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STORY: NY / CLIMATE CHANGE SHIP
TRT: 2.59
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 7, 9 FEBRUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
9 FEBRUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, dais
3. Med shot, journalists
4. SOUNDBITE (English) agnès b., Fashion Designer and Main Sponsor of Tara:
“Incredibly important for all the people to understand what we do, and the children of the world through the Tara expedition have been able to know a lot about Tara, because a lot of children come to the boat on all the stops we did the last two-and-a-half-years. It’s like a dream, but it is very concrete, it’s a real story.”
5. Med shot, journalists
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Eric Karsenti. Senior scientist in EMBL, co-director of Tara Oceans:
“We really don’t know how the ecosystems will react to climate change and acidification of the oceans. We know in the past that the earth has gone through major changes and this is why evolution worked. It’s because the earth was much warmer at some time, 10 degrees warmer than now. It has cooled down more than it is now, so we know that these ecosystems can adjust. But also in the past the climate was not just the same and atmosphere was different.”
7. Med shot, camera
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Philippe Kridelka, Director United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Office in New York:
“80 percent of the earth’s biodiversity lives in the oceans. We also know that the acidity of oceans has increased by 30 percent since the beginning of the industrial revolution. That is important, because, as you said professor, the acidity of oceans is an important factor for the regulation of climate and we don’t know what the consequences could be.”
7 FEBRUARY 2012, NEW YORK CITY
9. Tilt down, from World Trade Center to boat
10. Med shot, Stemman explaining boat equipment functions
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Lars Stemmann, Chief scientist, Observatoire Océanologique de Villefranche, UPMC-CNRS:
“The goal is to look at biodiversity from the virus, that are very abundant in the sea, to the fish larvae. And we call that plankton ecosystem end to end. And we can do that by collecting water, by measuring temperatures, salinity and different properties of the sea water down to 1,500 meters depth. And to this point, we have already made 22,000 samples, all along the track of the ship in the different oceans.”
12. Tilt down, from World Trade Center to boat deck
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Lars Stemmann, Chief scientist, Observatoire Océanologique de Villefranche, UPMC-CNRS:
“Plankton make half of the oxygen that you breathe, so each time you breathe twice, one time the oxygen that goes into your lungs was produced by the phytoplankton in the ocean. So, it is very important for human beings.”
14. Tilt down, boat
The Tara Oceans Expedition research schooner is in New York City for a week-long stay and the project’s main sponsor, fashion designer agnès b., together with scientists and United Nations (UN) officials held a press conference at UN Headquarters today (9 Feb).
Tara is on a 70,000-mile mission across the Atlantic, Pacific, Antarctic and Indian oceans, aimed at raising awareness by investigating the impact of climate change on biodiversity and marine life.
Agnès b. highlighted the importance of educating the public, and particularly children, about climate change and biodiversity. She said that the project was “like a dream,” but at the same time “it is very concrete, it’s a real story.”
Tara’s research findings are published immediately for use by the scientific community and the general public, and artists and journalists on board help to advocate on these important issues.
Eric Karsenti, senior scientist for the project, pointed out that although in the past marine ecosystems were able to survive significant temperature fluctuations, it is still not fully clear “how the ecosystems will react to climate change and acidification of the oceans.”
Philippe Kridelka, Director of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) office in New York, noted that 80 percent of the earth’s biodiversity lives in the oceans and that “the acidity of oceans has increased by 30 percent since the beginning of the industrial revolution.”
He said that this was “an important factor for the regulation of climate and we don’t know what the consequences could be.”
Other planned events during Tara's stay in New York include visits to the ship by local schoolchildren to educate them about ongoing research into the role plankton plays in the earth's life-support system; the effects of climate change on this critical base to the marine food chain; the preservation of marine biodiversity; and ways of combating pollution and over-fishing.
Lars Stemmann, chief scientist aboard the ship, explained that “by measuring temperatures, salinity and different properties of the sea water down to 1,500 meters depth,” large amounts of data can be collected to help study plankton ecosystems.
He added that “plankton make half of the oxygen that you breathe, so each time you breathe twice, one time the oxygen that goes into your lungs was produced by the phytoplankton in the ocean.”
The Tara Expeditions project is affiliated with the United Nations Environmental Programme and is a non-profit association based in France that provides samples and data to the scientific community worldwide. One of its main objectives is to increase environmental awareness among the general public, and particularly young people through the Tara Junior outreach program.
Tara will depart New York on Sunday, 12 February, on the last leg of her journey, sailing via Bermuda to return to her home port in Lorient, France, on 31 March.
