created it--gold mining--and by the very family that fought to save it for posterity. Click on the heading above for more.

"montaña rusa"

PortAventura theme park in Spain plans to debut a record-setting $35-million mountain climbing-themed roller coaster in spring 2012 featuring a series of camelback hills, pitch-black tunnels and a water element.

The roller coaster, or "montaña rusa" in Spanish, is expected to be named after the mythical Tibetan kingdom of Shambhala, according to Roller Coaster Database.

Some things are eternal . . .

God might be dead, but the Great Pumpkin will live forever. That’s one of many important life-lessons you learn from It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, the iconic Peanuts Halloween special in which Linus preaches his suspicious belief system to a community of big-headed skeptics. There is a lot to love about this special — the jazzy score, the gorgeously minimal animation, the lengthy tangent in which Snoopy play-acts a World War I melodrama (complete with an extended piano sequence that can only be described as Lynchian). But there’s one thing thing that sets Great Pumpkin apart from all other Halloween specials: It never tries to be scary. There are no spooky monsters, no shocks, nothing to make you afraid of the dark. There’s just a little boy, alone in a pumpkin patch, trying to fight away the creeping suspicion that humanity is actually alone in the universe. Actually, now that we think about it, that’s really scary. Join us as we read entirely too much into the story of a boy and his best friend: a pumpkin who doesn’t exist.

"Top Secret"

SEA SHADOW was built in the mid-1980s by Lockheed in the Hughes Mining Barge (HMB-1) in Redwood City, CA. The vehicle is 160-ft. long, 70-ft. wide, displaces 560 tons and has a draft of 14 ft. It has a maximum speed of approximately 13 knots and is powered by a twin screw diesel electronic drive. The ship has a maximum speed of 14 knots and is capable of operating in Sea State 5 (extremely rough) conditions. The vehicle cost approximately $50 million to build and the total test program was approximately $195 million over roughly 10 years. It was owned by the Navy and operated by LMSC personnel.

On 11 April 1993 Lockheed Missiles & Space Co. and the US Navy began daylight testing of SEA SHADOW off the coast of Southern California - the first time the craft was revealed to the public. Prior to that, all ship testing had been conducted at night, with the SEA SHADOW returning to the Hughes Mining Barge prior to daylight.

Shark Conservation: CNN reports on sharks, their supporters and going shark-free

As a follow up to my Thursday post on CNN's report on ocean plastic pollution to air this Sunday, October 30th at 5pm and 8pm, also in the same program will be a segment on sharks and shark conservation efforts: Sharks: from predators to prey.

The segment will cover many of the issues that shark advocates have been promoting for several years, but it always bears repeating. Overfishing from commercial shark fishing operations, the high demand in Asian countries for shark products - particularly shark fins - and the critical role that sharks play as apex predators in maintaining a healthy and well-balanced marine ecosystem. These are the facts. Over-sensationalism, like rampaging sharks on the attack for humans at any opportunity, is what fuels misconceptions and provides fodder for a media looking for a quick headline. However, for the most part, CNN has done a pretty responsible job in putting forth the truth about sharks and the threats they face. So, kudos to the folks in Atlanta.

The shark segment on CNN this Sunday also looks at the Shark Free Marinas Initiative (SFMI) and its director, marine biologist Luke Tipple. Luke is a good friend and I've had the opportunity to capture him on film many times both above and below the waves, diving in open water with white sharks, tigers, and others, or talking about sharks and the Shark Free Marinas Initiative.

With location services set up by SharkDivers.com, CNN spent time with Luke in the Grand Bahamas where SFMI has a foothold with one of the island's most popular marinas catering to sportfishermen. Compared to commercial operations, the number of sharks taken by recreational sportfishermen is much smaller but at this stage of the game, the loss of any shark is a blow to the species' population. Recreational shark fishing tournaments are still being held each year and draw considerable worldwide criticism from conservation groups like The Humane Society - which supports SFMI. But when sportfishermen either opt for catch-and-release of sharks or choose not to catch them altogether, it can have an impact on an influential segment of the ocean-going public that can spread.

Here's a video preview of the CNN news report:


CNN's Sharks: from predator to prey airs Sunday, Oct. 30th at 5pm & 8pm PST (8 & 11pm EST) on CNN.
Learn about the Shark Free Marinas Initiative.

sandwich of white-bread Modernism with a filling of L.A. funk"

No one may have asked architect Stephen Kanner if he designed the whimsically skewed Harvard Apartments to annoy the neighbors, but after nearly 20 years, the 14-unit building punched with odd windows in Koreatown is doing just that.

“We all dislike it,” says Craig Lander, right, standing with a gaggle of his neighbors at the building next door, a 1937 structure called the French Chateau, which fronts James M. Wood Boulevard. Encircled by the French Chateau's balustrades, ornamental parapets, bay windows and soaring turrets, Lander says his neighbors call the 1992 Harvard Apartments “the Swiss cheese building.” He adds that the Harvard doesn’t complement the area’s other structures.

“Maybe if it was painted one solid color, like gray,” Lander says, “it would be more attractive.”

Architecture writer Leon Whiteson differed in his 1993 Times article, calling the Harvard Apartments “an act of sheer delight.” He termed the design a “vivid fusion of seriousness and lightness.”


Architect Kanner said his client asked for a “building that was more than just another box.” Kanner said he delivered a “ham-and-Swiss-cheese sandwich of white-bread Modernism with a filling of L.A. funk."

Kanner, who died last year at age 54 from pancreatic cancer, bemoaned “the incredible sameness” of clients and architecture and “vanilla firms where profits are everything.” Many agreed, and the Harvard Apartments won awards, including the Distinguished Building Honor Award from the Los Angeles chapter of the American Institute of Architects.

"the historic Russian State Academic Bolshoi Theatre reopened"

After six years of a painstaking $700-million-plus restoration that was plagued by financial scandals, the historic Russian State Academic Bolshoi Theatre reopened Friday with a gala concert attended by politicians and celebrities from all over the world.


Russian President Dmitry Medvedev opened the gala, which was broadcast live on a screen outside the theater, on Russian television, the Internet and in movie theaters in 36 countries. Top Russian and foreign opera and ballet stars, including Violeta Urmana, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Natalie Dessay, performed in the two-hour long concert. The exterior of the theater was elaborately illuminated in different designs.

Welcome to My Nightmare"

Boa constrictor snakes, black widowspiders, guillotine decapitations, electrifying electrocutions, sadistic insane asylums. Welcome toAlice Cooper's walk-through nightmare. The "Alice Cooper: Welcome to my Nightmare" maze at Halloween Horror Nights 2011 turns the shock-rocker's songs, characters and theatrical concerts into a walk-through haunted attraction.


The maze takes visitors through the abandoned home and recurring nightmares of Steven, a semi-autobiographical character in Alice Cooper songs.


A horror movie-style soundtrack will feature a mash-up of tunes from the Alice Cooper songbook, including the 1975 concept album "Welcome to My Nightmare."

Looking for a new generation of readers

Cash registers should be whirring happily this holiday season with sales of Apple's iPad, Amazon's Kindle Fire and other computer tablets. If the wave of buyers behave anything like those who went before, they'll be spending a lot of time on their new gadgets following the news.

But how best to capture, and profit from, the latest digital phenomenon? Most news companies have placed their bets on building customized tablet applications. Remold your content, produce catchy tablet-specific features and a new generation of readers and advertisers will follow. Or so the theory goes.

Above: The Philadelphia Media Network's Arnova 10 G2 tablet computer. (Akira Suwa, MCT / September 12, 2011)

Sushil Kumar wins big !!!

Sushil Kumar, 27, left, is presented with his approximately $1-million prize by Indian actor and game-show host Amitabh Bachchan on the Indian version of the "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" television quiz in Mumbai this week.


(AFP/Getty Images / October 28, 2011)

125th anniversary"

The United States celebrated the 125th anniversary of the dedication of the Statue of Liberty on Friday with the naturalization of 125 new citizens from 46 nations, a ceremony of unity that temporarily put aside the political and geographical changes associated with the contentious issue of immigration.

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar kicked off the daylong celebration with a speech praising immigrants for bringing diversity to the nation, thus strengthening it. Other scheduled highlights included hooking up Internet webcams on the statue to let viewers gaze out from Liberty island onto New York Harbor, a salute from a small flotilla of boats and, later, a fireworks display.

"Along the Sierra Nevada's famed Trail of 100 Giants"

Along the Sierra Nevada's famed Trail of 100 Giants, the mammoth sequoia had stood sentry since King Arthur's knights gathered at the Round Table.

It witnessed the arrival of the first European settlers and the flurry of miners in search of gold. The onset of the Medieval Warm Period and the passing of the Little Ice Age. It stood, unperturbed, through the Great War and the one that followed.

Then a month ago, as a handful of amazed tourists looked on, it toppled — crushing a bridge over a small stream and blocking the path.

Now, the U.S. Forest Service must decide what to do.

Slice a big hole in the 300-foot-long roadblock? Go around it? Over it? Under it?

When you're dealing with a 1,500-year-old sequoia in a national monument, the questions aren't just logistical. They're environmental, emotive and potentially legal.

Officials closed the popular tourist trail, cleared the debris and solicited ideas from the public on how to deal with the fallen giant — actually two trees fused at the base.

Among the 30 or so suggestions: Reroute the trail. Tunnel under the trunks. Carve steps and build a bridge over them. Sell what would be one heck of a lot of firewood.

the nation’s newest weather satellite"

A Delta 2 rocket climbed into incredibly clear skies above Vandenberg Air Force Base early Friday, carrying the nation’s newest weather satellite to orbit along with hopes that this won’t be the last launch for the workhorse space booster.

The 12-story-tall rocket built by United Launch Alliance lifted off at 2:48 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-2 for a $1.5 billion mission to ferry NASA’s NPOESS Preparatory Project, or NPP, satellite into space.

“The flight went terrific,” said Tim Dunn, NASA launch director. “We’ve just confirmed spacecraft separation — a lot of celebration in the control room right now — but overall a great performance of the rocket.”

"Mysterious Doctor Satan"

Mysterious Doctor Satan is a 1940 film serial named after its chief villain. Doctor Satan's main opponent is The Copperhead, a masked mystery man secretly Bob Wayne.

The serial charts the conflict between the two as Bob Wayne searches for justice and revenge while Doctor Satan completes his plans for world domination.

It was directed by the legendary directorial team of William Witney and John English. Doctor Satan is played by Edward Ciannelli and Bob Wayne by Robert Wilcox.

Governor Bronson, who raised Bob Wayne from childhood after the death of his parents, is killed at the hands of a world-domination-seeking mad scientist called Doctor Satan. Fearing that his death might be at hand,as it has been for everyone else who had opposed the Doctor, the Governor first confides in Bob with a secret about his past. Bob's father was really an outlaw in the Old West, who fought injustice while wearing a chainmail cowl and leaving small coiled copper snakes as his calling card.

Following his guardian's death, Wayne decides to adopt his outlaw father's "Copperhead" persona, donning his father's cowl. Doctor Satan, meanwhile, requires only a remote control device invented by Professor Scott to complete his army of killer robots and gain all the power and riches he desires.

The Copperhead fights Doctor Satan, rescuing the Professor and others and preventing the Doctor from completing his plot.

Duncan Renaldo "The Cisco Kid"

Legend of The Cisco Kid


"The Cisco Kid," badmen knew his name.

His gun was feared by those who played a lawless game.

His fists were fast, furious and hard as steel.

His stare was deep, dark and made badmen reel.

With his trusted companion Pancho by his side.

On his steed Diablo he would ride.

He fought the injustice and persecution of the innocent and the poor.

His goal was to see that they would suffer no more.

"The Robin Hood of the Range," he was called by his friends.

Their devotion to him would reach no end.

He was a true Mexican Caballero he knew it from the start.

Oh! how his people loved him and felt it in their heart.

You may bite the bride

When Jacqueline Seidel, top left, and Dan Lubitz, top right, decided to get married after 25 years, they wanted something different. They found it with a horror-themed wedding at Viva Las Vegas chapel, complete with flying vampires and Count Dracula as the officiant.

(Kalin Ivanov / October 26, 2011)

"Dusk-to-Dawn Horrorthon"

Horror fans and insomniacs alike should appreciate the American Cinematheque's sixth annual Dusk-to-Dawn Horrorthon, an all-night movie program complete with free snacks, giveaways, special trailers and shorts, and other surprises. The lineup includes "Pet Sematary," "Videodrome" and "Just Before Dawn." Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave., Santa Monica. 7:30 p.m. Sat.-7:30 a.m. Sun. $20.

http://www.americancinematheque.com

"new homey"

The new Trader Joe's in Montrose is scheduled to open Friday. The 14,670-square-foot store boasts more spacious aisles, higher ceilings and a trim brick-and-glass exterior but can Trader Joe's stay homey as it grows ???

(Gary Friedman, Los Angeles Times)

THE 2012 Scion iQ

THE 2012 Scion iQ stretches out just a tenth of an inch beyond 10 feet long, but it packs some slick engineering into that short space. Maybe too much slick engineering.

The iQ’s cleverness is most obvious in how Toyota engineers managed to shove seats for four passengers into a shell that’s 26.5 inches shorter than a two-door Mini Cooper. That was accomplished with neat tricks like a compact ventilation system that nestles as a single unit behind the center dash panel; the shape of the dash itself, which is recessed on the passenger side to provide a few more inches of space; front passenger seat tracks that are set forward a bit, relative to the driver’s seat, for more rear legroom; and very thin seats.

But the rear seat is tiny, best reserved for a single third passenger sprawled crossways. Even then, that passenger will be able to tolerate only short trips. And when the second-row seat is in use, only 3.5 cubic feet of cargo space remains. In fact, the rear seat is so close to the rear window that this is the first car with a back window air bag to cushion rear-passenger brainpans in a crash.

"clear potential for greatness"

I am now officially excited for this. When it was announced that Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson would be teaming up for Tintin some weren’t that interested as the property isn’t that well known in the US, but with input from both Spielberg, Jackson, and writers Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim), Joe Cornish (Attack the Block) and Steven Moffat (Doctor Who) there is clear potential for greatness.

"Smoke and Mirrors"

"Smoke and Mirrors," about a man, his bunny, and lots of magic, written by and starring Albie Zelznick, opens Saturday at the Santa Monica Playhouse, 1211 Fourth St., Santa Monica. Performances, Saturdays at 7 and 10 pm. Tickets: $30. Call (800) 595-4849 or go to smokeandmirrors.me.

Newsstand surviving in digital age

Kay and Tom Nam have owned Current Events in Manhattan Beach for 13 years. The shop, located at 1140 Highland, has struggled in recent years due to the economy and digital revolution.

Photo by Alene Tchekmedyian

Filmmaker's Journal: CNN's Plastic Wars goes looking for ocean plastic pollution

In early September, I had the opportunity to join Amber Lyon, investigative journalist for CNN, to film evidence of plastic pollution along the Southern California coast. Amber and her producer, Ken Shiffman, were working on a news report about the impact of single-use plastic bags on the environment and on our own potential health. The report, Plastic Wars, will air on CNN Presents this Sunday, October 30th at 5:00pm and again at 8:00pm PST (8pm & 11pm EST).

Many people know about the eyesore on our streets and coastline caused by discarded plastic, or are aware of areas like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, where a complex system of ocean currents traps huge quantities of floating plastic debris. However, while the images of floating water bottles, Mylar balloons, and strangulated marine life, can provoke emotional responses, those familiar with ocean conservation know that there is an even greater danger in what we don't see - the minute particles of plastic broken down by sun and wave action that can make for a toxic soup that is capable of working it's way through the marine food chain right to our dinner table.

Read prior post on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

I met up with Amber and her production crew in San Pedro, California, where we boarded the Mr C dive charter boat. We were joined by marine scientist, Dr. Marcus Eriksen, CEO/director of the 5 Gyres Institute and researcher with the Algalita Marine Research Foundation. Marcus has been studying ocean pollution by plastics for nearly 10 years. The captain of the Mr. C probably thought we were all a bit odd, chartering his boat not to locate some illusive shark or fish or to unlock the secrets of some exotic marine behavior. No, we were looking for floating shopping bags - that was our quarry, our quest.

We first began by cruising around within the Los Angeles/Long Beach harbor breakwater. We positioned ourselves between the Los Angeles and Santa Ana river outlets - basically dry concrete river beds that funnel rainwater and enormous amounts of trash right out to sea. City and state agencies try their best to net and scoop as much of the accumulated trash as possible before it enters open sea, but plenty escape and enter the harbor and eventually the open ocean beyond the breakwater.

Weaving around large freighters anchored in the harbor, we came across floating congregations of kelp and sea grasses, cups, water bottles, and plastic bags of all types. Not in any massive quantities, mind you; there have not been any major rains for several months and a weekend change in wind and weather patterns were making things a bit more difficult to find trash in the usual places.

At one point, I decided to jump in and film a white shopping bag floating several feet below the surface. It would make for an arresting image - this ghostly piece of pollution moving gracefully along like some man-made sea jelly.

Well, it would have made for an arresting image if I could only have seen it once I jumped into the harbor! The waters of Los Angeles/Long Beach harbor, like most major commercial ports, are a witches brew of floating sediments, ship oils, and other nasty things I don't even want to think about. When I first jumped in, I felt like I was diving in a pint of Guinness and I couldn't see the bag even when it was a foot in front of me. As we had planned to have Amber and Dr. Ericksen enter the water, when I came back on board (feeling like I needed a Hazmat crew to clean me off) I recommended we head south along the coast where the visibility would be better. Not all plastic trash finds its way to the sea via storm drains; it can also be found off of many of Southern California's beaches, thanks to careless beach goers.

We headed for the popular sandy coves and beaches of Laguna Beach where, during beach dives, I had found various trash items that would get stuck against the thin kelp beds and low-lying rocky reefs. While underway, Amber interviewed Dr. Eriksen, who had brought along some alarming and convincing evidence of plastic micro-particles found in some of the fundamental building blocks of the marine food chain - a chain that can lead straight to commercial marine species destined for the dinner tables of unsuspecting seafood consumers.

I had the Mr. C anchor offshore at an area in Laguna Beach called Picnic Beach - part of Heisler Park and a popular spot for having a picnic and sitting out in the sun. We all jumped in and although the visibility was not great due to a heavy surge and tidal action brought on by an upcoming full moon, it didn't take us long to find our specific quarry. Plastic bags in various states of decomposition gave us the visual evidence we needed to illustrate that plastic does not biodegrade and magically disappear - plastic is forever but continues to break down into smaller and smaller bits, often giving off many of the toxic chemical and petroleum-based ingredients used in its manufacture. A gift that just keeps on giving.

After we finished our dives and headed back to home port, I spent some time talking with Amber about the news piece she is working on. Amber is no "bubble-headed bleach blond" (to quote songwriter Don Henley), she is a dedicated journalist who has put herself in harm's way on more than one occasion (although diving in L.A. harbor water could have been the ultimate test of her bravura). I'm looking forward to her news piece as she examines not only the problem at hand, but also the heroes and villains involved in this important drama, and what lies ahead if we take action now or choose to do nothing.

Here's a video preview of Plastic Wars from CNN.com.


Plastic Wars airs Sunday, October 30th, 5pm PST & 8pm PST (8pm & 11pm EST) on CNN.
For more information on ocean plastic pollution, visit 5 Gyres Institute or Algalita Marine Research Foundation.
Check out Amber Lyon's work at CNN.

Our Hometown - 100 Years of Sun, Sand and Sea

Manhattan Beach, the hometown that we know and love, was officially incorporated in December 1912 and has a storied history that will be celebrated leading up to our Centennial in 2012. In its earliest days, the area was developed by several competing land companies. One major owner, George Peck, called his tracts "Shore Acres." John Merrill called his section "Manhattan Beach," after the famous resort in New York. According to another developer, Frank Daugherty, Peck and Merrill flipped a coin to determine a single name, and Manhattan Beach won.

From that time, Manhattan Beach has developed into a place that is truly special for residents and visitors alike. The beautiful beaches and year-round sunshine provide an ideal setting for the home of beach volleyball, visiting our iconic Pier, surfing or simply strolling along the strand! Beyond this beautiful ocean front, Manhattan Beach is a small, yet sophisticated, city that has it all. A city of lovely homes on tree lined streets, extraordinary schools, dining and shopping destinations to suit every taste, fine places of worship, excellent civic organizations, wonderful parks and friendly people at every turn.

"Sweeney Todd School Edition in the James Armstrong Theatre"

The South Bay Conservatory presents Sweeney Todd School Edition in the James Armstrong Theatre, Friday 10/28 at 7:30pm and Saturday, 10/29 at 2pm and 7:30pm.

Tickets are $17/$15.

Call the box office at 310-781-7171.

Coming to Redondo Beach

Pictured is a rendering of what Harbor Drive in Redondo Beach might look like with a new bike path. City Council adopted the South Bay Bicycle Master Plan and the Vitality City Livability Plan last week.

Nature's Value: conservation group CEO writes about "green" conversion strategies

I am re-posting something I just read in the Huffington Post. Mark Tercek, CEO of The Nature Conservancy, wrote a post about how to re-think conservation. Many passionate conservationists often view large corporations as the "enemy" and condemn them for their less than environmentally-friendly ways. But we need to work with these companies or other non-"green"-thinking groups, not against them, if we ever expect to bring them into the fold. Mark cites examples in his post - a reasonable approach to getting corporations to see the value of nature, terminology that businesses can better understand and appreciate.

Changing the Conversation: From Nature's Wonder to Nature's Value

Earlier this month, I spoke at the inaugural South by Southwest Eco. I began by mentioning my former career on Wall Street-a topic unlikely to win me many fans.

Then why bring it up?

The theme of my speech was broadening support for conservation by crossing boundaries --talking about nature differently and reaching beyond the usual suspects of those we ordinarily work with.

A little over three years ago, I crossed a personal boundary, leaving my career as an investment banker to follow my passion for protecting nature.

And as head of The Nature Conservancy, I am now committed to helping the conservation movement cross boundaries, reaching out to everyone from businesses to kids to demonstrate why protecting nature is in their best interest.

Take our collaboration with Dow Chemical, for example. The Nature Conservancy is working with Dow to determine how the company's operations rely on and affect nature. Dow's factories are enormously dependent on water supply. They also depend on mangroves and other natural systems to provide buffer from coastal storms. Our goal is to create tools and methods other companies can test and apply.

Some critics ask why we would work with companies that have a big environmental footprint. I say, why wouldn't we? In my view, it would be irresponsible of us to shy away from the opportunity to guide companies whose decisions affect the places we want to conserve.

Are partnerships with companies a panacea? No.

Are there risks to engaging businesses? Of course.

But change is not possible without risk.

And change is critical given the great challenges we are up against. By 2050, the world's population is expected to reach 9 billion people. Soaring demands for food, water and energy put enormous pressure on the natural systems we seek to protect. And climate change will only multiply existing problems.

Solving these challenges will require new ways of thinking. It will require reaching beyond our core supporters. And it will require a shift in thinking, from "Isn't nature wonderful?" to "Isn't nature valuable?"

Specifically, we need to talk much more about the benefits nature provides to people -- clean air, healthy soil, fresh water, coastal buffers from storms.

This notion of "natural capital" is not new. In 2005, the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment concluded that these services are in sharp and worrisome decline.

What's exciting is that environmental organizations around the world are turning this concept into reality. We are crossing boundaries to put these ideas into practice, connecting the value of nature to a broader audience.

Last year in Iowa, for example, a coalition of conservationists, sportsmen, farmers, community leaders and businesses banded together to support a constitutional amendment that will direct $150 million per year of the next sales tax increase toward wetlands restoration, water quality programs and other projects that will help prevent and reduce impacts from flooding.

We had our work cut out for us, campaigning in a conservative state, during a deep recession and facing a tough political climate. But the amendment passed with more than two-thirds of the vote.

Voters understood that their lives and livelihoods, including Iowa's $21 billion agriculture industry, are closely linked to clean and productive water systems.

Finally, all of our efforts will be wasted if we don't foster the next generation of conservationists.

Only about 10 percent of today's kids say they spend time outdoors every day. Meanwhile, the vast majority uses a computer, watches TV, or plays video games on a daily basis. This growing disconnect with nature threatens kids' physical and emotional well-being. It also makes them less likely to care about environmental issues.

But it's not all bad news. A recent study found that when youth are given more opportunities to have a meaningful experience outdoors, they will be more likely to value nature, engage with it and feel empowered to do something about it.

One initiative my organization has launched to address this problem is called Leaders in Environmental Action for the Future (LEAF). The program matches urban high school students with summer internships on nature preserves across the country. Programs like this are key to closing the gap between nature and people -- especially among urban and youth audiences -- and building tomorrow's conservation leaders.

Environmental organizations need new strategies like these to deal with the difficult challenges ahead. That's not to say that other strategies don't have their place. Is our work helped by more confrontational organizations that challenge businesses and governments? Yes. Are there times when different approaches will be more effective? Of course. The more strategies the better. We're all on the same team.

As South by Southwest has proven in the areas of technology and music, the best new thinking and creative ideas often emerge when we cross boundaries to seek out new relationships and ideas. We will never achieve our mission by talking to ourselves. We have to reach out to all sectors of society -- from businesses to farmers to children -- to demonstrate the value of nature to our lives.

From The Huffington Post, Tuesday, October 25, 2011.

Western Australia's White Sharks: recent fatal encounters bring calls for shark witch hunts

With three fatal encounters with white sharks occurring in just the past few weeks, officials in Western Australia (WA) are reacting, or shall I say overreacting, by suggesting that efforts get underway to catch and kill the shark or sharks responsible.

In the end, this is nothing more than a political attempt to appease the public, to show that the government is doing something to ensure the safety of its citizenry. If Australian officials want to do something that is realistic, you close the beaches, do a shark survey of the area which includes tagging so as to better understand where local white sharks are traveling. And you re-educate, reinforce in the minds of the public that these waters do not belong to mankind; they belong to the animals that normally inhabit them. Man is the intruder, not the sharks.

As reported in the Science Network/Western Australia, shark experts are making their opinions known about any wholesale taking, or culling, of sharks. "WA Premiers Research Fellow and Professor of Neuroecology in the School of Animal Biology and UWA Oceans Institute, Professor Shaun Collin says the culling of any species of sharks is not the solution. 'Not only will this be indiscriminate killing of a protected Australian species (under both the EPBC Act and state legislation), there is no way of being sure the sharks caught will be those responsible for the attacks.'"

"Shark Ecologist within the Marine and Ecology Program at the South Australian Research and Development Institute Dr Charlie Huveneers says shark attacks are still very rare events with a low probability of occurrence. 'There is no scientific evidence to suggest that the short time period between the recent attacks is a reflection of an increased population of [great white] sharks,' Dr Huveneers says."The office for the Minister of Fisheries has reported that while the great white shark is protected under the Environmental Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999, there is an exemption for the killing of a shark if a human life is in danger.

But one has to examine the actual application of such an exemption. Does it refer to defending a human who is about to be bitten or has just been bitten by a shark and, therefore, it becomes more a case of immediate self-defense? Or does it get broadly applied as a perverse preventative measure: mankind versus the shark, who has the greater right to be there in the ocean? Man?

It all seems to be taken right out of the script for Jaws: an incident followed by public outcry and officials trying to appear as if they are doing something to make the beaches safe once again.

“It sounds a little bit like taking revenge, and we’re talking about an endangered species,” said marine zoologist and shark researcher Barbara Weuringer of the University of Western Australia.

However, unlike the Hollywood movie, there isn't a shark swimming in the waters off Australia with a taste for human blood. While that can be said of rare documented experiences with other land predators like lions or bears, thereby necessitating the removal of that particular animal; it is not the case with sharks - ever.

Hopefully, shark experts will be able to have sufficient influence with government officials, so that some ridiculous oceanic witch hunt does not transpire. What has occurred in Western Australia is a statistical anomaly - to be sure, a tragic one - but an anomaly nonetheless. And tracking down and killing numbers of white sharks may, perhaps, quell any public outcry, but by no means will it guarantee that there won't be another shark-human interaction tomorrow.

If you would like to make your opposition to any shark culling in Western Australia brought to the attention of officials of the Australian fisheries department, David Shiffman of the RJ Dunlap Marine Conservation Program at the University of Miami, brought to my attention a petition site. Click here to visit the website.

Read about scientific opposition to shark culling in the Science Network/Western Australia.
Read more about the recent fatal shark encounters in Western Australia in The Washington Post.
Visit the Care2 petition website.

The Ocean - Mysterious and Odd: large one-celled organisms and walking fish

It sound a little well-worn or even a bit corny, but the ocean is full of mysteries. It's no joke - and a sad commentary on our priorities - when we say that we know more about the back side of the moon than we do about our oceans right here on Earth. And we keep finding more surprises.

Take for example, a single-celled organism the size of your fist. In the deep abyss regions of the world's oceans, that's actually not that uncommon. They're called xenophyophores and there are dozens of different types that live in the cold, dark areas of the world's seas, like the Mariana Trench - an area that culminates in the deepest known spot in the ocean at a depth of nearly seven miles.

Mongabay.com reports of a recent research study conducted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in the Mariana Trench that found xenophyophores living at a new recorded depth of 6.6 miles. The organisms were discovered using a high definition "dropcam" - a remote camera developed by Scripps and the National Geographic Society.

Xenophophores previously studied have been found to be a home for a variety of multicelluar organisms, so what has been traditionally thought of as one of the most desolate and lifeless regions on the planet may turn out to be otherwise, much like the profusion of unique life forms found at supposedly inhospitable deep sea ocean vents.

"As one of very few taxa [genus or species] found exclusively in the deep sea, the xenophyophores are emblematic of what the deep sea offers. They are fascinating giants that are highly adapted to extreme conditions but at the same time are very fragile and poorly studied," explains Lisa Levin, director of the Scripps Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation. "These and many other structurally important organisms in the deep sea need our stewardship as human activities move to deeper waters."

Also in Mongabay.com, Jeremy Hance writes about another oceanic oddity: the handfish. This small fish, unique to Australia, has pectoral fins that allow it to walk on the bottom. Well, more than just allow it to; it prefers to. And that makes it distinctly different from other fish that have fins that can act like terrestrial limbs but also swim conventionally.

There are 14 species of handfish, all living in Australia, and one species in particular, the spotted handfish, has the distinction of possibly being the first marine fish to go extinct in recorded history. The IUCN gives the spotted handfish its most alarming status label of Critically Endangered. The spotted handfish lives in just one location: Tasmania's Derwent estuary, a body of water that is threatening the handfish with decreasing habitat, warming water temperatures, and even poaching.

Several Australian marine conservation organizations, including the Derwent Handfish Recovery Project, are working to protect the future of these small ocean oddities. The loss of any one of these small bottom dwellers may not be catastrophic in and of itself, but their fate can be emblematic of a larger future waiting to befall entire marine ecosystems due to man-made activities. While sea creatures evolved out of the oceans, switching from fins to limbs, the poor handfish is not quite ready to get up and simply walk away.

Read more about xenophyophores in Mongabay.com.
Read more about handfish in Mongabay.com.