Monthly Archives: October 2019

OLDSMAR The city at the top of the bay is planning to spend upwards of $125,000 on a climate change plan.

The Oldsmar City Council voted unanimously this month to put a call out to consultants to come up with a rundown of the threats posed by climate change. The document, which the city is calling a climate resiliency study, will also include potential solutions to those challenges.

And there are challenges, said Nan Bennett, the citys director of public works, in an interview.

High water is our highest vulnerability, whether thats flooding or storm surge or sea level rise, Bennett said.

A map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that projects sea level rise onto coastal communities shows parts of southern Oldsmar threatened by water after just 1 foot of sea level rise. A recent series of projections by scientists with the Tampa Bay Climate Science Advisory Panel showed that the region as a whole is likely to see between 1.9 and 8.5 feet of sea level rise by 2100.

Related story: A group of scientists just presented updated sea level rise projections to Tampa Bay politicians. Heres what they say.

The sea level rise will be caused by climate change, those scientists project. Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels trap heat in the atmosphere, gradually warming the globe. That warming causes water particles themselves to expand, and polar land ice to melt. Both phenomena lead to sea level rise.

Thats why Oldsmar is taking steps to adjust to a watery future. Ashlee Painter, Oldsmars sustainability coordinator, said the citys plan would cover topics ranging from infrastructure to public health. (A changing climate doesnt just mean higher seas, it means more extreme heat.)

In the study, officials are also asking for a way to include climate data in decision making, according to the October agenda item.

Some of the citys climate change planning is already underway. Oldsmars water reclamation facility on Lafayette Boulevard is just a few hundred yards from Tampa Bay. The city isnt waiting to hear from a consultant; its begun the process of raising the facilitys control building, Bennett said. Hopefully, those efforts will make the building more resilient.

Related story: Climate change is here. Will Tampa Bay finally get ready?

In the process of formulating a climate change plan, Oldsmar has taken more of a wait-and-see approach. Painter closely watched as other cities particularly Sarasota formed their own climate change vulnerability and adaptation plans in recent years. Because it observed other governments, Painter said, Oldsmar now has a better idea what to ask from consultants in a climate assessment.

The city will hear back from potential consultants next month. Its expected to finalize the $125,000 contract in January.

Once the study is complete, the recommendations wont automatically become law. But Bennett said the city council is looking for actionable items from the study.

We live here because we love it, but there are inherent risks with living here, Bennett said.

Related story: It might be the Pinellas city most threatened by climate change. Heres what its doing to plan.

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Oldsmar wants to spend $125,000 on a climate assessment. Heres what that means. - Tampa Bay Times

Ever dreamed of ditching the routine of everyday life and sailing around the world, waited on hand and foot, for a few months at a time? (Us, too.) But as around-the-world cruises grow in popularity, they also bring a lot of questionsfrom planning and packing to the truth of whether that ship will feel too small after a week. We spoke to six people whove taken not one, but several, world cruises on top-rated cruise lines to share whats it really like to spend months at a time on the high seas.

They include 77-year-old New Orleansbased philanthropist Phyllis Taylor, a Silversea devotee; Viking loyalists Roger Foenander, 71, and his partner David Mutton, 62, who live in Sydney. We also talked to Dr. Charles Mitchell, Jr., 81, who lives in Michigan and cruises with Princess; and fellow Michigander Linda Wiseman, 72, who has traveled with Cunard. Finally, theres Keith Steiner, now retired at 64, who has traveled with Crystal more than 100 times over the last 17 years; he lives just outside Austin with his wife. Here's what they spilledand the best advice theyd give to anyone keen to follow in their footsteps.

Courtesy Viking

"The ship is very important when youre doing a world cruise. Crystal Serenity is not too big or too small, and it has a wraparound promenade deck where you can get away from it all for some quiet timewhere you can walk, or run. We usually book the next world cruise several years in advance, so we can get the same room every time in the PH category [a penthouse with a veranda]. We call it 'our' room." Keith Steiner

"We book well ahead; were already booked for 2021. If you want a certain room, you had better book it early. And you have the luxury of canceling up to four months out, so the $15,000 they make you put down to guarantee the room is totally refundable." Linda Wiseman

"We tell people always sail east to west; that way, youre setting the clock back, not forward, an hour. It's much more restful. When you have to keep putting the clock forward, people get tired." L.W.

"The difference between a short cruise and a world cruise is night and day, storm and calm, fleeting thought and thoughtfulness. With an extended cruise you absorb the lifestyle of life at sea; with the great advantage of having a crew and staff that treats you like royalty. I enter the bar in the evening, in no time my favorite song is being played, my favorite drinks sit before me. I go to dinner and my favorite table is waiting for me, and my waiter has already served the iced water with lemon just as I like it." Phyllis Taylor

"Your only responsibility is to yourself, and it is up to you to decide how to enjoy the day. It has all the convenience of living at home without the hustle and bustle of shopping, cleaning, and cooking." Dr. Charles Mitchell, Jr.

"The world cruise is like my winter home. We used to have a condo in Florida, which wed use for a week or two here and there, but we didnt have full-time help. On a ship like this, for four months, everything is done for you: you dont cook a meal, get your car filled with gas, nothing." L.W.

Courtesy Silversea

"When sailing into ports, especially the more scenic ports, people gathered in the Explorers Lounge to ensure they got that once-in-a-lifetime photo. In all other locations we did not notice any great pressure on space. The Viking cruise ships provide a wide range of discrete 'sitting room' environments to give the sense of being in a more homely setting. These are so plentiful and never crowded and usually quiet. You can really get away from it all among 900 passengers." Roger Foenander and David Mutton

"We always meet new people every year. In the dining room, and tell the matre d not to seat us with another couple who is sailing the whole thingthat way, our seat mates switch every few weeks and we can meet different people. And if for some reason you dont love the people sitting next to you, youre stuck for five days, not four months." L.W.

"I never actually gain weight on these trips. I love to eat but Im vain; I bring my own scale with me. My system is that I try to be very controlled when Im eating on the ship: the spa dishes at dinner, a dietetic lunch and, if I have tea at 4 p.m., I peel the bread off the smoked salmon sandwiches. Then on the port days, when we go out to dinner, I eat whatever I want." L.W.

"Ive known people who bring on two sets of clothes, because they love to eat so much. Before our first world cruise, my wife and I were nervous wed gain weight, but we actually ended up losing it. We came up with this strategy: we eat breakfast like at home, for lunch wed create gigantic salads, and at dinner, wed have a three-course meal with fruit for dessert. We stepped up our exercise, and we always walk the stairs instead of taking the elevators, as well as walking around the deck. I have a step counter in my watch, and we did up to 40,000 steps per day." K.S.

Eric Laignel/Courtesy Viking

"David tends to attend the onboard enrichment lectures, while Roger will walk around the decks or chat with people. We are involved in the trivia team conducted at noon, and then proceed to lunch with friends. Roger likes to play cards in the afternoon, and David might see a movie in the cabin; he managed to watch all of Downton Abbey on the world cruise. Afternoon siestas are a must. Then perhaps a visit to the onboard spa and sauna before a cocktail, and then dinner with friends in a variety of restaurants on board." R.F. and. D.M.

"I start my day by exercising first, followed by breakfast. Then I usually check out the lectures onboard for the day, and then choir rehearsal. I sang in all 10 of the World Cruise choirs." C.M.

"Planning is key. Make sure to bring some over-the-counter medications: you could get a cold, eat the wrong thing, and have stomach issues. One year I pulled a muscle in an early port call, and had to buy a heating pad; now I bring one." K.S.

"I take a huge supply of drugs: every possible kind of seasick stuff and antibiotics, a giant Ziploc bag full off it, so Im prepared. And I always bring a baby portable steamergreat if something gets wrinkledand my own electrical strip, so if I want to plug in a ton of stuff, like a phone, my electric toothbrush, I can keep them all together on one shelf." L.W.

"I love sea days. You can sleep as late as you like. If you miss the breakfast service, there are croissants and pastries [available], or room service. The afternoon is ideal for an extended visit to the spa and salonyou should see it on the day of a formal night, when almost every woman on board is vying for an appointment. Then, as evening approaches, you prepare for fun and entertainment." P.T.

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Around-the-World Cruise: What It's Really Like to Sail on a 100-Day, Multi-Destination Cruise - Cond Nast Traveler

Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell, most recently on Broadway in Shuffle Along, will host the 11th annual Broadway Salutes ceremony, presented by The Broadway League and The Coalition of Broadway Unions and Guilds.

The annual event, at which theatre professionals receive recognition for having worked 25, 35, and 50+ years on Broadway for their contributions to the business, will be held November 5 at 3:30 PM at Sardi's Restaurant.

The program is directed by Marc Bruni. Commissioner of the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment Anne del Castillo will also be in attendance.

At this years ceremony, The Actors Fund will be honored for its ongoing support and contributions to the theatrical community.

Broadway Salutes honors actors, agents, attorneys, box-office treasurers, casting directors, choreographers, composers, designers, directors, dressers, managers, musicians, orchestrators, producers, publicists, stagehands, stage managers, stylists, theatre owners, ticket sellers, ushers, writers, and more who have dedicated their careers to the success of Broadway.

If youre lucky enough to be adopted into the Broadway family, you may find you want to make a career and a life hereas this exceptional group has done for a quarter of a century and more, said Thomas Schumacher, chairman of The Broadway League. Its veterans like these along with vital new talent who make the thrilling array of Broadway shows year after year. Were lucky theyre part of our family.

The Broadway Salutes committee is comprised of co-chairs Laura Penn (SDC) and Mark Schweppe (Shubert) and committee members Chris Brockmeyer (Broadway League), Willa Burke (Jujamcyn), Joe Hartnett, (IATSE), Adam Krauthamer (Local 802), Deborah Murad (Dramatists Guild), Lawrence Paone (Local 751), Paige Price (SDC), Aaron Thompson (Equity), and Patricia White (TWU Local 764, IATSE).

Connie Wilkin and Jennifer OConnor, of Foresight Events, are the production team.

Host Mitchell earned Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for his performance in Kiss Me, Kate. He also received Tony nominations for his performances in Man of La Mancha, August Wilsons King Hedley II, and Ragtime, and he was recently inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame. Other notable Broadway shows include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Jellys Last Jam, and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. In 2016, Mitchell received his most recent Tony Award for his work as Chairman of the Board of the Actors Fund.

Members of the theatre community who have worked more than 25 years on Broadway should contact their union, the Broadway League, or their Broadway employer in order to take part in the ceremony.

Mitchell has been special a guest performer on Playbill Travels Broadway on the High Seas cruises. Cabins are now on sale for Broadway in the Great Northwest, Playbill Travels first domestic cruise featuring Kate Baldwin, Tedd Firth, Christopher Fitzgerald, Aaron Lazar, and Faith Prince (April 26May 4, 2020), and for Broadway on the Mediterranean (August 31September 7, 2020), featuring Audra McDonald, Will Swenson, Gavin Creel, Caissie Levy and Lindsay Mendez, and for Broadway on the Nile (December 27, 2020January 7, 2021), with performers soon to be announced. To book a suite or stateroom, call Playbill Travel at 866-455-6789 or visit PlaybillTravel.com.

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Tony Winner Brian Stokes Mitchell Will Host 11th Annual Broadway Salutes - Playbill.com

Hows your Black History Month going so far? Ive given a dozen talks including one at a large firm where I was heckled by a senior partner who was furious that I was stressing the integral role of black people in British history. Ive talked to hundreds of black people about what life is like for them in predominantly white spaces.

If I were to boil all those interactions down to one issue, it would be how we remember what really happened what place it has in the nation, what visual guides exist to help us actually see this history, what narratives we tell. And the problem with Black History Month is that its still just that. A month. Even in the best-case scenario where it gets maximum airtime, its still just a twelfth of our annual headspace. Thats a minimisation that echoes the lived experience of black people, still feeling the pressure to make themselves smaller in a world that too often regards us as marginal.

The wrecks of slave ships speak of African resistance, of remarkable rebellions and subversion on the high seas

That there is very little of this history to see is undeniably part of the problem. Delivering this message to mostly white audiences, no matter how well intentioned, during the first half of Black History Month often makes me feel exoticised. So my survival strategy is to spend the second half in Ghana, whose flag blazes a black star, because here blackness is a source of both pride and normality.

Yet the same pressures of erasure have operated on the way history is remembered in Africa, too. One of the first events I went to this month, once I arrived in the Ghanaian capital, Accra, was about a project to take the architectural plans of the almost 50 slave forts built by the British and other Europeans, and which pepper the Ghanaian coast and turn them into pieces of art. These castles are being described as a crucial, visible part of the puzzle for those still struggling to understand the interconnectedness of people of African heritage to British history.

Another set of artworks, which I have spent this year exploring, is the wrecks of slave ships that are littered across the bed of the Atlantic Ocean but are barely seen or acknowledged. These watery graveyards speak to the full scale of European exploitation of Africans, but also of African resistance and agency, of remarkable rebellions and subversion on the high seas.

As I and others have argued before, one reason that British people feel complacent about Britains role in pioneering slavery, and the racism that underpinned it, is that it happened slightly farther away. The Caribbean is Britains own Deep South, where enslavement and segregation as brutal as anything that existed on American soil took place at the hands of British people. And that distance facilitates denial.

If there is one useful thing we can all do this Black History Month, it is to bridge that distance. And that raises the question: why is there no memorial to enslaved Africans, on whose backs Britain was built, on British soil?

Theres a simple answer, and a complex one. The straightforward explanation is that despite the work of one tireless group Oku Ekpenyon and her organisation Memorial 2007 campaigning for such a memorial for nearly two decades, the government has failed to support it. Ekpenyons Remembering Enslaved Africans and Their Descendants memorial secured planning permission for a space in the rose gardens in Hyde Park, commissioned a design by the sculptor Les Johnson and raised nearly 100,000. Many black British people myself included have given our money, time or energy to supporting it. But on 7 November the planning permission will expire, and the site will be lost if 4m cannot be raised.

Thats not for want of a sophisticated campaign, or high-profile backing. Patrons of Memorial 2007 include Kate Davson, the great-great-great-granddaughter of the abolitionist William Wilberforce; the archbishop of York, John Sentamu; Paul Boateng, the first black cabinet minister in British history; and Doreen Lawrence.

But without the support of the government, 4m is an impossible target to reach. Memorial 2007 has tried repeatedly to secure that support, having reached out to every prime minister from Tony Blair to Boris Johnson. The announcement in 2015 of 50m in support for a Holocaust memorial raised the groups hopes. It suggested that there was a renewed interest in remembering painful historic events. But that interest, it seems, does not extend to black Britons.

Its true that the countrys treatment of people descended from this history could not be more shameful. From the institutionalised racism they experienced fighting for Britain in both world wars, to the attempts to deport members of the Windrush generation just last year, they have endured the worst of what Britain has had to offer.

But this campaign is not requesting a favour for a marginal section of society. The history of how we came to be this nation is a history for us all. If we cant dignify it with a simple memorial, one whose location, design, importance and even planning permission have already been established, then we really have lost the plot.

Afua Hirsch is a Guardian columnist

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Britain was built on the backs of slaves. A memorial is the least they deserve - The Guardian

As a fisherman who has been working on the high seas since he was 14, Bren Smith has seen just how precarious life in and around the ocean can be.

He was 20 when the cod stocks in Newfoundland, Canada,collapsed in 1992, leaving more than 30,000 people without work and devastating the fishing village where he grew up. Smith was spared because he was working in Alaska at the time. Still, the experience shook him. He left commercial trawling behind and switched to oyster farming.

Then in 2011, Hurricane Irene came, Smith said. And Hurricane Sandy the next year. Intense storm surges, fueled by global warming, buried his bivalves and destroyed his equipment.

Discussions about climate change have often focused on its terrestrial impacts: the killer heatwaves, wildfire, desiccated forests and depleted farmland. But global warming is affecting the oceans as well, heating them up and changing their chemistry so rapidly that its diminishing seafood supplies and triggering stronger, wetter tropical storms, United Nationsscientists recently warned.

I was told climate change would be a slow lobster boil, said Smith. After the storms, I realized it was already here. Its here and now.

So Smith became one of a growing number of activists, policymakers and climate scientists working toward a plan that aims not only to protect the oceans but also to help slow the snowballing effects of global warming that threaten to wreck the planet. Along the way, they want to create more jobs in ocean conservation, offshore energy and seaside tourism. Modeled after the Green New Deal, these conservationists are calling their plan a Blue New Deal for the ocean.

The thing is, were either looking at the ocean as a problem space, Smith said, or we see it as the victim of acidification, of overfishing, of changing water temperatures, of bleached coral reefs.

His version of aBlue New Deal reimagines the ocean as a protagonist and as a place where we can build real climate solutions, Smith said. The proposal, which Smith drafted along with marine biologist Ayana Johnson and Chad Nelsen of the nonprofit Surfrider Foundation, emphasizes restoring and replanting coastlines.

Wetlands, seagrasses and mangroves can absorb up to five times more carbon per acrethan a rainforest, Johnson explained. And wouldnt that be a great opportunity for a jobs program? she said. We could have a conservation corps of young people that just go out and plant stuff.

The plan also champions a model of ocean farming that Smith developed after losing all his oysters. The aquatic gardenshe rebuilt off the coast of Connecticut include seaweed, which absorbs carbon, and shellfish, which absorb nitrogen. Besides absorbing greenhouse gases, he said his gardens are good for the climate because they help to restore the wider marine ecosystem. And theyre good business, he said, because they can float and bob through storms

Smith now runs the nonprofit GreenWave, which helps fishers across the country and around the world plan their own ocean gardens. He recounts his meandering journey from trawl fisherman to ocean entrepreneur in his 2019 book, Eat Like a Fish.

Ronald Gautreau Jr. for GreenWaveSmith harvests oysters from his Thimble Island Ocean Farm off Branford, Connecticut.

Ocean farms are just one little idea, Smith said. My thought is: Lets bundle together and support a thousand climate solutions because theyre out there.

The Blue New Deal that Smith helped write is one of several similar efforts to articulate what such a proposal could include. Others have suggested investing in offshore wind farms and tidal energy, setting higher air quality standards for ships, and promoting hybrid and hydrogen-fueled vessels.

The activist group Blue Frontier has gone a step further to also propose flood insurance reform and programs to help people who live in flood-prone areas relocate to higher ground.More than 40% of Americanslive along or near the coast, and coastal communities generate nearly half of the United States GDP about $8 trillion.

When the best available science is giving us the worst possible scenarios for the ocean, we just have to do something, said Blue Frontiers founder, David Helvarg.

In a bid to gain the support of all presidential candidates for its Ocean Climate Action Plan, Blue Frontier invited scientists, fish and shellfish farmers, government officials and activists to a summit last week to refine the proposal. Weve got a lot of the tools and a lot of the solutions, but so far weve lacked the political will to do anything about it, Helvarg said.

Part of the problem is that oceans are sort of out of sight, out of mind, he said. Many Americans only think about the ocean when theyre on a beach vacation.

That may be starting to change.

During CNNs climate crisis town hall for Democratic presidential candidates last month, Smith had the opportunity to question one of the front-runners, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.). Those of us that work on the water, we need climate solutions and we need them now, he told her. The trouble is, is the Green New Deal only mentions our oceans one time. ... So whats your plan for a Blue New Deal for those of us working on the oceans?

Warren quickly promised her support. I think hes got it exactly right. We need a Blue New Deal as well, she said.

Smith is waiting for her and every other lawmaker to get on it.

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REAL LIFE. REAL NEWS. REAL VOICES.

Help us tell more of the stories that matter from voices that too often remain unheard.

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This Fisherman Wants Us To Use The Oceans To Fight Climate Change - HuffPost

Back in my day, jocks and nerds didnt get along much, but it seems such old distinctions are now gone. Making its debut at halftime during Monday Night Football, the final trailer for Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker delighted athletes and asthmatics alike. We are all united when it comes to Jedi, droids and Wookiees.

The Rise of Skywalker is billed as the culmination of the sequel-trilogy, or non-ology, or whatever you call the main Star Wars storyline. There will be more from the galaxy far, far away (The Mandalorian is just around the corner on Disneys streaming service) but for material directly connected with George Lucass 1977 original, this is it. Or at least until its Daisy Ridley and John Boyega as the elder statespeople passing the lightsaber to the next generation. (Dont think that wont happen.)

As the new trailer launched, there were many questions. Is Rey an everywoman, or is she to the cosmic manor born? Will Kylo Ren revert to the light side? Will Finn and Rose live happily ever after? Can Poe Dameron be any more dreamy?

And how will Luke Skywalker fit in, now he is dead? How exactly will Emperor Palpatine, AKA Darth Sidious, fit in, since hes been dead since 1983? How smooth will the repurposed footage of General Leia look, since Carrie Fisher died before production of this movie began? And for the hardcore, is that ship in the background really the Ghost from the animated series Star Wars Rebels? (All signs point to yes.)

This is a JJ Abrams film, so zilch of substance was revealed in this latest promo. But here were the five moments where we made noises that most resembled millions of voices crying out in terror (in a good way).

The third film in each Star Wars trilogy has, thus far, involved a reversal of what true nerds call alignment. In Return of the Jedi, Darth Vader became good. Yay! In Revenge of the Sith, Anakin Skywalker turned bad. Boo! Will this new one be the tiebreaker? We hope so. And we hope it involves Rey forgiving Kylo Ren his transgressions and the two of them having a big smooch somewhere with the wind blowing her robes and his wavy hair.

But until that can happen, theres going to be some fighting, and it looks like some of that will be on the high seas. Adam Driver looks diabolical emerging from the water and holding his red, cruciform lightsaber like some kind of upside-down trident.

Palpatine is back in this new one. How how how? No one saw it coming, so we should have expected it.

Weve yet to see Ian McDiarmid in any of the promotional materials is it really him, or his Force ghost? but weve heard him laugh and now weve heard him say spooky things such as Long have I waited! (Never keep McDiarmid standing in a queue; hes terrifying!) Its unclear exactly what the Darth Formerly Known As Sidious has been waiting for, but we can guess as to the where: a crazy-looking stone throne that would make even Thanos wince!

I thought we had got all the Star Death out of the way with The Last Jedi. Vice-Admiral Holdo sacrificed herself by hyperdriving the Raddus into a fleet of Star Destroyers and Luke Skywalker evaporated after his Force Projection. Then there was Carrie Fisher who actually died. Couldnt our tear ducts maybe take a movie off?

Well, no. I just didnt think it would be C-3PO, the protocol droid who along with R2-D2 has been in every Star Wars movie thus far, to be the one to go. A solemn farewell moment in this trailer makes it seem as if thats the case.

When George Lucas (remember him?) was first dreaming up these stories (and giving them tongue-twister titles such as Adventures of the Starkiller as taken from The Journal of the Whills, Saga I: The Star Wars) his influences were varied. Yes, he was reading Joseph Campbell. Yes, he was watching Akira Kurosawa. But he was always inspired by cheap, dopey film serials from the 1940s and earlier. To that end, this shot of our heroes on a fleet of interplanetary horses (they arent tauntauns!) really brings it all home. Its fun to see new character Jannah (Naomi Ackie) leading the charge, and outstanding to see BB-8 zooming alongside them.

Each trilogy is about one persons journey. The prequels were about Anakin, the original trilogy was about Luke and the sequel trilogy is about Rey. The final shot of this trailer, with the digital sparkle added to her eyes (unless Abrams blinded her on set!), is a gorgeous image of a new icon. And the voice from elsewhere in the room (or maybe from beyond) echoes some memorable lines from the first film: The Force will be with you, says Luke. Always, adds Leia.

Excuse me, someone must be chopping up space onions in here!

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The Rise of Skywalker trailer five things we learned - The Guardian

"The stakes are high and this wetsuit is our reality unless we act now," said Surfrider's Marketing Director, Eddie Anaya. "Our waterways are being polluted with toxic sewage, runoff and plastics. Sea levels are rising and threatening our beaches. The Rising Seas wetsuit concept is a stark glimpse into what every surfer and coastal enthusiast faces if we don't take immediate action to address climate change impacts and pollution. Together with Vissla, we're calling on everyone who cares about the ocean and coasts to let their voices be heard and demand action from elected officials to protect our ocean, waves and beaches for the future."

Clean water and healthy beaches are critical to the nation's coastal economies, communities, and recreation industries. In fact, coastal recreation and tourism constitute about 2.4 million jobs and contribute more than $124 billion to the U.S. economy every year. However, the ocean and coasts are increasingly at risk from plastic and water pollution, offshore oil drilling, ocean acidification and rising sea levels. Pollution at recreational beaches costs the U.S. economy more than $2.2 billion and results in 20,000 health advisories annually. Melting land ice and glaciers are causing sea levels to rise at an accelerated rate, altering ocean circulation and changing the ocean's chemistry.

"The Rising Seas Wetsuit project is a sobering reality check that we all have to engage in and take a stand to reverse the environmental decline of our oceans, waves and beaches," said Vissla's CEO, Paul Naude. "The thought that we may need this conceptual wetsuit in the future is frightening. We hope the message here stimulates a call to action for everyone to get actively involved in demanding that governments local, state and national take urgent steps to address the environmental issues at hand. We're asking everyone who cares about a healthy planet to help us to never have to produce this wetsuit."

The Surfrider Foundation and Vissla are calling on the public to make their voices heard and join Surfrider's virtual march on Washington, D.C. to urge federal leaders to take action on coastal protection issues. Signatures from Surfrider's action alertwill be sent immediately to congressional representatives and then hand-delivered to Congress by Surfrider and recreation industry representatives during the upcoming Coastal Recreation Hill Day.

The innovative Rising Seas concept was developed by veteran creative directors Scott Brown and Alex Kemp, owners of the underground surf shop Lone Wolfs Objets d'Surf. Alex's music company, Wolf at the Door, produced the video, soundtrack and SFX. Co-produced by Enich Harris.

To find out more, visit risingseas.vissla.comand take action now at Surfrider.org.

About the Surfrider Foundation

The Surfrider Foundation is a nonprofit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world's ocean, waves and beaches through a powerful network. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains more than a million supporters, activists and members, with over 170 volunteer-led chapters and student clubs in the U.S., and more than 600 victories protecting our coasts. Learn more at surfrider.org.

About Vissla

Vissla is a brand that represents creative freedom, a forward-thinking philosophy, and a generation of creators and innovators. They embrace the modern do-it-yourself attitude within surf culture, performance surfing & craftsmanship, and constantly strive to minimize their environmental impact to protect the oceans and waves that raised us.

SOURCE Surfrider Foundation

http://www.surfrider.org

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The Seas Are Rising and So Are We: Vissla and Surfrider Debut a Wetsuit They Never Want to Make a Reality to Turn the Tide Against Climate Change -...

Key point:The Navy's experience was gained with blood, but it would help again against the Nazis during the Second Battle of the Atlantic.

When Congress voted on April 6, 1917 to declare war on Imperial Germany, the task before the U.S. Navy was clear: it needed to transport and supply over a million men across the Atlantic despite the Imperial German Navys ferocious U-Boat campaign, which reached its peak that month, sinking over 874,000 tons of shipping.

Indeed, Germanys decision to recommence unrestricted submarine warfare in February was one of the decisive factors driving the United States, and later Brazil, into finally joining the war to end all wars.

While World War I submarines could only remain submerged for brief periods, they were highly successful at picking off unescorted merchants ship in the Atlantic and Mediterranean. Neither active sonar nor radar yet existed with which to track submarines, though the British had begun using hydrophones to listen for the noise of a submarines diesel engine.

The most successful anti-submarine ships were agile torpedo-boat destroyers, which sank U-Boats using deck guns and even ramming. Starting in 1916, Royal Navy vessels carried depth charge designed to detonate underwater, rupturing a submarines hull. These proved effective if the ship captains could guess the subs position. Statistically, naval mines proved deadliest, accounting for one-third of U-Boat losses.

For years, the Royal Navy resisted instituting a convoy system to guard merchant ships, preferring not to divert warships from offensive missions and believing the decrease in throughput from adhering to a convoy schedule would prove worse than the losses inflicted by U-Boats.

But that April, U-Boats had sunk one-quarter of all merchant ships bound for the UK, leaving it with just six weeks grain supply. Threatened with economic collapse, the Royal Navy finally instituted the convoy system. But the Brits had a problem: they could divert only forty-three out of the seventy-five destroyers required to escort convoys.

Naval liaison Rear Admiral William Sims convinced the navy to dispatch thirty-five U.S. destroyers to bases at Queenstown (modern-day Cobh), Ireland to fill in the gap. These began escorting convoys on May 24, usually supported by navy cruisers. In 1918, an even larger escort flotilla began operating out of Brest, France.

The U.S. Navy itself began the war with only fifty-one destroyers. It immediately faced a classic military procurement problem: politicians and admirals wanted to build more expensive battleships and battlecruisers, construction of sixteen of which had been authorized by the Naval Act of 1916.

But the Royal Navy already had the German High Seas fleet effectively bottled up in port with its larger force. While five coal-burning and three oil-burning U.S. battleships did join the blockade in 1918, they never saw action. Common sense prevailed, and battleship construction was halted in favor of building 266 destroyers.

More rapidly, the Navy commissioned hundreds of small 70-ton wooden-hulled sub-chasers equipped with hydrophones, 3 deck guns and depth charges. Civilian yachts were similarly converted. The Navys eleven L-class and K-class submarines were also deployed to Berehaven (now Castletownbere), Ireland and the Azores respectively to hunt (surfaced) U-Boats, but none encountered enemy forces during the war.

Hundreds of twin-engine HS maritime patrol planes were also procured to scour the seas for submarines. Though the seaplanes sank few if any submarines, they disrupted numerous attacks by forcing U-Boats to dive and abort their torpedo runs.

The convoy system proved a dramatic success, cutting shipping losses to less than half their peak. U-Boats simply lacked unprotected targets and were more likely to be lost combating escorts. Shipping losses gradually fell to roughly 300,000 tons per month, while U-Boat losses increased from three per month to between five and ten.

However, submariner-hunting remained a dangerous business in which a hunter could swiftly become hunted. On Nov. 17, 1917, the destroyer USS Cassin was pursuing U-61 near Ireland when the U-Boat counterattacked. Spotting a torpedo rushing towards the depth-charge launcher on the ships stern, Gunners Mate Osmond Ingram lunged forth to jettison the explosive charges but was caught in the blast that tore away the destroyers rudder. The Cassin remained afloat and shelled U-61s conning tower, causing her to disengage. Ingram was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.

The destroyer Jacob Jones was not so fortunate when she was struck in the rudder by a torpedo fired by U-353 near Brest on December 6. Sixty-six crew perished abandoning ship as her depth charges detonated. Gallantly, U-Boat captain Karl Rose rescued two of the crew and radioed the position of the other survivors.

U.S. sub-hunters did score some successes. On November 17, the destroyers Fanning and Nicholson forced U-58 to the surface with depth charges, then engaged her with deck guns until her crew scuttled her. The converted yacht Christabel crippled a U-Boat with depth charges in May 1918 off the coast of Spain.

That month, the Imperial Navy began dispatching long-range U-Boat cruisers with huge 150-millimeter deck guns to maraud the U.S. coast. These sank ninety-three vessels, mostly small civilian fishing boats. The Germans hoped this would spread panic, causing the Americans to withdraw assets in Europe for home defense.

Notably, on July 18 the boat U-156 surfaced off the coastal town of Orleans on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and proceeded to destroy a tugboat, four barges and the nearby shoreline with its cannons. Nine Coast Guard HS and Model R-9 seaplane bombers scrambled from NAS Chatham and peppered the withdrawing U-boat with bombsnone of which exploded.

The following day, the armored cruiser USS San Diego struck a mine probably lain by U-156 south of Long Island. The explosion flooded her engine room, causing the cruiser to sink with the loss of six handsbecoming the only capital ship lost by the navy. U-156 proceeded to sink twenty-one fishing boats in the Gulf of Maine, and even commandeered a trawler to assist in its rampage. But though the navy instituted coastal convoys, it didnt withdraw ships from Europe.

U-Boats were also active in the Mediterranean, and Gibraltar-based American subchasersoften little more than civilian yachts fitted with 3 guns and depth chargestwice clashed with them, sinking at least one.

Perhaps the Navys most swashbuckling episode of the war occurred on October 2, 1918, when twelve U.S. subchasers covered an Italian and British surface force raiding the Albanian port of Durazzo. Dodging shells from shore batteries, the subchasers cleared a path through the defensive minefield for the accompanying capital ships. They then hounded away the submarines U-29 and U-31, heavily damaging both.

The navys deadliest anti-submarine measure was the North Sea Mine Barrage, a 230-mile-long chain of 100,000 naval mines between the Orkney islands and Norway. U-Boats seeking passage to the Atlantic had to wend through eighteen rows of Mark 6 mines concealed at depths of twenty-four, forty-nine and seventy-three meters deep, strung together with piano wire. Each of the horned steel spheres contained three hundred pounds of TNT. The barrage cost $40 million ($722 million in 2018 dollars) and required the deployment of eight large steamships. However, it sank between four and eight U-Boatsincluding the infamous U-156and damaged another eight.

Ultimately, 178 out of 360 operational U-Boats were sunk during World War I. In return, the German subs sank 5,000 merchant ships totaling 12.8 million tons, killing 15,000 mariners. The U.S. Navy lost 431 personnel and five shipsits worst loss occurred when the collier USS Cyclops vanished with 306 crew in the Bermuda Triangle.

Despite its unglamorous duties, the U.S. Navy learned valuable lessons in the Great War about employing convoys, smaller submarine-hunters and maritime patrol planes that would save many lives in the even more destructive conflict that followed two decades later.

Sbastien Roblin holds a masters degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring. This first appeared in December 2018.

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How America Learned How to Hunt and Kill Submarines (Thank World War I) - The National Interest Online

Cruise ship holidays come with plenty of positives thanks to friendly crew, onboard entertainment and the opportunity to explore new destinations. That said, such trips can still come with their own share of negatives for certain travellers. Seasickness is an unpleasant side effect of taking to the water and it can be very nasty for some suffers. According to the NHS: Motion sickness is caused by repeated movements when travelling, like going over bumps in a car or moving up and down in a boat.

The inner ear sends different signals to your brain from those your eyes are seeing. These confusing messages cause you to feel unwell.

A new cruise ship launching this month boasts a feature which could prevent passengers suffering from seasickness.

Cruise line Aurora Expeditions will see the Greg Mortimer cruise ship set sail this October.

Instead of featuring the conventional bulbous bow seen on regular cruise ships, this vessel has something quite different.

The 80-cabin Greg Mortimer is the first expedition ship to incorporate the patented Ulstein X-Bow.

The X-Bow - which rather resembles the nose of a Concorde - is a true game changer for the industry, according to Aurora Expeditions.

Instead of the traditional bow shape and design that punches through the water, the Ulstein X-Bow hull is curved in a novel shape which increases the foreship volume, explains the cruise companys website.

As a result, the bow penetrates the waves in a way where the water gently flows over the bow reducing impact and slamming loads.

This results in the following benefits on board the ship: reduced bow impact and slamming loads, reduced wave-induced vibrations, lower acceleration levels, lower pitch response due to volume and lower speedloss.

Aurora Expeditions explains: The main advantage of the Ulstein X-Bow is that it can pierce waves with more stability than a traditional ship bow.

Instead of simply rising on the waves and then dropping with tremendous force, the X-Bow is able to absorb the force more consistency across its surface enabling the ship to remain more stable during poor weather conditions, increasing comfort for passengers and crew alike.

However, if the new ship is not for you there are other ways you help fightseasickness when on a cruise.

The NHS advises: Minimise motion sit in the middle of a boat, look straight ahead at a fixed point, such as the horizon and breathe fresh air if possible.

The health body also advises closing your eyes and breathing slowly while focusing on your breathing as well as eating ginger, be it as a tablet, biscuit or tea.

An unlikely location onboard a cruise ship which could be helpful to head to if nausea sets in is the casino.

According to cruise ship doctor Ben MacFarlanes book Cruise Ship SOS: They dont want to compromise the roulette ball. Nor do they want any seasick passengers heading back to their cabins and interrupting a losing streak.

If you know you're susceptible to seasickness on a cruise it's well worth making sure you choose the right ship cabin for you.

Ex cruise ship crew member Joshua Kinser recommends avoiding the cabins in the middle and opting for lower decks instead.

Lower decks will not have as much rocking and motion when in high seas, he told Express.co.uk. So if youre concerned about seasickness these are good choices.

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Cruises: New cruise ship could help beat seasickness with this clever feature - Express