For all you conservation-minded folk out there, we've got wind of some exciting news from San Francisco! The city has unanimously voted to ban the sale of any and all styrofoam (aka polystyrene) products by 2017. But why is this such a big deal, you ask? It's a HUGE deal! Styrofoam causes all sorts of environmental problems, and if we can prevent it from even being produced, we'd be taking another step towards the health of our beautiful planet. Styrofoam is a petroleum-based plastic...

Ever heard of a rorqual? Try saying that word ten times fast! Rorquals are the largest group of baleen whales, and even include the largest known mammal on Earth, the blue whale (those fellas can reach up to 200 tons - WOW). But what exactly is a baleen whale? There's some basic facts that can help you organize your thought process when you're comparing an odontocete (toothed whale) with a mysticete (baleen whale). Mysticetes have two blowholes. They're filter feeders. And they can...

The amount of activity that we are seeing out of the orcas this season is amazing.  They seem far more acrobatic and aerially inclined than they were last year.  Of course that is undoubtedly just my generous heart making me see more than there really is, but I think it is spectacular.  Especially all of the aggressive feeding that we are able to watch day after day.  It suggests good things about the salmon run this year and means that all of our new moms will be well able to feed...