“An ‘Undiscovered’ South Pacific Island”

How could I not read this!? There are thousands of little islands out there, and many are not very well studied or mapped, particularly in the vast Pacific and the inhospitable Arctic. Especially if they are only islands part of the time, and submerged at other times — still a great hazard to ships.

CNN’s typical hyperbolic and often ungrammatical headlines regularly mislead me into clicking on links leading to nothing of real interest, but this time was different. It turns out an island listed on many charts and maps (including Google Earth) just doesn’t exist! Sandy Island (or Sable Island) was supposed to sit between Australia and New Caledonia. And an expedition researching plate tectonics noticed the island was missing from some charts, but not others, so they checked it out for themselves. It ain’t there!

I think I’d be more excited about discovering a previously unknown landmass, but this is still pretty fascinating. It buoys my spirits to see modern maps, charts, and even Google can be wrong. We don’t know all about the Earth. We can still discover even the most basic things, like pieces of land that aren’t!

There are lots of stories like this in exploration and geography. Phantom Islands of the Atlantic is a nice quick read about, well, phantom islands of the Atlantic. Some of them were on maps until fairly recently, but none of them exist. Some may have been shoals or low-lying islands that were later inundated by the sea — a fate we all may be headed for.

More on the recent undiscovery of Sandy Island:

Auckland Museum Blog

The Epoch Times

Although a Brit landed on it, planted the flag and claimed it in the name of The UK, it’s ownership is now being debated by the UN. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rockall
Straining my memory I googled up http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principality_of_Sealand
The Principality of Sealand has not been officially recognised by any country but, if, like Rockall, it had potential oil drilling rights associated with it, I’m sure means would be found to force that recognition.

For the moment it’s up for grabs, to any private individual/Company with the cash and clout to claim it and hold it.

How about the Sovereign State of BP, Shell, or Exxon?

• • Saturday, 23 June 2012
  • 20:00 until 23:00

• Quintin, FR

• Kojin http://www.reverbnation.com/kojinLarsenbox http://www.facebook.com/pages/page/81611118812Joie, rock, sueur, bière sont les maitres mots de cette soirée! Let’s rockAll AgesFull Details: http://www.reverbnation.com/show/7709982

POSTED ON BEHALF OF : Public event · By Kojin

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It sometimes feels like every square inch of land, and much of the sea, is bought up, owned, used, and mapped. There are still some places however, due to remoteness, inhospitableness, or just plain lack of interest, that remain uninhabited and mostly unmolested by humans. These places are often called “ocean rocks” or specks of land seemingly out of place and time, jutting up from the depths and offering little to the traveler in the way of rest or comfort.

For this series, I need to narrow things down a bit. The tiny specks of land I’m interested in are islands, it’s true, but there are thousands of tiny islands throughout the world. My criteria are loose and subjective, but boil down to islands that are:

1) Pretty remote
2) Uninhabited by humans
3) Difficult to access even when reached
4) Above water under normal circumstances (i.e. not inundated in high tides)
5) Unappealing to normal people

Since very long blog posts seem to be something best avoided, I’ll break this subject up into parts. Note: None of these images were taken by me, unfortunately.

Part 1. Rockall

(Above image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rockall_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1048818.jpg)

Besides having a cool name, this volcanic vestige has been a point of contention over ownership on and off for years. As of a 1972 Act of Parliament, the UK has claimed Rockall as a part of Scotland (it sits about 280 miles northwest of Scotland). But really, “ownership” boils down to being able to claim fishing and oil rights; only a nutcase like me would want to land on Rockall.

Location of Rockall in North Atlantic Ocean

Humans throughout history have of course landed on Rockall, some managing to climb to the top (including members of Greenpeace). But there is other life there, some of a more permanent nature: “Considering the size and extremely unfavourable conditions, there is quite a lot of wildlife on Rockall: a fluke worm (Trematode), the rough periwinkle (Littorina rudis), a common amphipod (Hyale nilssoni), an orange rotifer (Rotifer), common mites (Hyadesia fusca, Ameronothrus)” (http://www.ondrejdanek.cz/rockall/en/rockall.html).

Greenpeace occupancy of Rockall. Their shelter is attached to the rock to avoid being washed away.

Birds seen using Rockall as a rest stop and toilet include: fulmars, gannets, kittiwakes, and guillemots (ibid). I encourage you to do a Google image search for “Rockall.” There are some great photos showing how sheer and sudden Rockall is! It’s sort of frightening. Can you even imagine summiting Rockall, and maybe spending the night with those massive and ice-cold north Atlantic waves along with the ghosts of the hundreds drowned in collisions?

By far the most comprehensive info on Rockall on the web I have found can be viewed here: http://www.ondrejdanek.cz/rockall/en/index.html.

Next Ocean Rock: Ball’s Pyramid

ANYWAY

Here are some highlights!

FIRST here is … two haiku comics… in two weeks … I WAS DISTRACTED, OK?

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I was also featured as this weeks GEEK OF THE WEEK on Chocolate & Cream Cake

Sometimes it pays off to be nerdy!

SECONDLY through the wonder of the tax refund and the generosity of caring friends, I was able to purchase a new external hard drive AND printer/scanner copier, ALL of which will help making comics easier and faster, and i can actually posts SCANS of things and not pictures… HOWEVER both of them showed up in NOT working order… and since i dropped my phone in a water bucket the other day i cant call for tech support – maybe ONE day things will work out and ill be able to post nice images of things!

AND THEN my cat DESTROYED my favorite drawing…

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IN OTHER NEWS  i received the best love-letter today – with the BEST envelope!  Thanks again Glo-glam!

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ON THE EARLIER TOPIC OF PARTIES –  had tons of fun yesterday for good ole St. Patty’s day here in toon town!

notice ALL the green and SPACE/STAR WARS LEGOS – really there’s no other way to celebrate…

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There have been LOTS of birthdays the past couple of weeks and i was able to help celebrate with some GREAT people!

first ALEX BULLET, who not only threw himself a rad b-day party but is also the author of  Astronaut Prince – CHECK IT OUT!

Then JESSE LONERGAN, who I unfortuneatly did not get to celebrate with but DID get to participate in his Birthday-Weekend-Edition of DANCER  A DAY .

Here’s the drawing I did for him:

I was the only one who worked in BEARDED Jesse AND NON-BEARDED Jesse!

AND THEN there was AMELIA ONORATO

Which brings us to

THIS WEEKS

FEATURED ARTIST!

Mia Onorato is currently a second year at the Center for Cartoon Studies, where she spends most of her time being super cute and drawing amazing comics:

*side-note - i proudly have a print of this spread displayed on my wall!

But really Mia’s crowning glory is Habeaky

Ya’ll should check her out now cause she’s gonna be a SUPER STAR

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Alright bros, it’s 70 degrees outside.  Im going Vermountaineering

However will Hestor be able to manage.

Stop Press.
Sir Philip Hampton, chairman of Royal Bank of Scotland, has turned down £1.4m in shares, in stark contrast to the position taken by his chief executive on bonuses. Sir Philip was awarded 5.17m shares on top of his salary. Sir Philip’s decision to sacrifice it comes at a difficult time for the bank, with its chief executive Stephen Hester awarded a near £1m bonus on top of his £1.2m salary.

Stop Press.
Stephen Hester has now turned down the award of a near £1m bonus.

Stop Press.
It was revealed yesterday that £35.54m and counting is the total remuneration package so far that Mr Hester has received since joining RBS in 2008.

Hesters previous experience was as CEO of British Land with a property portfolio including a large amount of property (£4.1 billion) which has been purchased from and leased back to major retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, House of Fraser and Asda. British Land has also been involved in Broadgate, since 1984 which is one of the largest development projects in London and is still incomplete. In October 2011, the company was placed in the number one position on a list of FTSE 100 companies that use tax havens for their operations.

More than 100 senior bank executives at the Royal Bank of Scotland were paid more than £1 million each in late 2010. The CEO Stephen Hester got £8 million in payments for the year.  Total bonus payouts reached nearly £1 billion. The bailed-out bank reported losses of £1.1 billion for 2010. The bankers were getting their bonuses, because the 2010 figure was an improvement on the loss of £3.6 billion in 2009 and the record-breaking £24.1bn loss in 2008. The bonuses for all other staff in 2010 topped £950 million.

Are you feeling the pinch, could you do with a pay rise? Are you retired, and your pension pot is leaving life a bit on the frugal side? Been given the run around by your bank whilst the bankers enjoy another round of huge bonuses once again?

Feel that there is not much you can do about it – or is there?

Do you remember Nicholas “Nick” Leeson a former derivatives broker whose speculative trading caused the collapse of Barings Bank, the United Kingdom’s oldest investment bank. Leeson made speculative trades that at first made large profits for Barings. Of around £10 million, which accounted for 10% of Barings’ annual income. He earned a bonus of £130,000 on his salary of £50,000 for that year.

It is of course right that persons who have given outstanding service to the nation and or their local communities, or charities, should be recognised for achievements and dedication. However the current system of honours seems rather antiquated. References to the “British Empire” may not still be relevant, or even appropriate, today. The same might apply to the creation of new hereditary titles, since the honour is bestowed for personal achievement, not that of one’s ancestors. Finally the system of selection should show some transparency, and must not be open to abuse for political ends.

An ePetition requesting the government to investigate all banks and bankers that caused this financial meltdown in the uk, and then to bring criminal charges against them, so they can then be tried by the courts with a jury of there peers and if they are found guilty then they should face at least 10 years jail time.

If I was to create an ePetition it would go something like this:

Jeffreys’ notoriety comes from his actions, after Monmouth’s Rebellion. Jeffreys was sent to the West Country to conduct the trials of captured rebels. The trials, later known as the “Bloody Assizes“, Jeffreys issued sentences to defendants. About 300 were executed, and between 800 and 900 were transported to the West Indies.

Rockall is an extremely small, uninhabited, remote rocky islet in the North Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom declared Rockall to be part of Inverness-shire, under the terms of the Island of Rockall Act 1972.

It has long been a human desire to make accurate weather predictions. Man has felt the need to be able to predict the weather from the earliest times. Back then predicting the weather was the seasonal change from winter to spring and identifying the best time to plant crops. Later is was the merchant about to send ships on trade. Knowledge of the seasons might mean the difference between success and failure.

Our history is full of rhymes meant to help in determining whether the next day will bring fair or foul weather. The only instruments of any reliability for a long time was a weather vane, seaweed, a pine cone and human experience.

Old met office web site
New met office web site 

Yes, we Brits seem to have a deep preoccupation with the weather.

Later….

On 8th July, 2008 the Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Mr. Seán Power T.D. today announced that he has decided to extend the area to be opened for licensing in the 2009 Rockall Licensing Round to include the north-western margin of the Rockall Basin. This will bring the total acreage on offer under the round to 117,100 square kilometres.

In announcing the expanded area, the Minister said that “this is the first time since 1997, that such a major part of the Rockall Basin has been the subject of a licensing round. Recent technical studies have indicated a significant petroleum potential within the Rockall Basin. It is timely, therefore, that the oil and gas exploration industry be offered an opportunity to commit to invest in new exploration programmes in the basin.”

The Minister said that the Department was building on the success of the two most recent licensing rounds (Porcupine 2008 and Slyne\Erris\Donegal 2006) and that the pace of drilling activity was increasing off Ireland. As a result, he was ‘confident’ that the Rockall Round would attract significant interest from exploration companies.

Applications for Frontier Exploration Licences covering blocks in the round will be invited in late 2008 with a closing date for applications in  2009.

Source:

http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/Natural/Petroleum+Affairs+Divisio/Rockall+2009+Frontier+Licensing+Round.htm

]]> http://k9zw.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/iota-eu-189-rockall-may1415th-activation/ Tue, 06 May 2008 06:07:54 +0000 k9zw http://k9zw.wordpress.com/2008/05/06/iota-eu-189-rockall-may1415th-activation/ http://petermo.wordpress.com/2007/10/08/rockall-1997-no-new-oil/ Mon, 08 Oct 2007 00:02:14 +0000 petermo http://petermo.wordpress.com/2007/10/08/rockall-1997-no-new-oil/

Rockall is the tip of a volcano, a micro-continent far out in the North Atlantic, a rock 20 metres high in an ocean that sometimes has waves that big.

In 1997 we lived there for 42 days in a climate protest; watch the slideshow, it’s worth two minutes, and/or read on for more.  Almost nobody understood climate protest then.

The British claimed Rockall in the 1970s, and so claimed any under-sea oil within 200 miles. London started selling oil exploration licences round it in the 1990s. But the UK’s legal claim to the seabed and oil was very weak, because a UN convention said uninhabitable offshore rocks could not claim such rights.

By 1997 the Carbon Logic was clear: fossil fuels were cooking the climate, and burning even half of the oil we had ALREADY discovered would cause global chaos. Therefore it was clearly stupid to ‘discover’ more oil if we could never burn it. (read more on Carbon Logic).

Greenpeace challenged the deep-sea oil developments round Rockall by living on the rock that summer, to establish a stronger ‘territorial claim’ than the UK government’s;   to stop the exploration and raise awarness of this terrible ‘Carbon Logic’.  From the Greenpeace ship, volunteers for six weeks jumped in front of seismic survey ships, pushing them offcourse for hours each time and stopping their data-gathering for weeks. Oil companies bought a ship to follow us, the government put special forces commandos on it.

The ‘Global State of Waveland’ was started with a flag-raising ceremony on Rockall, it was an online ‘virtual nation’ in the early days of the internet; 15,000 people received citizenship certificates worldwide, hundreds of passports were issued. Waveland lived on for some years external to Greenpeace, but the hosting company went under. In much diminished form, it was revived and you can still apply for citizenship at waveland.org

We installed a solar powered lighthouse the day we left Rockall, and on the way home we stumbled across an oil rig north of Scotland. The Stena Dee was a few miles from her next job – connecting the final plumbing for the first deep-water oil well in the Atlantic. People jumped into the water in front of her, and boarded her when she stopped. We hoisted up the pod and she could not move for the next week. Our captain was charged with piracy, a very serious crime with a possible life sentence. Oil rigs are not cheap – BP seized Greenpeace UK’s bank accounts in a demand for 1.4 million pounds, a foolish move that brought the story to the font pages. They soon backed down.

No New Oil was our slogan, and we called for 20% cuts of CO2, (compared to 1990 levels) by 2005. Ahh, if only people had listened – but back then most didn’t believe in climate change, didn’t see an urgency, and didn’t believe our carbon addiction was to blame.

A decade later, the fools are still wasting time and money looking for oil out there in the deep, dark, wild ocean.

See the slideshow, it’s worth two minutes

Greenpeace published a very detailed ‘Carbon Logic’ analysis of this in 1997. The basic argument was:

1. the climate is changing
2. because we burn fossil fuels
3. burning too much will cook the climate – we have a carbon budget
4. we have more reserves than we can affort to burn
5. therefore why look for more reserves?

In 1997, this was a complex argument that few people would listen to, because back then few people believed the first three points in the logic. Ten years on, people know better. Unfortunately, ten years on, those figures from the IPCC were probably too optimistic… the science has got much more worrying, the budget is smaller, and we’ve found more reserves.

And ten years on, Exxon alone will spend $20 billion on oil exploration and new refineries this year – what a waste of money, looking for stuff we can never burn. (How much is spent on renewable energy supplies?).

Watch the slideshow, it’s worth two minutes

shooting the ‘boat’ scenes in Hastings at night for the music video “Rockall” here with videomakers Sarah Sea and Fay Milton, known collectively as SeaBuzzard

video here on you tube

for the http://www.theyoungpunx.com/

shooting the ‘boat’ scenes in Hastings at night for the music video “Rockall” here with videomakers Sarah Sea and Fay Milton, known collectively as SeaBuzzard

video here on you tube

for the http://www.theyoungpunx.com/