A brief note from Sylvia Earle via Chris Anderson’s blog…

TED Prize winner Sylvia Earle just emailed that the World Ocean Conference in Manado, Indonesia, which has government delegations from 50 countries, is including the following statement in its closing declaration:

“We resolve to further establish and effectively manage marine protected areas, including representative resilient networks, in accordance with international law … recognizing the importance of their contribution to ecosystem goods and services…”

Razorfish has come on board for Sylvia Earle’s wish in a big way, helping to design a website and campaign around TED@Sea and saving the oceans.  A member of their team has started a blog about the project which I highly recommend.  There you will find articles about the ocean as well as the Razorfish perspective on Sylvia’s TED Prize wish.

Sylvia Earle’s powerful talk at TED 2009 inspired everyone to do their part in protecting and restoring the oceans, the blue heart of the planet. As the TED community comes together around the central plan for her wish, some TEDsters have also pursued side projects to support Sylvia’s wish.

Hamid Shojaee of Axosoft met the Ask a Ninja at TED2009 and they decided to make an iPhone game based on the brand. The game, “I am Ninja”, allows users to become ninjas and fight off enemies such as pirates, zombies and evil ninjas with a variety of weapons.  Even better, 10 percent of the proceeds from the game will go to Sylvia Earle’s Deep Search Foundation. (via)

You can find the game here.  A fun way to help the oceans – what more could you ask for.

A different kind of wish from Sylvia Earle. (via)

I imagine gliding along on with swift ocean currents, feeling the flow of warm and cool water against the soft areas around my flippers, glimpsing other ocean giants in their own realm, listening to humpback whales, with their melodious sounds, echoing from deep ocean cliffs and canyons. With luck, I might encounter the fastest fish in the ocean – sleek blue fin tuna, flashing silver as they power their way across entire ocean basins. I could find myself face to face with the biggest fish in the sea – a whale shark, as long as a bus with a mouth broader than a leatherback turtle is long, but with an appetite aimed only at tiny planktonic creatures. I might see mako and oceanic whitetip and even great white sharks, toothy animals that sometimes have young turtles for lunch, but as a grown-up sea turtle, I wouldn’t worry as most big, healthy turtles are not on their menu.

With Earth Day tomorrow, no doubt you have seen a lot of slogans urging you to “go green”.  Here at the TED Prize, we strongly encourage you to “think blue” as well.  As Sylvia Earle said in her TED Prize talk: Ninety-seven percent of Earth’s water is ocean. No blue, no green. If you think the ocean isn’t important, imagine Earth without it. Mars comes to mind. No ocean. No life support system.

Learn more about protecting the oceans here, here and here.

Also, NBC News is running a special series called “Sea Change” all week.

This Treehugger slide show of Clark Little’s work is stunning and powerful. (via Boing Boing)  As the last slide says, “…really, really big waves are just part of a day’s work for Little. We’re glad he hops into the ocean to photograph its majesty. It helps us connect with it again, and helps us to know what Sylvia Earle is talking about when she urges action for ocean preservation.”

Reuters reported this weekend that “a nerve toxin produced by marine algae off California appears to affect creatures in the deep ocean, posing a greater threat that previously thought.” The article stems from a new report in Nature Geoscience.

“It’s a natural neurotoxin. It is produced by a diatom, which is a phytoplankton. As other animals eat this phytoplankton, like sardines or anchovies, this toxin can be transferred up the food chain,” said Emily Sekula-Wood, a doctoral student at the University of South Carolina…

Sekula-Wood and colleagues looked to see whether the toxin was reaching the ocean floor.

[...]“Our data further confirm that domoic acid-laced sinking particulates are incorporated into underlying sediments, where they are available for consumption and incorporation into bottom feeders,” the researchers wrote.

“It can make us think about the longevity of these toxins,” Sekula-Wood said.

At this year’s TED, Capt. Charles Moore of the Algalita Marine Research Foundation gave a short talk on how plastic waste is choking the seas, killing birds and poisoning fish. Anyone who has been inspired by Sylvia Earle’s talk and wish will not want to miss this devastating presentation.

Inspired by Sylvia Earle’s wish? Help make it a reality.

Emily over at the TED Blog just posted this awesome video demo of Google Earth, narrated by Sylvia Earle.  Take a couple minutes and check it out.