Elisa Areano

The environmental education project with emphasis on the reuse, recycling and reduction of the use of plastic began in its region of execution in Livingston, Izabal. The project aims to create awareness and educate middle-level youth about the problematic, progressive damage and impact of single-use plastic products for our planet.

The project was initiated where it aims to create a comprehensive mechanism of information on all aspects revolving around plastic, from its origin and manufacture, damages and benefits of plastic for humanity to practical ways to reuse , recycle and unused plastic for the protection of Livingston ecosystems.

This first workshop was executed during the last week of January, this workshop, in addition to serving as an introductory presentation also served to explain fundamental and basic aspects about plastics. Aspects such as: manufacture, provenance, oil refining process, plastics properties, plastic divisions and other related topics were treated.

The success of the first tour was confirmed with the interest shown by the students on how to approach the topic using specific points; fundamental points were addressed on generalities of the chemical properties of plastics, processes of creation of the most common polymers and division of plastics, also gave a historical review on the first synthetic plastic created in the world In addition to its creator and how this had a historical impact on the world.

The first workshop fulfilled its goal of educating and laying the foundations for further understanding of the latent and constant damage of polymers to humanity, ecosystems and the world in general. Although it is true that the activity was successfully developed, its development was not entirely normal due to the problem facing the community every time it rains in the sector; the electric power stops working when the rains are strong, and because of them the service was irregular during the development of the first workshop so that in none of the activities were used all the tools that were planned, were all workshops were modified in such a way that they could be understandable to young people using the dynamic activities and examples, comments and opinions from the same young people.

The presence of Blue World Foundation was positive and highly accepted by the educational establishments and their students showing their interest in the activities that are to come and that will be developed throughout the school year in the Augusta Blanco institutes Rubio and the national diversified education of Livingston.

We give a special thanks to Rufford Foundation for the support provided so that this project can be carried out.

A shark can survive for up to a year without feeding! As incredible as it may seem, (considering the large size of some shark species) sharks can survive for up to a year without feeding.

According to shark Pedia data, sharks can vary their eating habits depending on the regions where they live. These incredible aquatic animals have an easy adaptability to precarious situations in which they cannot obtain food during quite prolonged times, that is why some species of sharks eat just quantities of proportional food To your body and then not to eat again for weeks, months or even for a full year. The way they achieve this amazing feat is thanks to their liver. The Sharks-world site (Shark World in Spanish) states that like humans, sharks also have a liver, although the latter use it in a different way. Fish like sharks can store large amounts of oil during quite long times.

The efficient liver of sharks allows them to keep nutrients that facilitates survival in food shortages and is only when the oil in their liver decreases that they activate their instinct to feed; it is important to mention that like gasoline for a car, the liver of the Sharks should not run out of oil for the proper functioning of their organism.

The importance of the liver to the survival of sharks is not the only quality of this organ. Rob Harris indicates that biologically the liver of a surface shark has a total weight of 25 percent of its body weight while deep sharks may have only 5 percent.

Scientifically it has been proven that the more you need a shark to keep moving in order to get the oxygen from the water that passes through its gills, the more space can occupy the liver in the body of the Sharks. It has been confirmed that in many species of shark the liver can occupy about 90 percent of the body cavity of these fish.

The importance of the liver for the buoyancy of sharks is that the oil produced by this organ is lighter than water, allowing them to have a relatively lower weight than the pressure exerted by their body while swimming. This means that while the liver maintains a correct production of oil, the shark could not sink, besides that the difficulty and effort of its movement by swimming is reduced significantly and drastically.

It is amazing how complex and well-adapted shark organisms are to their own environments. If you meditate calmly, it can be concluded that for a shark gluttony is not an option. So when you no longer can and still try to give the last bite to your burger, remember that nature has lessons that are worthy of being emulated.

By Christian Zúñiga

References

Harris Rob Pets on Mom.me [online]. – 25 of 01 of 2018. –
Http://animals.mom.me/oily-liver-shark-work-7894.html.

Sharks-World [online]. – 2017. – 25 of 01 of 2018. –
Http://www.sharks-world.com/shark_anatomy/°.

Spector Dina BUSINESS Insider [online]. – 2014 of 05 of 2014. – 25 of 01 of 2018. – Http://www.businessinsider.com/how-many-days-can-you-survive-without-water-2014-5.

Tiburón Pedia [Online]. – 18 of 01 of 2018. –
http://www.tiburonpedia.com/que-comen-los-tiburones/.

Pilgrim Shark, the liver of this shark can store about 400 liters of oil. * * Image entitled to reuse. Author: PXHERE.COM * *

The week of 16 to 19 January members of Blue World Foundation presented the project entitled “Participatory Solid Waste Management Initiative” with the Community Development Council of El Quetzalito (COCODE). This was the beginning of this project, which focuses on countering the problem of solid waste affecting the distant community of Izabal. 

With a previous survey in their survey mode, young volunteers contributed by re-digging data to know what kind of management is given to solid waste in each of the households in the community. 

With this first phase we obtained essential data to know how and how to deal with the problem of solid waste in the community and the measures to be taken to solve the problem. This project starts its execution phase in February. 

#KnowandLove

We present the cover of our calendar of species 2018 that will soon be in our files shared on the website of Blue World Foundation.

 We keep what we love, we love what we know, we know what we have been taught. (Baba Dioum).

The calendar 2018 of Blue World Foundation seeks to disseminate the mission of the same in favor of the preservation of sharks. 

The people who use this calendar will be able to know some of the species that exist in the Caribbean of Guatemala, which are unique and have different biological characteristics, in their reproduction and feeding. In this way we will disseminate the importance of these majestic predators to the health of our oceans, because at this pace, many of these species are about to disappear. 

This calendar was made thanks to the effort of the graphic design student of the Universidad Rafael Landívar, Melisa Ortega. 

We also want to thank the photographers who allowed the use of their photographs, Alan C. Egan, Simon Rogerson, Alex St. Jean, Andy Murch, Eduardo Lopez Negrete and Discovery Communications.

Oceans are the soul of the earth and of humanity. They occupy about three quarters of our planet and contain approximately 97% of the planet’s water. Oceans produce more than half of the oxygen by absorbing the carbon found in the atmosphere. 

No matter how far from the shore you live, the health of the oceans affects your life and the life of your family, friends, companions and all the humans who inhabit the Earth. 

The air you breathe, the water you drink, the food you eat, the products that keep you warm, safe, informed and entertaining, all come to you by being transported by the oceans of the world. 

About half of the world’s population lives within the coastal zone, and all ocean productivity-based businesses contribute more than $500 million in the world’s economy. Historically we wanted to adopt the idea that it is impossible to subtract all the renewable resource from the oceans or that it is impossible to fill the oceans of all the global waste, this idea is wrong because today you can notice the consequences of the Human unconsciousness. 

The total number of people using and depending on the ocean and the unsustainable practices that we have adopted have produced overexploitation of marine resources, significantly reducing biodiversity, degrading marine habitats and species in addition to us risking ecosystems from which the survival of humanity depends. 

Environmental awareness is a virtue that is developed and learned. 

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A new species of shark was discovered about 314-384 meters deep in Sotavento, one of the islands of Hawaii. 

The species named, Etmopterus Lailae has an elusive behavior, making it extremely difficult to observe in a wild state. 

Much of this shark’s biodiversity is still unknown because it is very small and lives in very deep waters. This type of shark is bioluminescent which means it glows in the dark. Given this quality, several scenarios have been proposed: it uses its quality to ensure that it mates with the right species, uses it as camouflage and thus defend itself from its predators or uses it as a lure to attract small fish or other prey. 

It is not the first bioluminescent shark that has been discovered until now, but its characteristics differentiate it from other sharks of its type: its head is oddly shaped and has a large, bulging snout where the nostrils and olfactory organs are located , has distinctive side marks that go back and forth over the belly, has fewer teeth and vertebrae than the average shark.

Although for scientists the bioluminescence of this shark is still a mystery, it is a fact that does not take away the brilliance of this interesting discovery.

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