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Staci says...

Holding on to tightly to what worked yesterday can rob you of a better tomorrow. 

You can either preserve your present position, or position yourself for a better future.  It's good to remember and keep antiques as a reminder of all your knowledge and how far you've come; just don't remain too attached and become one.  Evaluate, change, grow and ultimately...soar.

I can't wait to see your next great innovation!

Love,
Staci

Filed under: Change, Faith, Future, Growth, Past, Success

This week was filled with some strong words. There was some big talk against the current theological climate of the American church. 

But the truth is, these thoughts are more about me than some big institution. You see, I became complacent. It is easier to write a check than get hands dirty and blistered. It is easier to sit in a comfortable room and discuss changing the world, than it is to actually do it! 

I became bloated in my own heart and walk with GOD. My once simply faith became chained down with cynicism, anger, despair, and a desire for knowledge. But, I hated it. The more I learned the less I knew. The more I read, the less I cared. Generally, reading is to become more intelligent on a subject. However, if intelligence is the end goal, then I have missed the point. Intelligence is a tool, not an end. Being like Jesus, doing the work of the Kingdom, these are ends.

The goal is pretty simple, follow Jesus. It might be incredibly hard to accomplish, but that doesn't change the simplicity of the goal. 

Change always, always, starts with the individual. Change must start within in me, through the God, before I can even think beyond myself.

"Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." - Romans 12:2

 

Filed under: change, God, Gospel, Theology

juniorsrealm says...

It's here. November 4th, 2009-- the anniversary of the day that thousands of young people turned out to the polls and made change happen. This year, YOU can be a part of change again by pushing for quality, affordable health care for all Americans. Join us for Y.I. Still Want Change Day. I hope that you will take a small part to help such a large cause. It only takes a moment to speak out and contribute.

Here's 3 things you can do in 5 minutes to make an impact now:

1. Change Your Facebook Status to:
One year ago today we made history.  Let's make history again by delivering quality, affordable health care to all Americans.  If you agree, click on the link, sign the petition, and repost this message. http://bit.ly/1zMnGs 

2. Sign the Y.I. Want Change Photo Petition on Facebook:
Click here to sign the Y.I. Want Change photo petition that's going to be sent to your senators: http://bit.ly/3Mex3X 

3. Tweet this message:
I just told Congress the time for #hcr is now. It's Nov 4, the anniversary of change. Join me http://bit.ly/1zMnGs #yiwc

Filed under: action, change, HCR, health care reform, Politics, Y.I. Still Want Change National Day of Action

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planet waves horoscopes

by Eric Francis

In a matter of hours, Saturn will begin its first visit to Libra since 1983. That happens Thursday in most time zones. How it worked back then was, Saturn entered Libra for the first time on Sept. 21, 1980, right before Ronald Reagan was supposedly elected. History has not properly recorded the stolen election of 1980 due to Reagan/Bush involvement with Iranian militants during the hostage crisis. On the day it entered Libra, Saturn was exactly opposite as-yet undiscovered Pholus, suggesting that the genie was indeed about to be let out of the bottle. By the time Saturn left Libra and entered Scorpio on Aug. 24, 1983, the Neocon movement was born and many other changes had been foisted on the American people and the world.

That was then; for some of us, this is now.

Once in Libra (as of early Thursday afternoon in the EDT zone), it will oppose the Aries Point and continue to approach perfect 90-degree angle (that is, a square) to Pluto in Capricorn. This is one of those "something happens" aspects (occurring in a series of three instances over the next nine months, though the first contact is the one to watch carefully). Nothing like this has happened since the challenging events of 2001-2002. At that time, Saturn opposed Pluto, precipitating events that changed the world and from which it has only begun to change again. The Saturn-Pluto cycle can be associated with fear, contraction and the fear of contraction, for example, the paranoia associated with influenza and warfare. This sounds more like 1918 than 2012. Fortunately, there are many other cycles in motion that provide a greater sense of innovation, strength and new ideas. As always, we will have a choice which path to tread, or to make a new one.

There are many dimensions to Saturn square Pluto. Considering the personal realm, we might encounter what we typically call private factors that compel us to rethink the structures of our personal lives, relationships and commitments. Some will be taking up this issue thoughtfully for the first time. What are the rules of the game that we play by in our relationships? Do we strive for balance and honesty? To what extent are the rules taught to us by our parents influencing us? Right now those are undergoing a revolution involving Pluto in Capricorn. We need to evaluate how our relationships are working or not working, and make the necessary adjustments. It is likely that circumstances will play a large role in this process, rather than doing things for their own sake.

Next, we may encounter some unusual turn of events in history, likely to manifest by December. The astrological epicenter is Nov. 15—the exact day that the first of three squares takes place. News of the flu is a probable focal point here, though as we approach the one-year mark to the election of Obama, we're likely to experience some kind of shakeup or shakedown.

Saturn square Pluto, with both planets exactly aspecting the Aries Point, is the most recent in a long sequence of events that ramp up the energy to a wild peak in June 2010. All of this astrology, focused on the Aries Point, has the energy imprint of what everyone has been calling 2012. We are embarking on an extended Sixties-like moment of high energy, adventurous challenges and unexpected historical twists; not, as some are suggesting, the "end of the world." This is indeed the end of something, and the beginning of something else. Proceed with awareness; keep your lights on; hold that flame of ethos up high.

Eric Francis offers both consulting services and specialized information services to his worldwide clientele. To find out more, please visit him at Planet Waves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Click your sign above, or scroll down, to read your November horoscope.

Aries (March 20–April 19) ▲Top
Keep your sense of humor; exercising that on a daily basis is more important than going to the gym. Humor is not just about getting a good laugh; it's about taking a light enough approach to life so that you can see your options, and have a sense of flexibility. That said, the ability to laugh at something means one thing: you're not afraid of it. You're being summoned for the first time in years to make enormous changes, and you may indeed be nervous, and reluctant to move forward, lest you make an error from which you cannot recover. Remember that you're not in this alone. The whole point is that a relationship is getting your attention, as is your sense of priorities for what to do with your life. Most people take these as separate issues. The planets in their courses are giving you little choice but to see these seemingly separate things as one topic: your existence. The meta-theme is maturity: having adult relationships and an adult sense of purpose. Finally, this is not something that might happen in the future; rather, it's something that's calling your name right now. You may feel like certain elements in this equation are being dictated to you, and you might be right. If you take a light touch, you will see how many options you really have within reach.

Taurus (April 19–May 20) ▲Top
Do you need to take your life more seriously, or less? The answer is, some of both. They're not actually opposites. Most things that you think of as opposites aren't really opposites. Most things that you think of as difficult aren't really that difficult, but how you apply your mind to the situation is another story. What you usually think of as a mental approach involves getting snagged in your emotions. If you're in an endless loop of any kind, you can be pretty sure that you're trying to handle a situation that calls for an analytical approach in a way that avoids real analysis. The 'more seriously' piece of the original question involves the dismantling of your sense of being stuck in something you cannot see but can only feel. Then you can reassemble the pieces in a way that actually makes sense. The 'less seriously' approach involves letting go of your sense of fate, doom or looming imperatives. Clearly, you're being summoned to take on a new level of responsibility, and then to take action. Other factors suggest that you examine the beliefs that have so far dictated the course of your life, most of the time below the level of full awareness. Awareness is light, and you'll know it's increasing because you will have a greater sense of your power of decision.

Gemini (May 20–June 21) ▲Top
There is such a thing as overfocus. It's true that concentrating your mental energies is something you must do consciously, but you tend to compensate for this by laying all kinds of rules on yourself and then attempting to follow them like choreography. But the way dancers actually work would serve you much better. Just like a dance routine is composed of many smaller parts that are brought together, improving your mental process is about learning separate elements of something, and the gradual acquisition of discipline. Connect to the creative impulse at the core of what you're doing; your true motivation. That will make the effort seem worthwhile. I suggest that you be leery of telling yourself you're doing anything for altruistic or 'service' purposes, and instead, stay focused on the creative and business aspects of the work. The same would hold true in personal relationships, though there is an added caution here: beware of approaching anyone with a set of expectations about how he or she is supposed to feel, in advance of the experience actually happening. Indeed, be cautious about approaching anything with a set of expectations about how you are supposed to feel. At the moment, your life is about being in the moment, taking a risk on suspending your beliefs about the presumed outcome. Those beliefs are a burden that interferes with your true creative process.

Cancer (June 21–July 22) ▲Top
If you knew how guilty people felt about money, you would be shocked. That's why they try to get rid of the stuff so fast. Then there's debt. A colleague in the UK suggested that one of the places that sex energy is being drained faster than we can fill it up is credit card debt. Debt is like negative worth or lack of worth, and at the moment the world is overrun with it. For the next seven months, Mars is going to be taking up residence in your house of self-worth, self-esteem, your financial resources and 'how you really feel about yourself'. With Leo in this solar house, you're well suited to have a strong relationship with yourself and a balanced, mutually profitable relationship with others. The issue with Mars here is: how deep can you go, making peace with your existence, your values and your sense of belonging? How useful can you make that value, to yourself and to others? Do you have the guts to make the money you want to make? One of the forms that guilt about money takes is that money is considered 'unspiritual', and we've all met enough people who seem to demonstrate that quality quite effectively. Yet one theme here is learning that you and nobody else gives the things in your life the value that they have.

Leo (July 22–Aug. 23) ▲Top
One of your greatest talents is that you've learned how to doubt your doubts. That ability has proven useful, as so much of what you were uncertain about in recent months has either revealed itself to have little basis in truth, or has worked out better than you were planning. Even as your confidence and sense of purpose build, you're still going to need that skill. You have some unusual discretion now, the ability to apply your power in a direct, focused way. At the same time you may run into a few more puddles of self-doubt, particularly about your involvement in a family situation that seems too complicated for your tastes. The key here is to not overreact, or to apply too much strength or force when a little will do just fine. Indeed, you can safely put off smaller actions, solutions or possibilities for resolving things in place of larger ones that come a little later in the month. Something that seems obvious today is still coming into focus. You don't know details that you cannot quite see yet, but those details exist. Some of them will emerge when an event or circumstance represents the universe making a move; then suddenly it will be much more obvious what you need to do. You can safely wait for any strong emotions or confusion to fully clear before you say or do anything.

Virgo (Aug. 23–Sep. 22) ▲Top
Understanding your obsessive tendencies will be the key to your freedom, and your enlightenment. First, I suggest you see them for what they are, and note the complications they bring into your life: for example, your struggle to let go emotionally, the difficulty you have forgiving yourself and therefore others. Obsession is a quality so inherent in your makeup that you take it for granted, but you also take for granted the damage that it does to the fragile fabric of your existence. Saturn's presence in your sign the past few years has provided a compelling influence to question why you are the way you are, and why you feel the way you do. Yet another factor suggests that there is a hidden source of energy lurking deep within your makeup, there is a notion of who you are supposed to be. You are trying to live up to this idea, even though you're not aware of it most of the time. I suggest you bring it out into the open. Perhaps make a scrapbook called The Perfect Me, and collect images and examples of what you are trying to be. This will teach you that your prototype is not really you; it is a concept that was installed into you, and modified over time. This is your moment to take control over the process. If you must strive for a certain ideal, it's best that it be consciously chosen.

Libra (Sep. 22–Oct. 23) ▲Top
Self-awareness is the thing. THE thing, as in the VERY thing; the only thing and the thing to value above all else. Nobody is perfectly self-aware, so you can let yourself off the hook for that one. Yet there are those who value the stuff and those who really, truly don't want to be bothered. Now is the time to bother; to take every step you have to take to hoist that flag and raise it high. Saturn beginning its 30-month journey across your birth sign is some of the best astrological news that has come your way in many years. You have faced challenging transits (as have we all), and while this one will indeed bring its challenges, they are the kind that are worth every bit of effort five times over. Saturn is here to bestow you with one of the most precious gifts of the postmodern age: maturity. Among the very most serious problems our society faces is the collective lack of maturity among its members. This not only leads to people being unable to take care of themselves and one another; it's contributing to a significant failure of ethics and sense of awareness about the future. All of this and more are the gifts that Saturn is here to offer you; in due time, of course, but that time is close. And what is the cost? Self-awareness.

Scorpio (Oct. 23–Nov. 22) ▲Top
You are accustomed to constantly having to adapt to your circumstances; it's rare enough that your circumstances must adapt to you, but that's precisely what is happening. You may be thinking, that would be a lot easier, were it only true. Here's how to help make it true: The first thing you can do is to be clear about your intentions, mainly with yourself, then in any conversation or encounter where you need to state your agenda. Or perhaps the correct word would be understate. The key is to say things once and then allow the energy to align around your goals. Don't expect anyone to read your mind, and don't overstate your position. Next, maintain a continuous awareness of how things have been done in the past, including the distant past, and then make conscious, gradual modifications to those methods, never veering far from the wisdom of tradition. You are in the rare position of rewriting tradition, which is best done incrementally, with the awareness that evolutionary steps are what keep the intelligence of the past alive. I suggest you take any opportunity you can to actually feel the strength of your position. If you feel it, others will respond, even those you don't actually talk to. Your mind reaches to other minds; but among those in your immediate environment, clarity is of the essence; it will be the vector of your true strength.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22–Dec. 22) ▲Top
Be aware which of the sweeping changes that flood through your life the next month exist in your consciousness, and which of them have a definite source in your environment. There is a valid theory of existence which says that everything the mind perceives begins and ends in the mind, and what we perceive is strictly a matter of interpretation. Let's take this one two ways; there may be more. First, let's assume that it's not true. Let's assume that there really are elements of existence that come from the outside; over which you have no control, except how you respond. Then let's assume that the nature of everything you see and experience is strictly a matter of your own interpretation, based on your level of awareness, your prejudices, your personal history and your imagination. (A Course in Miracles sums this up in three words: 'projection makes perception'.) In the end, the difference between the two viewpoints may be subtle, but I would ask: which gives you a greater sense of influence over your life? Which puts you in the more influential position of co-creator of your existence? Bear in mind, the current dominant philosophy of existence is that only externals matter, and that everyone except the supposedly famous and powerful are victims of circumstance. That is not an option.

Capricorn (Dec. 22–Jan. 20) ▲Top
Saturn has moved across the midheaven angle of your solar chart, and later this month will make a high-powered aspect to Pluto in your birth sign. This is your moment to wake up to who you're supposed to be in the future. Everyone has an image of that, but who exactly comes along and tells you when the time has arrived? Your astrologer, that's who. In the past, you've had transits that have called on you to reach for higher goals. You've had transits that have focused your sense of identity. But you have never had a transit like this, and the truth is, neither have most of the people you see walking around on the street. If this astrology is working right, that is to say, if you are responding with awareness to the conditioning forces that surround you, you will be feeling a mix of certain key elements: one of them being a sense of responsibility. Another will be the urgency to rise to the occasion; that is, to be the very best person you can be, under the circumstances of your life and your professional situation. This is a calling to leadership, but the kind that requires you to contemplate every decision carefully, and to make sure that each step you take comes with an actual change in your psyche; actual growth, no matter how challenging that may be.

Aquarius (Jan. 20–Feb. 19) ▲Top
Humans learn a bit in school, but mainly we learn from example. One of the most useful methods of example is mentorship. I suggest you take this two ways. One is by working with people far more experienced than yourself, setting aside any notion that you 'know more' than they do. This will give you sufficient freedom from your own preconceived ideas to be able to adapt new approaches to what you do. The second is teaching someone younger or less experienced than yourself the basic professional methods that you are developing. You will know you're doing this right when you are the one learning from your student. It's not that your student 'knows more' than you; it's that you know enough to learn from those both more and less experienced than you. Advancing your education is a key theme of the next two years of Saturn in Libra, and you're the one who is in charge of the process. Part of the story involves an exploration of why ethics matters more than anything. There is an emphasis on learning fairness, as a prerequisite of having the additional authority that is going to be given to you after you pass what amounts to a series of personal tests of your integrity. The first of these challenges begins now; and for the moment, the whole process is on the honor system.

Pisces (Feb. 19–March 20) ▲Top
During the past year, you've grown increasingly aware of how important your friends are to you. The sense of having old, established friends is vital to your sanity, your sense of personal security, and your ability to get things done. It's been worth every bit of the effort you've put into the relationships. From among those friends, it's now time to select certain ones as partners in an important series of ventures in both your personal and professional endeavors. Looked at one way, these people will be self-selecting: they're ones who stick around, who demonstrate their love and loyalty, and most of all, who demonstrate their commitment to growth. Once you apply those criteria, you're not going to be left with a lot of candidates, but you will have just enough; and certain people you can depend on are about to come out of the woodwork. The feeling you're looking for in partners is the sense of needing to collectively rise to a challenge; individuals who are moved to action by the times we are living in. Emphasize your encounters with people who are responding in the present, rather than being stuck in the past. Keep your mind focused on this and you will remind yourself over and over to keep your focus in the moment, where it belongs, and where you access your true power over your destiny.

Read Eric Francis daily at PlanetWaves.net. Cosmic Confidential by Eric Francis is the 2010 annual edition of Planet Waves, featuring extended length horoscopes for all the signs, key life transits and other cool astrology information. Read extended annual forecasts like only Eric can write. Cosmic Confidential follows up on last year's best-selling Next World Stories. Click for details and ordering information: planetwaves.net/confidential/

 

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This is really exciting news to me and validates all the energy shifts I have felt personally the last several weeks especially! Time for us to join hands and hearts and create the world we truly desire to live in. It is more than just a possibility!

Katelon

Filed under: 2012, astrology, change, growth, manifestation, personal growth, spirituality

tcwmatt says...

I recently stumbled upon (lame social media pun) a very inspirational and interesting blog called Zen Habits. And while I don't exactly agree with the title or the author's religious views, I must say that the blog has some good information to help one clean out the clutter in their life. And that's just what I'm needing to do!

The first post I read while visiting the blog for the first time was called "29 Ways to Successfully Ingrain a Behavior". This "habit cheatsheet" as he called it, is very inspirational. Here are some main things regarding habit change in my life.

The Habits: First, I needed to realize and recognize what my habits were. Immediately two stuck out in my mind. One is definitely productivity. I get so distracted with other things (computer, television, music, etc.) that it's always hard for me to concentrate and be productive. The second is a nasty habit/addiction that I'm not going to mention specifically, but just note that I have really wanted to get rid of this one for a while, but it just kept coming back.

How to go about change: Another thing I learned in this post was that you can't just wake up one day and say you're going to change. It has to be a planned thing - with set dates and the works. You have to be serious about it. You don't just do it on a whim when you're in the mood for change. Which is something I always did. So here are my planned out dates:

NOVEMBER 2nd - DECEMBER 1st, 2009

These are the dates I have chosen (roughly 30 days) to change my habit. I must stay strong for these 30 days, and it will then be a successfully ingrained behavior for me.

Sure it's hard. Sure I might fail. But I will get back up and keep trying until I am 100% successful. My goals: to do better in work - not procrastinate, not get distracted, get work done - and to resist the other nasty habit I was mentioning earlier. I can do it, and so can you.

For your inspiration pleasure, I will link to a few Zen Habits articles that could give you the inspiration or motivational boost you've been needing to bring about change:

  1. Habit Change Cheatsheet: 29 Ways to Ingrain a Behavior
  2. 72 Ways to Simplify Your Life
  3. How Simplicity can Help Creativity
  4. 16 Ways to get Motivated When You're in a Slump

Those are just a few. Check out Zen Habits and read all the other great articles there - I highly reccommend it!

Filed under: Change, Habits, Inspiration, Motivation, Personal

arnoldbeekes says...

 

 It is an open door to talk about all the change that is necessary and all the change programs that are work in process.

However, there is also plenty of evidence (McKinsey, IBM) that the majority of the changes do not deliver the required results. There are two main reasons for this issue.

  1. most leaders think that their people (managers and employees) should change, but not themselves. And the (middle) managers and frontline workers think that they are okay, but that the leaders should change.
  2. Most change programs cover only the professional/business aspects of change. They forget the crucial aspect of personal/behavioral change.

The solution is quite straight forward: change is non-discriminatory, everyone should be open to change and personal change is equally important as professional change. Remember......when you point your finger to someone else, there are always three fingers pointing at yourself!

Please find here an overview of the ProPer Change Cycle.

Organizations

  • Change only happens when cost of the status quo is > risk of change

The 8-Step Process of Successful Change (John Kotter)
SET THE STAGE
1. Create a Sense of Urgency. 
Help others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately.
2. Pull Together the Guiding Team. 
Make sure there is a powerful group guiding the change—one with leadership skills, bias for action, credibility, communications ability, authority, analytical skills.
DECIDE WHAT TO DO
3. Develop the Change Vision and Strategy. 
Clarify how the future will be different from the past, and how you can make that future a reality.
MAKE IT HAPPEN
4. Communicate for Understanding and Buy-in. 
Make sure as many others as possible understand and accept the vision and the strategy.
5. Empower Others to Act. 
Remove as many barriers as possible so that those who want to make the vision a reality can do so.
6. Produce Short-Term Wins. 
Create some visible, unambiguous successes as soon as possible.
7. Don’t Let Up. 
Press harder and faster after the first successes. Be relentless with instituting change after change until the vision becomes a reality.
MAKE IT STICK
8. Create a New Culture. 
Hold on to the new ways of behaving, and make sure they succeed, until they become a part of the very culture of the group.

Individuals

Change is personal or it never happens.

 Rule 1: It is a prerequisite that everyone (leaders, managers, employees) changes in order to grow.
Rule 2: People don’t change when we tell them they should. They change when they tell themselves they must.

Key questions for individual change:

PLAN

*Knowledge
  • Why is change necessary?
  • What to change?
  • What is the new goal (organization, department, personal)?
  • What do I have to do differently?
  • What is my new metric?
  • Where can I contribute (share ideas, give feedback, be engaged)?

*Desire
  • Want to change
  • Will to change
  • What excites me?
  • What is in it for me (benefits, rewards, recognition)?
  •  

*Skills
  • How to change
  • Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my ‘new’ work right?
  • Where is support available for me to cope with ongoing change?

DO
*Change your thinking
*Change your behaviour

CHECK
  • Are you producing the required results, professionally and personally?

ACT
  • Adapt yourself continuously
  • Stay focused
  • Reward success

This holistic approach to change will create an environment, a culture, which sees change as a normal, accepted way of working, rather than an exception which needs to be resisted.

So, are you ready to change yourself??

GROW YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!

Filed under: change

besyd says...

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Filed under: Change, Fun, Ideas

Jay says...

Filed under: best camera, change, iPhoneography

Victor says...

I found this interesting article on Wired.com today. It has some "new" information of the climate change. It's worth reading.  

northsea

Fueled by previously unappreciated links between climate and ecology, the North Sea has undergone a radical ecological shift in the last half-century, say scientists.

The very shape of the food web has changed, from plankton on up to the cod and flatfish that once dominated the icy waters, supporting rich commercial fisheries. They’ve been largely replaced by jellyfish and crabs.

The full scope of the change has gone relatively unnoticed, and could foreshadow changes in waters around the world.

“Climate-driven changes in the biology of the sea are largely hidden from view,” said Richard Kirby, a marine biologist at the University of Plymouth. “If similar changes occurred in a temperate forest, we would be shocked.”

 

In a study published in the upcoming December Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Kirby and Gregory Bertrand, an oceanologist at the Lille University of Science and Technology, analyze decades of climate and ecosystem data gathered in the North Sea, a pocket of ocean bordered by the United Kingdom and Scandinavia.

Though relatively small, the North Sea has historically been a fabulously fertile fishing ground. Even now, it provides about five percent of the global fish harvest — but that’s barely a third of what it yielded just a century ago.

Declining stocks have been blamed almost entirely on overfishing. However, though fishing pressures have indeed been intense, some scientists have suspected that water temperatures are also a factor.

Over the last quarter-century, the North Sea’s upper layers have warmed by about 1 degree Fahrenheit. That seems like little, but in the North Sea, summer and winter water temperatures differ by just a few degrees. Even a single degree of change is relatively profound, and enough to disrupt aquatic organisms accustomed to functioning in a very narrow thermal range.

Whether the warming is man-made or not, it’s a sign of times to come. Global ocean temperatures are expected to experience a comparable or greater rise during the next century. And the consequences, as anticipated by the North Sea, have been relatively unacknowledged. Most discussions of climate change impacts focus on the terrestrial. When ocean life is mentioned, it’s in the context of of coral reef bleaching or acidifying waters.

Both those threats are grave, but the possibility of oceans completely changing their character, independent of acidification or reef effects, may be just as troubling.

“The effect of climate on the marine food web, the way small changes can be amplified through the web, that’s the moral of the story here,” said Kirby. “And food webs everywhere will be affected in a similar way.”

At the heart of Kirby and Bertrand’s findings is data from the Continuous Plankton Recorder Survey, which has been run in the North Atlantic since 1931, when explorer Alister Hardy invented the recorder — a specialized box that’s dragged behind commercial ships, allowing researchers to take sea-wide samples of plankton and juvenile members of other species.

Combined with temperature records, the CPRS provides the most comprehensive climate-ecosystem dataset of any ocean, if not the entire world. And as temperatures have changed, so has every part of the food web, starting with its foundation.

“If you were to divide zooplankton into those that prefer warmer southern waters, and those that prefer colder northern waters, and look at the boundaries between those groups, it’s moved north by over 700 miles in the last 40 years,” said Kirby. “That’s one of the largest range shifts, if not the largest, that’s been recorded.”

marinewebThe distribution of hundreds of species have changed, in every niche from plankton up to the North Sea’s top predators. Cod and flatfish numbers have plummeted, and tuna have vanished. The ecological roles they once played are now occupied by jellyfish and bottom-dwelling crabs.

“The North Sea has fundamentally changed. It’s a totally different ecosystem from what it was,” said Kirby.

When Kirby and Bertrand crunched the numbers describing these patterns with equations designed to separate cause from coincidence, they found that temperature drove the changes. They also found evidence for what they call “trophic amplification.”

“Because temperature acts on different components of the food web, the gross effect is amplified,” said Kirby. “It affects the phytoplankton that copepods feed on; it affects the copepods; it affects the predators who eat the copepods; and all those effects, magnified, are much greater than any one alone.” This compounding dynamic is responsible for the extreme rapidity of the shift, he added.

“The findings seem plausible to me,” said Marten Scheffer, a Wageningen University ecologist who specializes in ecosystem-wide transitions. Scheffer, who was not involved in the study, also said that marine shifts are notoriously difficult to study. “Compared to work on lakes, or terrestrial grazing systems, there is little scope for experimental testing,” he said.

According to Kirby, models by fisheries managers need to incorporate these dynamics and and policymakers contemplating global warming need to consider the magnitude of the change.

A similar dynamic may be at work in the Sea of Japan, which in recent years has become dominated by giant jellyfish.

“Marine ecosystems have always changed, but people don’t realize how responsive they are, and how rapidly they may change,” he said. “Humans shouldn’t forget that we don’t live in isolation from the food web.”

// By Brandon Keim Email Author // Original article: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/north-sea-change/

Filed under: Change, Climate, Eart, Eco, Global, North, Sea, System, Warming

aliceayel says...

I happened to stumble on an interesting video whilst re-watching this other interesting video embedded in the presentation The PDO's are coming in my earlier post about using personally owned devices in the classroom:

Do you think Joe is joking? I don't think so. I think he is serious: a book is a foreign tool for him!!!

This is the other very interesting video about students talking about their personally owned devices. It really is time we, teachers,  should start using them, don't you think?

Filed under: book, change, learning, notebook, PDO, Personally owned devices, students, teaching, video