Moir’s Environmental Dialogues

Sea scallops have black eyes and bay scallops are blue-eyed. Skylar Bayer describes the survival strategies of bay and sea scallops in Maine. Bryce Stewart tells of the life of king and queen scallops in Scotland. Young king scallops wear byssus threads to hold onto to high-rise hardscapes. Adolescent scallops loose the threads to become remarkably active, out maneuvering crabs at the click of a claw. Adult scallops settle in to a low-profile couch-potato lifestyle on ocean floors where the sediments are not too fine or pebbles too big. Skylar reveals the truths behind the story of two buckets of scallop gonads lost during a hand-off outside a convenience store on Mount Desert. Flyers of missing scallop parts went up and out to media. Journalists from the Colbert Report traveled to the far-flung lobster state and were shocked by what they imaged – an obsessed woman with diabolical intentions to take over the world by doing science from her laboratory.

What began with 4 Anishinawbe Grandmothers quickly included women and men walking to raise awareness for the water Water is precious and sacred; it is one of the basic elements needed for all life to exist. They walked around the Great Lakes and the St Lawrence to the sea. Each of the 24,113,700 steps taken was a prayer for the water. Now the 2011 Mother Earth Water Walk to Wisconsin from 4 directions has begun. April 10, 2011, at Olympia, Washington, under the watchful eyes of loon and bald eagle, water from the Pacific Ocean was collected in a copper pail. Walkers will gather sea water in Gulfport, Mississippi, Machias, Maine and Churchill, Manitoba and walk the waters to Bad River, Wisconsin. Telling me of the epic endeavour are Dawnis Kennedy, Joanne Robertson (coordinator) Sharon M. Day (South), Tina (West) and Madeleine Huntjens (East).To learn more and to assist please visit http://www.motherearthwaterwalk.com or view their progress at http://emptyglassforwater.ca/map/

Olivia Newton-John and her husband Amazon John Easterling talk with Rob Moir on what we each can do for a greener planet and about their work to save the Amazon Rainforest. Olivia tells why the rainforest is so important. Amazon John explains the remarkable health-giving properties of the Camu-camu fruit (www.DrinkCamu.com). This indigenous fruit is harvested from shallow boats and is a source of income for local peoples. In the 2nd half, Rob talks with Bert Lettsome, a.k.a. 'Washasha X', Chief Conservation Officer of the British Virgin Islands and the work of the Virgin Island Environmental Council. Bert describes why nature in the British Virgin Island is more diverse than anywhere else in the Caribbean. To protect it and maintain pristine, undisturbed nature in the Virgin Islands, we must all make choices. Listen to his song “Choices.” Bert tells us why mangroves are so vital with his song “Ras Mangrove.”

Fish are fighting back to unite rivers with oceans. Prescott Brownell of NOAA, Dr Piotr Parasiewicz and Joe Rodgers of the Rushing Rivers Institute talk with Rob about the ecological challenges confronting anadromous fish species. Fish have a vital role in the overall health of river ecosystems. Discover complex and interdependent relationships in the riverine and marine food webs of fish. Hear about the progress being made in restoration of anadromous fish species on the Atlantic coast and in our watersheds.

Eric Jay Dolin describes the history behind the Oscar Winner movie, The Revenant. Eric talks with Rob Moir about his acclaimed book Fur, Fortune and Empire. He separates fiction from the facts of Hugh Glass and Mountain Men working the Northwest to enable the development of the West Coast. Beaver, buffalo, seal and sea otter were all heavily exploited and only survived because market forces drove hunters westward. Finally, on the west coast sea otter were so over harvested that many of their populations never return. The book ends with the advent of conservation laws. Eric explains how he went from studying fiddler crabs to writing page-turning histories. No animals, nor men, were harmed in the making of this episode of Moir’s Environmental Dialogues.