June 8, 2010
Sail around Americas gauges ocean health
A Rockefeller, a Cousteau and ship’s captain reflect on BP
msnbc.com
updated 4:53 p.m. ET, Mon., June 7, 2010
What a difference a year makes — that’s how long it has taken a crew of scientists and conservationists to sail and motor the 25,000 miles around both North and South America.
The biggest change since they left: the BP oil spill.
Now making their way up the West Coast, the Ocean Watch crew have been observing ocean health — or lack thereof — since setting off from Seattle, Washington, on May 31, 2009.
The Around the Americas expedition isn’t your Greenpeace-style exploit, either. No activists unfurling banners, just real scientists collecting jellyfish, taking water temperatures and testing pH levels of the seas — the latter a key concern as increasing carbon dioxide emissions make for more acidic oceans.
