| STRATEGIC NEWS SERVICE
The most accurate predictive letter in computing and telecommunications,
***SNS*** The Orca Crash of 2008–9
To arrange for a speech by Mark Anderson on What caused the collapse, How we get out of it, or other subjects in technology and economics, email shane@stratnews.com.
New! See the “SNS Takeout Window” for our new weekly Instant Member Survey.
The FiRe Box:
“FiRe 2009: Shaping the Rebound: Technology Driving Economics”
“Many people concerned about the consequences of future climate change would find abundant reason for optimism, were they to witness the spirit of innovation and commitment to solve this problem that pervades the discussions at FiRe.” – James McCarthy, Leader of the Nobel-Winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and Professor of Oceanography, Harvard University.
“FiRe is my home, the place I come back to every year.” – Larry Brilliant, Chief Philanthropy Evangelist, Google.
New additions:
Australian Consul-General Phil Scanlan, leading a panel on new U.S./Australia broadband and business connections.
Ambassador Dennis Hays, representing Thorium Power, on how to produce nuclear energy in the 21st century without producing weapons.
Henry Tirri, head of Research and Development for Nokia, on “Phones of the Future.”
Sophie Vandebroek, CTO of Xerox, on “The Future of Enterprise Computing.”
Dan Novak, VP of Global Marketing for Qualcomm, on “Wireless 4G and Why LTE Wins the 4G Race.”
AND If you want to meet and hear HP CEO Mark Hurd, perhaps the most successful technology CEO at work today, come to FiRe 2009: www.futureinreview.com
What else will you find?
“The Battle Over Bandwidth Economics,” with Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo.
How “Cloud 2.0” will support corporations and consumers.
“Infrastructure 2.0: Unleashing the Power of Dynamic Network Infrastructure,” an advanced look at the design and performance of next-generation Net infrastructure.
“Fixing Healthcare: Technology Following the Demographics.”
“Wireless Broadband: LTE, WiMAX, and Other Global 4G Alternatives,” with a separate look at NASA’s most advanced wireless broadband technology AND NASA’s WorldWind software.
“The Best-Selling Computer of All Time: Next Design Steps for the CarryAlong/Netbook/Mini.”
On-the-ground application of new green energy technologies in Hawaii and China.
“1:1 Educational Computing” in new Inkwell pilot programs in Mexico, the U.S., and Africa: perhaps the greatest computer sales opportunity of the decade.
Elon Musk will describe being the first private party to launch a rocket into orbit, bring us the newest version of the Tesla sedan model electric car, and update us on large SolarCity installations.
And much more.
Member Price Alert: Use “firecode 2009” when registering, and save the usual member discount of $300. Catch it now, before it slips away –
Date and Place: May 19-22, 2009, Hotel del Coronado, San Diego. Register here to join us for the best Future in Review yet:
Preface: Without the early and continued support of SNS Members, there would not be an organization by the name of Orca Relief Citizens’ Alliance; SNSers have provided nearly 100% of funds keeping ORCA in business. This includes matching funds from Microsoft and other companies. In 1997, veteran tech leader Mike Slade read about the death of Puget Sound killer whales in this letter and became the first donor to this 501(c)3 not-for-profit’s formation. Today, Orca Relief remains the only organization dedicated to understanding what is killing some of the smartest mammals on the planet, living in a unique if uneasy partnership with humans.
Although the whales are in crisis at the moment, SNSers have a long list of “wins” of which to be proud. We (you) have directly contributed to increased scientific research on several key issues, alone and in partnership with the University of Washington. We’ve achieved mass education about the problems, taking state residents from blissful ignorance about the animals they love to realizing they are in peril. We did the science that provided the basis for a federal depletion status finding, we lobbied successfully for federal funds for research and protection by National Marine Fisheries Service (thanks to Sen. Maria Cantwell), we assisted in the successful push for Endangered status, and we worked hard on getting new federal rules, likely due out next month.
Members may wonder why I would include this piece at a time of national and international economic crisis. The answers are simple: the whales are dying now, and can’t wait until we clean up our other problems. And I know that it remains important for all of us who have been supporting philanthropic causes not to forget them, even – or, perhaps especially – in times like these. The world, and the life within it, will still be there when we pull out of this inconvenient nosedive. – mra.
» The Orca Crash of 2008–9
The Southern Resident Orca Population Crash of 2008
Our orca whales are dying. By treating them like a financial resource – with tourist-filled boats chasing after them all day, every day, all season long – we run the risk of consuming them down to the last one, as we have done with old-growth timber and fish. After years of argument driven as much by money as by science, we have reached a moment when the causes and remedial actions are relatively clear. The orcas are starving, and all major agencies and conservation groups agree on this.
What’s worse, their numbers are collapsing. The current population crash is almost twice as steep as the last (in 1997–2001), when we lost about 17% of them over five years. All of this comes even after their declaration as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. This is the worst “natural” catastrophe the population has experienced on record. Although if it is caused by “loving the whales to death,” the cause will not have been natural at all.
|
Recent Issuesscott2022-09-20T16:01:24-07:00
SNS: The Orca Crash of 2008-9