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Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Coming Next Week: Carnival of the Blue!

carnival of the blue 40In seven short days, the Saipan Blog will play host to the 40th rendition of Carnival of the Blue. Carnival of the Blue is a rotating monthly compilation of the world's "best of" ocean blogging, bringing together ocean bloggers and readers and (hopefully) using new media to build a virtual community of ocean lovers. The theme for Carnival of the Blue 40 is Top of the Food Chain.

Click HERE to submit your post for next week's carnival. While you wait (hopefully not with bated breath), dig through the Carnival of the Blue archives:

Carnival of the Blue 1 - Blogfish
Carnival of the Blue 2 - Blogfish
Carnival of the Blue 3 - Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets
Carnival of the Blue 4 - The Saipan Blog
Carnival of the Blue 5 - Shifting Baselines
Carnival of the Blue 6 - Cephalopodcast
Carnival of the Blue 7 - The Natural Patriot
Carnival of the Blue 8 - [ I'm a chordata, urochordata! ]
Carnival of the Blue 9 - The Other 95%
Carnival of the Blue 10 - Kate Wing's Blog
Carnival of the Blue 11 - Zooillogix
Carnival of the Blue 12 - The Island of Doubt
Carnival of the Blue 13 - Blogfish
Carnival of the Blue 14 - Deep Sea News
Carnival of the Blue 15 - Sea Notes
Carnival of the Blue 16 - The Saipan Blog
Carnival of the Blue 17 - 10,000 Birds
Carnival of the Blue 18 - Deep Sea News
Carnival of the Blue 19 - Water Notes
Carnival of the Blue 20 - The Biomes Blog
Carnival of the Blue 21 - The Oyster's Garter
Carnival of the Blue 22 - Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice, and Sunsets
Carnival of the Blue 23 - Deep Sea News
Carnival of the Blue 24 - Sea Notes
Carnival of the Blue 25 - Blogfish
Carnival of the Blue 26 - Southern Fried Science
Carnival of the Blue 27 - Oh, For the Love of Science!
Carnival of the Blue 28 - The Saipan Blog
Carnival of the Blue 29 - Cephalopodcast
Carnival of the Blue 30 - Oh, for the Love of Science!
Carnival of the Blue 31 - Observations of a Nerd
Carnival of the Blue 32 - Sea Notes
Carnival of the Blue 33 - Deep Sea News
Carnival of the Blue 34 - Southern Fried Science
Carnival of the Blue 35 - Oh, for the Love of Science!
Carnival of the Blue 36 - The Thoughtful Animal
Carnival of the Blue 37 - Blogfish
Carnival of the Blue 38 - Water Words That Work
Carnival of the Blue 39 - Arthropoda

Coming next week: Carnival of the Blue 40!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Mayor's, lawmakers' offices work together to remove junk cars

See the article at the Saipan Tribune: Mayor's, lawmakers' offices work together to remove junk cars

Wow - this is really, really great news. After several years of running into challenges, it's great to see this program in operation. It is also a fantastic example of how if we work together, we can Beautify CNMI!

Kudos to those who are finding the power of networking resources!!! Keep up the great work everyone!

Monday, August 23, 2010

Dirt! to be shown in September

Coming up in September DEQ and the National Park Service have another great documentary they are showing, Dirt! the movie, that discusses our reliance on the Earth's soil and the damage we have wrought on it. The film will be shown at the American Memorial Park Visitor's center at 6:30pm on September 3rd (previous viewers note the new time!).

Official selection to the 2009 Sundance film festival, and winner of several awards (including Best Documentary at the Maui and "Visions/Voices" film festivals), Dirt! tells the story of Earth's most valuable and under appreciated resource, from its miraculous beginning to its crippling degradation. The movie seeks to revolutionize the way we see dirt and raise awareness to the plight of one of our most important resources. Rather than simply bemoan the situation, Dirt! offers a myriad of actions that we can take as communities to promote the rebuilding of soil and the sustainable use of it, reminding us that "What we have destroyed, we can heal".


"An invogorating look at an invaluable substance we take for granted."

- LA Times


"...an uplifting story about people from all walks of life who are striving to renew our relationship with the ground beneath our feet"

- The Hollywood Reporter


You can see the trailer and find more information about the film here.

Please join us for this wonderful film on September 3rd. As always it's Free!

Thursday, August 19, 2010

Our Northern Islands

our northern islandsThe release date for Our Northern Islands, Dennis Chan's book about the first expedition to the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, is September 14, 2010. Advance copies will be made available at a discounted price to fans of Our Northern Islands' Facebook page.

Our Northern Islands | Promote Your Page Too

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

25th Annual International Coastal Cleanup

Join the entire Commonwealth for
the 25th Annual International Coastal Cleanup

Together, we can start a sea change.
,

Hafa Adai Friends and Colleagues,

We are all connected to the ocean. And we're all responsible for the trash we leave behind, whether we mean to or not. Please join us, and the global movement that is giving back to the ocean, by spending just one day cleaning up trash from our world's waterways and ocean. It's one of the easiest things we can do to help protect the ocean

We invite you to join us on Friday, September 24 or Saturday, September 25, for the 25th annual International Coastal Cleanup.

To sign-up for the event, kindly complete the attached sign-up sheet and fax it to Rachel Zuercher, Coastal Resources Management, at 664-8315. For more information, call 664-8305 or email - rachel.zuercher@crm.gov.mp

DEQ will retrieve and properly dispose of the trash and recycling collected from the cleanup on Saipan. We will coordinate with your organization/group to determine a pick up point.

Thank you for your kind consideration of this important CNMI-wide event.

Regards,

The Coastal Cleanup Planning Team

***To register, please CLICK HERE to download the sign-up sheet (second page) and submit it to Rachel via email or fax. Instructions included on form. Thank you.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Beautify CNMI's Monthly Mtg for August Cancelled

Sorry for the late notice, but this month's Beautify CNMI! monthly meeting which was scheduled for today (August 12) has been postponed. We will resume our regular monthly meetings after our summer break next month.

I'd appreciate your spreading the word.

Thank you for your understanding.


---Cinta M. Kaipat
Volunteer PR Coordinator
www.beautifycnmi.org

Wednesday, August 11, 2010

2010 Coral Reef Task Force Contest Information


STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST


Essay topic: What traditions do your family or community teach that help protect the ocean, reefs and other ocean animals?

Many communities in Micronesia do things every day to protect the ocean, the coral reef and sea animals. Some traditions have developed over thousands of years. Others have only recently been developed with the help of technology or new information. These traditions and practices are very important to preserving the culture of Micronesia and the many natural resources of the area. Without traditions that protect the fish, land and ocean we will be left with nothing. The increasing pressure on natural resources including pollution, destructive and overfishing techniques and increased population only increases the need to recognize these traditions as an important part of our culture and preserving ocean resources.

Prizes -

· 1st Prize: $200

· 2nd Prize: $100

· 3rd Price: $75

Entry Deadline: Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Rules: The contest is open to any 9th-12th grade student enrolled in a school in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau or the Marshall Islands. A student is defined as someone who currently attending school during the 2010/2011 school year.

Entry must include a typed essay of 1,000-1,500 words, and a cover sheet including the student’s name, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, and date of birth. High school students include school and grade. Entries must be in English but may also be submitted in the student’s native language.

Entries that use information academic sources must cite their sources. Any academically acceptable referencing style may be used.

Entries must be submitted online at www.guamenvironmentaleducation.com or by mail. Mail to:

Guam Coastal Management Program
3rd floor, GCIC Building
Hagatna, GU 96932

Entries may only be submitted once and there can only be one entry per student. More than one entry from a student will not be accepted.

Failure to follow these rules may lead to disqualification from the contest. Entries will be judged on originality, expression of ideas, presentation, and understanding of traditional practices and culture. All entries become of the property of the Guam Coastal Management Program . In addition to receiving cash prizes, winners may have their essays published additional material.

The deadline is 5pm (Chamorro Standard Time) on Tuesday, August 31, 2010.



STUDENT AND PUBLIC PHOTO CONTEST

Photo topic: What traditions do your family or community teach that help protect the ocean, reefs and other ocean animals?

Photos should display some aspect of how many communities in Micronesia do things every day to protect the ocean, the coral reef and sea animals. Some traditions have developed over thousands of years. Others have only recently been developed with the help of technology or new information. These traditions and practices are very important to preserving the culture of Micronesia and the many natural resources of the area. Without traditions that protect the fish, land and ocean we will be left with nothing. The increasing pressure on natural resources including pollution, destructive and overfishing techniques and increased population only increases the need to recognize these traditions as an important part of our culture and preserving ocean resources.

Prizes –

STUDENT PRIZES GENERAL PUBLIC PRIZES

1st Prize: $200 1st Prize: $200

2nd Prize: $100 2nd Prize: $100

3rd Price: $75 3rd Price: $75

Entry Deadline: Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Entry Rules: The student contest is open to any 9th-12th grade student enrolled in a school in Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau or the Marshall Islands. A student is defined as someone who currently attending school during the 2010/2011 school year.

The general public contest is open to any resident of Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Federated States of Micronesia, Palau or the Marshall Islands. A resident is defined as someone currently living in the mentioned areas.

Photo entry details: Each photograph is a single entry. A printed piece with several photographs must have a dot or some other mark indicating which specific single photograph is to be judged. If a single photograph isn't indicated, the entry will be disqualified.

Campaigns or series are limited to five photographs but will be judged as one photograph. If the entry has more than five photographs, indicate which five are to be judged. If this isn't indicated, the entry will be disqualified.

Photos must be submitted with cover sheet including a title, a brief description of the photo, the participants name, mailing address, phone number, e-mail address, and date of birth. High school students include school and grade. Entries must be in English but may also be submitted in the student’s native language.

Entries can be submitted in the following formats:

· Unmounted printed photographs. Please do not send any pieces of art you want returned. NO ENTRIES WILL BE RETURNED. No exceptions

· Digital files: RGB (not CMYK) JPG format with a maximum width of 1024 pixels and a maximum height of 768 pixels (72dpi).

Send entries, unmounted, in flat packages only, no mailing tubes (they frequently arrive damaged) to:

Guam Coastal Management Program
3rd floor, GCIC Building
Hagatna, GU 96932

Entries can be submitted online at www.guamenvironmentaleducation.com.

Entries may only be submitted once and there can only be one entry per student. More than one entry from a student will not be accepted. Failure to follow these rules may lead to disqualification from the contest. Entries will be judged on originality, expression of ideas, presentation, and understanding of traditional practices and culture.

All entries become of the property of the Guam Coastal Management Program . In addition to receiving cash prizes, winners may have their essays published additional material.

The deadline is 5pm (Chamorro Standard Time) on August 31, 2010


For more info, contact:

Lisa Huynh Eller
Federal Programs Coordinator
CNMI Division of Environmental Quality
Coral Reef Initiative/Nonpoint Source Pollution Branch
PO Box 501304
Saipan, MP 96950
Phone: (670) 664-8500
Fax: (670) 664-8540
lisaeller@deq.gov.mp