the reverse graffiti project

Meet English graffiti artist Moose's eco friendly art:

the fun theory

masakatsu sashie's orbs

(reposted from pinktentacle; picture source and more pictures here)

"Masakatsu Sashie's fantastic “orb” paintings depict large, city-like spheres that float gently above the remains of a failed civilization. The giant orbs, which seem to be self-contained worlds unto themselves, are pieced together from the scraps of old Showa-period buildings and bits of consumer culture, such as vending machines, pachinko parlors, fast food signs, and video game components. Part retro and part sci-fi, the orbs appear to hover gracefully between the worlds of a nostalgic past and a dystopian future."

murakami's jellyfish

"What we see before us is just one tiny part of the world. We get into the habit of thinking, this is the world, but that's not true at all. The real world is a much darker and deeper place than this, and much of it is occupied by jellyfish and things."

- Haruki Murakami

The problem is, we don't see the big picture. We only perceive time and space, as they concern us personally but we don't have a perspective view. Of course, Murakami (who actually had a fear of jellyfish) might have wanted to convey something else with this quote, but after my previous posts like jelly invasion and giant jellies I am able to interpret it in an entirely different way: What we like to perceive is only a part of the whole story. The whole story is much more darker and frightening for us to acknowledge. However, the increasing number of jellyfish and the deterioration of the waters are signs that we ought to broaden our view on "things", until it's too late.

giant jellies

A special case of the aforementioned jellyfish invasion are the Nomura's Jellyfish.

picture source

picture source

Nomura's Jellyfish are gigantic creatures (they can grow up to 2 meters in diameter and weigh as much as to 220 kilograms) which have plagued the seas of Japan from 2005 up to present. These giant jellyfish normally reside in the Yellow and East China Seas but warm ocean currents seem to be bringing these monsters to Japan. To make matters worse, this year’s swarms appear to be taking a more direct and southerly route to Japan, unlike in 2007 when the jellyfish appeared to take a more northerly route, approaching the Sea of Japan coast from the direction of Korea. At the peak of the invasion that year, an estimated 300 to 500 million monster jellyfish passed through the Tsushima Strait into the Sea of Japan each day. Watch them here.

The main problem with this invasion is the devastation it wreaks on commercial fishing. They decimate fish populations and it only takes a couple of these sumo wrestler sized animals to destroy a harvest net. The risk of a fishing boat capsizing due to having a number of these creatures caught in its nets is a real and present danger. In addition fishermen suffer by being stung when trying to remove these jellyfish from their nets.

picture source

picture source

Japan has tried to kill the creatures before they reach Japan, however the Nomura’s Jellyfish has an unusual survival mechanism in that when it is attacked or killed it releases millions of sperm and eggs which then attach to rock and coral formations. When they mature they release from the rock, millions at a time, and become jellyfish. Japan has also tried to use the surplus they have of this creature, trying to create a market for in the way of foods, and cosmetic products.

For possible causes (overfishing, pollution and global warming) read the previous post: jelly invasion. In line with the pollution arguments mentioned there, the building of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China, hence releasing excess nitrogen and phosphorus, indeed seem to have created a friendly environment for breeding.

In any event, should the problem these monsters create not be dealt with in an efficient manner, what is sure is that harvests of salmon, anchovies, and tuna will suffer.

source 1, source 2, source 3

environmental awareness in animation

Since today has been a day dedicated to environmental issues, I shall continue the series of posts with two Studio Ghibli animation films, which evolve around this topic: "Princess Mononoke" and "Ponyo".

"Princess Mononoke" (1997) is one of my favourite animation movies. It was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli and is one of those animations intended for all audiences, irrespective of age. You can watch the trailer here. Watch this short NYTimes review to get a better idea of the theme of the movie:

"Ponyo" is a 2008 animated movie with many many jellyfish! It is Miyazaki's latest work and was released in Japan in July 2008 and in US and Canada in August 2009. In Germany, it will be released at the beginning of October 2009.

I find that Ponyo carries a way too heavy Disney signature...or rather it might be a conscious return by Miyazaki to the gentler, more kid-friendly style of movies like „My Neighbor Totoro“ and „Kiki's Delivery Service“.

Like much of Miyazaki's work, „Ponyo“ carries an unsubtle environmental message: "They spoil the sea. They treat your home like their empty, black souls" decries Fujimoto, (...) who shudders at his beloved child's desire to live among the two-legged. Miyazaki, too, is keenly aware that nothing — neither children nor oceans — stays pure and innocent forever, and yet, as he glances at the world once more through a child's wide, unspoiled eyes, he seems to find hope for renewal.

Watch the trailer:

jelly invasion

A "monoculture of jellyfish" threatens the oceans as we know them. I believe that this development will make the jellyfish one of the most prominent reminders of the repercussions of human activities.

Dr. Anthony Richardson calls this the "jellyfish joyride" and it is already happening in parts of the ocean: diverse fish populations are being replaced by various jellyfish species. "In recent years, jellyfish blooms have been recorded in the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Mexico, the Black and Caspian Seas, the Northeast US coast, and particularly in Far East coastal waters.”

In a new study in Trends in Ecology and Evolution, Richardson and colleagues explore the causes behind the jellyfish infestation and the need for swift, decisive action to stem the jellyfish take-over: Jellyfish explosions are linked directly to human actions, including over-fishing, the input of fertilizer and sewage into the ocean, and climate change.

Overfishing has removed fish from marine ecosystems at astounding rates. According to Richardson this has opened the door for jellyfish to take their place: “this is because small fish (e.g. anchovy, sardine, herring) appear to keep jellyfish in check by predation (on jellyfish when they are very small) and competition (for the same zooplankton food). So, once we remove fish, jellyfish can proliferate.” As an example Richardson points to Namibia where "intense fishing has decimated sardine stocks and jellyfish have replaced them as the dominant species.” Read more on the angers of overfishing here.

Eutrophication is another human-caused change in the ocean that has likely contributed to jellyfish explosions. Eutrophication is an increase of nitrogen and phosphorous in the ocean, largely caused by fertilizer and waste runoff seeping into the oceans (pollution). This leads to algae blooms, which lower oxygen in the marine ecosystem creating so-called ‘dead zones’, which have been increasing dramatically around the world. According to Richardson, these low-oxygen waters give jellyfish the advantage: “fish avoid low oxygen water but jellyfish, having lower oxygen demands, not only survive but can thrive in these conditions as there is less predation and competition from fish.”

Furthermore, Richardson and his colleague speculate that climate change may expand the traditional ranges of jellyfish at the expense of other marine species. “As water warms, tropical species are moving towards the Poles. This has been documented on land and in the sea. Many venomous jellyfish species are tropical (e.g. box jellyfish and irukandji) and…could move south into more densely populated subtropical and temperate regions,” Richardson says. As an example the paper points to box jellyfish and the incredibly small irukandi in Australia. These fatal species often cause beach closures in their native northeast Australia, and there is a concern that as the water warms they will make their way to more populous southern Australia.

CITATION: Anthony J. Richardson, Andrew Bakun, Graeme C. Hays, and Mark J. Gibbons. The jellyfish joyride: causes, consequences and management responses to a more gelatinous future. Trends in Ecology and Evolution. June 2009, Volume 24, Number 6.

Read more: source 1 & picture source

Here is a related previous post concerning the invasion by the immortal jellyfish.

Watch this National Geographic short:

the age of stupid

The Age of Stupid is a drama-documentary-animation hybrid which stars Pete Postlethwaite as the last person alive in the devastated world of 2055, watching archive footage from 2008 and asking: why didn't we stop climate change when we had the chance?

It will launch in my two home countries: Germany (here) and Romania (here) tomorrow, on September 22nd 2009, as part of the Global Premiere. Check out the website to find the cinema screenings in your country. If they haven't been able to find a cinema in your country, you'll be able to watch the film online, for free, for one month here.

Watch the trailer:

The Age of Stupid Global Premiere Trailer from Age of Stupid on Vimeo.


poster source

(Inspired by ecila's post)