MALIBU, Calif. – In hopes of luring the endangered steelhead trout into the Santa Monica Mountains, California's transportation agency is planning to spend $935,000 to pave over part of a popular beach with cement and boulders to build a freeway of sorts for fish. The project is the latest, yet far from the most unusual, steelhead recovery attempt by government agencies that have spent millions of dollars on concrete fish ladders, cameras, fishways and other contraptions to allow seagoing trout to spawn in Southern California streams. The problem, even some conservationists say, is that there is little evidence construction efforts since the 1980s have done anything except absorb taxpayer dollars. The work to save the species has led to about a dozen concrete fishways at a cost of more than $16.7 million. A $1 million fish ladder — a structure designed to allow fish to migrate upstream over a barrier — may cost $7.5 million in stimulus funds to rebuild. Another fish ladder would require fish to leap 8 feet to reach it. Studies alone for replacing a third ladder have cost an estimated $3 million. "If we do a series of crappy projects like fish ladders to nowhere ... then the public trust for giving money for these types of projects is going to go away," said conservationist Mark Abramson of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation. Now the California Department of Transportation wants to build a passage for steelhead here across Dan Blocker State Beach, named for the actor who played Hoss on TV's Bonanaza. The artificial streambed, up to 60 feet wide and extending 102 feet onto the beach, would create pools allowing the fish to swim under the Pacific Coast Highway, then upstream. The plan makes no sense to restaurant owner Daniel Forge, who decided to sell a patch of property to CalTrans after the agency threatened to use eminent domain. "They decided we were going to bring back steelhead to the stream but I don't think there were ever any steelhead along there," Forge said. Steelhead were once teeming in Southern California waters. Over the years, however, development encroached and waterways were channelized, cutting off their pathways to spawning grounds. When the fish were listed as endangered in 1997, only an estimated 500 adults were left from Santa Barbara to Mexico. Many believe southern steelhead are worth saving because they are more adaptable than steelhead elsewhere and could be key to the survival of the species. While there are no hard numbers to show steelhead are rebounding from these construction efforts, wildlife officials say anecdotal evidence suggests more adult fish are spawning. Unconventional methods are necessary sometimes, they say, because ripping out dams and other obstructions to spawning is not realistic. "Nobody really wants (construction) as a solution," said Mary Larson, who oversees steelhead recovery for Fish and Game in Southern California. But she believes the CalTrans proposal to build a fishway in Malibu could work. "Frogs just need good, quiet waters, birds need good tall trees to nest but my fish need to travel." Conservationists believe that federal and state agencies should push more for restoring the species' natural environment, such as projects that have successfully cleared waterways of debris and crossings from miles of waterways. National Marine Fisheries Service has created a recovery plan for the species that is expected to be finalized later this year. That plan would coordinate recovery efforts and would emphasize restoration of historic habitat. Exasperation over getting the fish where they need to go has led to some imaginative proposals over the years, such as trucking the fish to spawning grounds or building fish elevators to get them over dams. But government agencies have footed the bill for many projects including the concrete fish ladders and fishways to help the steelhead get around dams and other structures. The ladders are expensive, short-lived, require maintenance and have even been known to harm fish. "Fish ladders don't work like the engineers have them work on paper," said Matt Stoecker, a biological consultant who has spent years working on steelhead recovery. Even when ladders are successful, recovery is a slow process and sometimes upgrades are necessary. For example, the United Conservation District in Ventura needs to replace a 20-year-old $1.5 million ladder at a cost of up to $25 million, according to general manager Michael Solomon. The agency has already installed lights, sonar equipment, special trash grates and video equipment. The district is looking at hiring a third full-time staffer to do nothing but deal with the fish. "We're a public agency and we need to keep reminding folks people are not going to spend endless money," said Solomon, adding the district rejected one suggestion to build a rock ramp across a dam for the fish at an estimated cost of $60 million. Mark Capelli, the steelhead recovery coordinator with the fisheries service, called the recovery one of the more ambitious in the agency's history. "We have a complicated situation we're dealing with and I don't think we've ever taken a position that there's only one way," he said. "There may be circumstances where artificial methods are appropriate and necessary." Calif.'s costly trout recovery effort criticized
By NOAKI SCHWARTZ, Associated Press Writer Noaki Schwartz, Associated Press Writer – Sun Apr 25, 1:59 pm ET 
MALIBU, Calif. – In hopes of luring the endangered steelhead trout into the Santa Monica Mountains, California's transportation agency is planning to spend $935,000 to pave over part of a popular beach with cement and boulders to build a freeway of sorts for fish. The project is the latest, yet far from the most unusual, steelhead recovery attempt by government agencies that have spent millions of dollars on concrete fish ladders, cameras, fishways and other contraptions to allow seagoing trout to spawn in Southern California streams. The problem, even some conservationists say, is that there is little evidence construction efforts since the 1980s have done anything except absorb taxpayer dollars. The work to save the species has led to about a dozen concrete fishways at a cost of more than $16.7 million. A $1 million fish ladder — a structure designed to allow fish to migrate upstream over a barrier — may cost $7.5 million in stimulus funds to rebuild. Another fish ladder would require fish to leap 8 feet to reach it. Studies alone for replacing a third ladder have cost an estimated $3 million. "If we do a series of crappy projects like fish ladders to nowhere ... then the public trust for giving money for these types of projects is going to go away," said conservationist Mark Abramson of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation. Now the California Department of Transportation wants to build a passage for steelhead here across Dan Blocker State Beach, named for the actor who played Hoss on TV's Bonanaza. The artificial streambed, up to 60 feet wide and extending 102 feet onto the beach, would create pools allowing the fish to swim under the Pacific Coast Highway, then upstream. The plan makes no sense to restaurant owner Daniel Forge, who decided to sell a patch of property to CalTrans after the agency threatened to use eminent domain. "They decided we were going to bring back steelhead to the stream but I don't think there were ever any steelhead along there," Forge said. Steelhead were once teeming in Southern California waters. Over the years, however, development encroached and waterways were channelized, cutting off their pathways to spawning grounds. When the fish were listed as endangered in 1997, only an estimated 500 adults were left from Santa Barbara to Mexico. Many believe southern steelhead are worth saving because they are more adaptable than steelhead elsewhere and could be key to the survival of the species. While there are no hard numbers to show steelhead are rebounding from these construction efforts, wildlife officials say anecdotal evidence suggests more adult fish are spawning. Unconventional methods are necessary sometimes, they say, because ripping out dams and other obstructions to spawning is not realistic. "Nobody really wants (construction) as a solution," said Mary Larson, who oversees steelhead recovery for Fish and Game in Southern California. But she believes the CalTrans proposal to build a fishway in Malibu could work. "Frogs just need good, quiet waters, birds need good tall trees to nest but my fish need to travel." Conservationists believe that federal and state agencies should push more for restoring the species' natural environment, such as projects that have successfully cleared waterways of debris and crossings from miles of waterways. National Marine Fisheries Service has created a recovery plan for the species that is expected to be finalized later this year. That plan would coordinate recovery efforts and would emphasize restoration of historic habitat. Exasperation over getting the fish where they need to go has led to some imaginative proposals over the years, such as trucking the fish to spawning grounds or building fish elevators to get them over dams. But government agencies have footed the bill for many projects including the concrete fish ladders and fishways to help the steelhead get around dams and other structures. The ladders are expensive, short-lived, require maintenance and have even been known to harm fish. "Fish ladders don't work like the engineers have them work on paper," said Matt Stoecker, a biological consultant who has spent years working on steelhead recovery. Even when ladders are successful, recovery is a slow process and sometimes upgrades are necessary. For example, the United Conservation District in Ventura needs to replace a 20-year-old $1.5 million ladder at a cost of up to $25 million, according to general manager Michael Solomon. The agency has already installed lights, sonar equipment, special trash grates and video equipment. The district is looking at hiring a third full-time staffer to do nothing but deal with the fish. "We're a public agency and we need to keep reminding folks people are not going to spend endless money," said Solomon, adding the district rejected one suggestion to build a rock ramp across a dam for the fish at an estimated cost of $60 million. Mark Capelli, the steelhead recovery coordinator with the fisheries service, called the recovery one of the more ambitious in the agency's history. "We have a complicated situation we're dealing with and I don't think we've ever taken a position that there's only one way," he said. "There may be circumstances where artificial methods are appropriate and necessary."
MALIBU, Calif. – In hopes of luring the endangered steelhead trout into the Santa Monica Mountains, California's transportation agency is planning to spend $935,000 to pave over part of a popular beach with cement and boulders to build a freeway of sorts for fish. The project is the latest, yet far from the most unusual, steelhead recovery attempt by government agencies that have spent millions of dollars on concrete fish ladders, cameras, fishways and other contraptions to allow seagoing trout to spawn in Southern California streams. The problem, even some conservationists say, is that there is little evidence construction efforts since the 1980s have done anything except absorb taxpayer dollars. The work to save the species has led to about a dozen concrete fishways at a cost of more than $16.7 million. A $1 million fish ladder — a structure designed to allow fish to migrate upstream over a barrier — may cost $7.5 million in stimulus funds to rebuild. Another fish ladder would require fish to leap 8 feet to reach it. Studies alone for replacing a third ladder have cost an estimated $3 million. "If we do a series of crappy projects like fish ladders to nowhere ... then the public trust for giving money for these types of projects is going to go away," said conservationist Mark Abramson of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Foundation. Now the California Department of Transportation wants to build a passage for steelhead here across Dan Blocker State Beach, named for the actor who played Hoss on TV's Bonanaza. The artificial streambed, up to 60 feet wide and extending 102 feet onto the beach, would create pools allowing the fish to swim under the Pacific Coast Highway, then upstream. The plan makes no sense to restaurant owner Daniel Forge, who decided to sell a patch of property to CalTrans after the agency threatened to use eminent domain. "They decided we were going to bring back steelhead to the stream but I don't think there were ever any steelhead along there," Forge said. Steelhead were once teeming in Southern California waters. Over the years, however, development encroached and waterways were channelized, cutting off their pathways to spawning grounds. When the fish were listed as endangered in 1997, only an estimated 500 adults were left from Santa Barbara to Mexico. Many believe southern steelhead are worth saving because they are more adaptable than steelhead elsewhere and could be key to the survival of the species. While there are no hard numbers to show steelhead are rebounding from these construction efforts, wildlife officials say anecdotal evidence suggests more adult fish are spawning. Unconventional methods are necessary sometimes, they say, because ripping out dams and other obstructions to spawning is not realistic. "Nobody really wants (construction) as a solution," said Mary Larson, who oversees steelhead recovery for Fish and Game in Southern California. But she believes the CalTrans proposal to build a fishway in Malibu could work. "Frogs just need good, quiet waters, birds need good tall trees to nest but my fish need to travel." Conservationists believe that federal and state agencies should push more for restoring the species' natural environment, such as projects that have successfully cleared waterways of debris and crossings from miles of waterways. National Marine Fisheries Service has created a recovery plan for the species that is expected to be finalized later this year. That plan would coordinate recovery efforts and would emphasize restoration of historic habitat. Exasperation over getting the fish where they need to go has led to some imaginative proposals over the years, such as trucking the fish to spawning grounds or building fish elevators to get them over dams. But government agencies have footed the bill for many projects including the concrete fish ladders and fishways to help the steelhead get around dams and other structures. The ladders are expensive, short-lived, require maintenance and have even been known to harm fish. "Fish ladders don't work like the engineers have them work on paper," said Matt Stoecker, a biological consultant who has spent years working on steelhead recovery. Even when ladders are successful, recovery is a slow process and sometimes upgrades are necessary. For example, the United Conservation District in Ventura needs to replace a 20-year-old $1.5 million ladder at a cost of up to $25 million, according to general manager Michael Solomon. The agency has already installed lights, sonar equipment, special trash grates and video equipment. The district is looking at hiring a third full-time staffer to do nothing but deal with the fish. "We're a public agency and we need to keep reminding folks people are not going to spend endless money," said Solomon, adding the district rejected one suggestion to build a rock ramp across a dam for the fish at an estimated cost of $60 million. Mark Capelli, the steelhead recovery coordinator with the fisheries service, called the recovery one of the more ambitious in the agency's history. "We have a complicated situation we're dealing with and I don't think we've ever taken a position that there's only one way," he said. "There may be circumstances where artificial methods are appropriate and necessary." 
Giant deep sea jellyfish filmed in Gulf of Mexico
| By Jody Bourton Earth News reporter |
 | WONDERS OF THE DEEP   |
Quick end to gulf oil leak depends on robot subs
By CAIN BURDEAU, Associated Press Writer Cain Burdeau, Associated Press Writer – Sun Apr 25, 9:43 pm ET 
NEW ORLEANS – It could take hours or it could take months to stop a 42,000-gallon-a-day oil leak polluting the Gulf of Mexico at the site of a wrecked drilling platform. Whether the environmental threat grows many times bigger depends on whether the oil company can turn the well completely off. Crews are using robot submarines to activate valves at the well head in hopes of cutting off the leak, which threatens the Gulf Coast's fragile ecosystem of shrimp, fish, birds and coral. If the effort fails, they'll have to start drilling again. The submarine work will take 24 to 36 hours, Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for BP Exploration and Production, said Sunday afternoon. "I should emphasize this is a highly complex operation being performed at 5,000 feet below the surface and it may not be successful," he said. Oil continued to leak nearly a mile underwater Sunday at the site where the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on Tuesday. Eleven workers are missing and presumed dead. For the second consecutive day, high waves prevented boats and equipment from going out to clean the spill. Airplanes sprayed chemicals to break up the oil. The spill initially appeared to be easily manageable after the oil rig sank Thursday about 50 miles off the Louisiana coast, but it has turned into a more serious environmental problem. Officials on Saturday discovered the leak, which is spewing as much as 1,000 barrels — or 42,000 gallons — of oil each day. The oil spill has been growing — officials said the oily sheen on the surface of the gulf covered about 600 square miles Sunday. The environmental damage would be especially serious if it reaches land. The spill was still about 70 miles from the mainland, but only about 30 miles from an important chain of barrier islands known as the Chandeleurs. The islands, part of a national wildlife refuge, are an important nesting ground for pelicans and other sea birds. They have been under serious threat since Hurricane Katrina washed out much of the sand there. "Katrina did kick it pretty good, but they have been growing back," said Greg Thornton, the 52-year-old owner of Horn Island and Due South Charters in Biloxi. He takes fishing parties out to the islands. Looking at wind patterns on his computer, which showed favorable conditions until Thursday, Thornton held out hope that the oil could be contained. "We might have some trouble if they don't get the boom around it and stop it from spreading," he said. The spill so far appears to be small relative to some major oil accidents. The Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million gallons in Alaska's Prince William Sound in 1989 — the worst oil spill in U.S. history. "It has the potential to be pretty serious, but at 1,000 barrels a day, if it comes to the surface they'll probably be able to contain it and vacuum it up," said James Cowan, an oceanography and coastal sciences professor at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. The company is planning to collect leaking oil on the ocean bottom by lowering a large dome to capture the oil and using pipes and hoses to pump it into a vessel on the surface, said Suttles, the BP executive. "That system has been deployed in shallower water," he said, "but it has never been deployed at 5,000 feet of water, so we have to be careful." The robot submarines are attempting to close off the flow of oil by activating a shutoff device at the well head known as a blowout preventer. In case that doesn't work, BP PLC, which leased the Deepwater, moved another deepwater rig, the DD3, toward the explosion site. If necessary, the new rig would drill relief wells into the damaged well underneath the ocean floor. That could take several months. Benton F. Baugh, who holds patents for blowout preventer parts, said the subs should be able to do the job. "If they can't get it closed off, something really unusual happened," said Baugh, president of Radoil Inc. in Houston and a National Academy of Engineering member. Kenneth E. Arnold, an offshore production facility expert and another member of the engineering academy, said drilling a relief well is not an easy task. "You have to intersect the well," he said. "Sometimes you have to drill through the steel, and that's what happened in Australia. It took them three times before they were successful." He was referring to a blowout on the West Atlas rig in the Timor Sea last August. It wasn't until November that mud could be pumped through a relief well to shut off the deepwater spigot. The oil spill has resulted in major environmental damage along the coast of East Timor and Indonesia. Coast Guard officials said weather conditions for the next three days would help keep the Gulf spill away from the coast. Mark Schexnayder, a regional coastal adviser at the Louisiana Sea Grant, said the oil spill had the potential to do long-term damage to the coastal environment. The location of the spill is crisscrossed by marine species, including sperm whales, whale sharks, sea turtles, grouper and porpoises, he said. "We're a month away from opening up the inshore shrimp season, crab season is just getting underway," he said. "It could close oyster beds." BP said it has activated an extensive oil spill response, including the robot submarines, 700 workers, four planes and 32 vessels to mop up the spill and spray chemicals that will disperse the oil. The Marine Spill Response Corp., an energy industry cleanup consortium, also brought in equipment. So far, crews have retrieved about 1,143 barrels of oily water. Complicating efforts to stop the leak is the well head's depth at 5,000 feet underwater, said Lars Herbst, the regional director for the U.S. Minerals Management Service, which regulates oil rigs. Leaks have been fixed at similar depths before, but the process is difficult, he said. The explosion appeared to be a blowout, in which natural gas or oil forces its way up a well pipe and smashes the equipment. But precisely what went wrong is under investigation.
Scuba Diver Girls on the News!
Fox 5 News interviewed the girls about their recent horn shark rescue from a "ghost" lobster trap. Watch our segment here!
Stephanie's Weight Loss Update 4/24/10
4/24/10 
Well now, should I call this the Cookie Diet or the popcorn diet? I am still going strong with the cookie regimen, but last night I did have popcorn again at the movies. I woke up this morning and WALLLAAAA 146 lbs!!! yippeee. So even when I cheat a little...I still lose weight. Happy Dance again! Even better? I am going diving tomorrow with the SDGs! Don't tell anyone...but I am having pizza tonight for dinner...not too sensible but have had cookies all day so it is just a little cheat! Stay tuned for my next update on the SHRINKING SDG!!! 
Well now, should I call this the Cookie Diet or the popcorn diet? I am still going strong with the cookie regimen, but last night I did have popcorn again at the movies. I woke up this morning and WALLLAAAA 146 lbs!!! yippeee. So even when I cheat a little...I still lose weight. Happy Dance again! Even better? I am going diving tomorrow with the SDGs! Don't tell anyone...but I am having pizza tonight for dinner...not too sensible but have had cookies all day so it is just a little cheat! Stay tuned for my next update on the SHRINKING SDG!!!
Endangered sturgeon fish flourishing in Wisconsin
SHAWANO, Wis. – It's been a tough fight for the whisker-snouted sturgeon. The fish survived whatever killed the dinosaurs and have struggled against habitat destruction and overfishing. Now many of its 25 species are endangered, but a small pocket in upper Wisconsin boasts of having one of the world's largest concentrations of the fish. The success is because of the state's strict spearing limits, poaching laws, restocking efforts and the popular — and well-protected — spring spawning, which mostly finished last week. "If we can restore the sturgeon population in the Great Lakes and manage the current population effectively, then we know we are doing a pretty good job of managing the other aspects of the aquatic community," said state sturgeon expert Ron Bruch. In Lake Winnebago there are now around 40,000 lake sturgeons, likely where the population was in the 1800s, Bruch said. In the 1950s, it was 10,000. Whereas in the Great Lakes system, there are now about 156,750, less than 1 percent of what it was in early 1800s, said Rob Elliott, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist. Thousands from around the state and elsewhere visit the Lake Winnebago system tributaries to watch the enormous fish writhe and splash as they lay eggs in shallow, moving water. The fish, which grow up to 300 pounds and look like a cross between a catfish and shark, are close enough to touch. "Some people say they are awful homely, awful bad looking, but to me ... they are beautiful fish, just like a beautiful blonde," said 73-year-old Pat Wudtke, who's speared sturgeon for 50 years during the state's annual season. For the past decade, Wudtke also has been among the hundreds who volunteer to protect the fish from poachers. "I'll do everything I can to preserve them," Wudtke said. People love the animals because of their unique look, that the species is prehistoric and their size, Bruch said. "This is the only place really in the world that you can see them to this extent," he said. The spawning spectacle pumps $350,000 into three nearby cities, some of which have signs directing people to the spawning sites. The fish's success in Lake Winnebago has Bruch concerned. Though only a few cases of poaching are reported each year, he worries there will be more since other areas have a sturgeon shortage and demand is high. And he thinks the taste of lake sturgeon caviar compares with the high-priced kind. There also are reports of poaching of white sturgeon in California as its caviar has grown more popular, said Ellen Pikitch, executive director of the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science in New York. It is illegal to fish wild white sturgeon in California and sell its meat or eggs, but people can sell farm-raised white sturgeon. It's also illegal in the U.S. to sell lake sturgeon meat and its eggs from the states. In the Black and Caspian Seas the beluga sturgeon is overfished for its caviar, which costs up to $5,000 a pound. Wisconsin does allow sturgeon spearing, with thousands huddled in shanties on a frozen Lake Winnebago. Spearers are allowed one sturgeon per person. Most get none. The DNR ends spearing when 5 percent of the population is taken. The spearing is why the group, Sturgeon for Tomorrow, started in 1977, because they wanted to keep that tradition alive, said a founder, Bill Casper. Bruch credits the group for part of the sturgeon's success. It runs the sturgeon guard program and raises funds for research and hatcheries, among other things. But some say even one speared sturgeon is too many. "If they were not removed from the water," Pikitch said, "They would have opportunity to spawn many, many times in a long lifetime."
Photography: Underwater Images Competition
The Underwater Images Photo/Video Competition
Our Mission Statement: Inner space is a relatively new frontier for mankind that will open new horizons in science and medicine, as well as art and recreation. The purpose of the Underwater Images Photo/Video Competition is to raise the awareness of the ecological importance of preserving marine habitats that represent Nature's oldest and most stable living ecosystems. This will create more conscientious diving practices and generate new interests in the realm of marine environmental science and education.
See the 2009 winning images can be seen at www.uwimages.org
The Underwater Images Photo/Video Competition was founded in 1998 by Roger Roth with help from Mark Beatty as webmaster, as a non-profit, international competition that still donates ALL proceeds to marine conservation, preservation and educational purposes. Following the 2010 competition, we will have donated over $85,000 since our inception. Our main beneficiaries are as follows:Mahonia Na Dari ("Guardians of the Sea" in the local Talasea language) is a program which has been working to protect Papua New Guionea's abundant biodiversity by promoting the sustainable development of its biological and cultural resources. MND was established in 1996 as a result of a cooperative venture by the owners of Walindi Plantation Resort and several international governmental and non-governmental orgapnizations, including the European Union and the Nature Conservancy.
ProPeninsula is a conservation organization dedicated to empowering communities in Baja California, Mexico to protect and preserve their environment. Pro Peninsula is the coordinating body for the Grupo Tortuguero, or Sea Turtle Conservation Network, and through this program works to identify local marine conservation leaders and to support their conservation efforts on a local and regional level. Grupo Tortuguero was formed in 1998 to teach Mexican sea turtle fishermen about sustainability for sea turtles who in turn took what they learned to their respective communities to perpetuate this educational effort.Other beneficiaries have included:
The Ohio Council of Skin and Scuba Diving, Inc. Memorial Scholarship fund.MAST (Marine Archaeological Survey Team) which is an organization that sponsors education in Marine Archaeology. MAST also helps buoy shipwrecks in Lake Erie for preservation from anchor damage, as well as document and preserve the history of Great Lakes shipwrecks.
Diveheart whose purpose is to provide and support educational SCUBA diving and snorkeling experience programs that are open to any physically impaired child or adult in the hope of providing both physical and psychological therapeutic value to that person.
British Virgin Islands > Sea Trek BVI
Mention you are a Scuba Diver Girls Fan and get $200 off any 21 day voyage. 
Whether you're interested in marine biology summer camps for teens, summer sailing programs, summer diving programs, or just the all around adventure summer programs, you've come to the right spot! SeaTrek offers tropical adventure summer camp programs for teens in the British Virgin Islands. We welcome jr. high, high school and college aged students. Voyages revolve around hands-on sailing, learning to scuba dive, and marine biology for teens. 
All of our educational experiences are geared toward adventure, leadership, growth, and fun. No experience is necessary! Previous sailing summer camp and scuba diving camp experience is not required. In fact, most of our students have never been sailing or scuba diving before they join our program. Exciting community service opportunities are also available. 
We offer two and three-week scuba summer camps for teens at five different experience levels, Trek 1 - Trek 5, with pricing beginning at $4050. Along with being a scuba student you will also be introduced to the environment by our onboard naturalist and marine biologist through a variety of marine biology camp activities. Our staff of scuba and sailing instructors is the best in the industry with years of experience teaching and guiding all over the world. Our Marine Science Programs are available on each trek and each voyage to anyone who is interested in them. Simply follow directions here and forward to scienceproject@seatrekbvi.com. 
SeaTrek students live and play onboard one of several 45 foot catamaran sailing yachts equipped with the latest safety equipment and onboard technology. Explore the Moorings 4500 and its equipment. 
Get ready for a new level of excitement and learning. SeaTrek is adventure . . . evolved. Tap into your undiscovered potential. Learn more about the world and yourself than you ever dreamed possible. SeaTrek also offers both crewed and bareboat Private Charters. SeaTrek on Scuba Diver Girls Directory Email SeaTrek
Borneo rainforest yields exotic new species
The Associated Press
Last Updated: Friday, April 23, 2010 | 11:14 AM ET
The Bornean flat-headed frog has no lungs and breathes entirely through its skin. It is one of the discoveries of a project to conserve one of the oldest rainforests in the world. (David Bickford/World Wildlife Fund/Associated Press)
A lungless frog, a frog that flies and a slug that shoots love darts are among 123 new species found in Borneo since 2007 in a project to conserve one of the oldest rainforests in the world. A report by the World Wildlife Fund on the discoveries also calls for protecting the threatened species and equatorial rainforest on Borneo, the South China Sea island that is the world's third-largest and is shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei. "The challenge is to ensure that these precious landscapes are still intact for future generations," said the report released Thursday. 
The long-tailed slug, Ibycus rachelae, uses 'love darts' made of calcium carbonate to pierce and inject a hormone into a mate to increase the chances of reproduction. (Peter Koomen/World Wildlife Fund) The search for the new species was part of the Heart of Borneo project that started in February 2007 and is backed by the WWF and the three countries that share the island. The aim is to conserve 220,000 square kilometres of rainforest that was described by Charles Darwin as "one great luxuriant hothouse made by nature for herself." Explorers have been visiting Borneo for centuries, but vast tracts of its interior are yet to be biologically explored, said Adam Tomasek, leader of WWF's Heart of Borneo project. 
"If this stretch of irreplaceable rainforest can be conserved for our children, the promise of more discoveries must be a tantalizing one for the next generation of researchers to contemplate," he said. 
The zebra-striped Eirmotus insignis is another recent discovery in Borneo. (CK Yeo/World Wildlife Fund, /Associated Press)The scientists' discoveries include the world's longest known stick insect at 56.7 centimetres, a flame-coloured snake and a frog that flies and changes its skin and eye colour. In total, 67 plants, 29 invertebrates, 17 fish, five frogs, three snakes and two lizards and a new species of bird were discovered, said the report. Borneo has long been known as a hub for monster insects, including giant cockroaches about 10 centimetres long. Notable among the species discovered are: 
This snake, Dendrelaphis kopsteini, is one of the recent discoveries from Borneo. When threatened it flares its nape, revealing bright orange colours against a background of vivid blue, green and brown. (Gernot Vogel/World Wildlife Fund/Associated Press) 
The long-tailed slug, Ibycus rachelae, uses 'love darts' made of calcium carbonate to pierce and inject a hormone into a mate to increase the chances of reproduction. (Peter Koomen/World Wildlife Fund) "If this stretch of irreplaceable rainforest can be conserved for our children, the promise of more discoveries must be a tantalizing one for the next generation of researchers to contemplate," he said. The zebra-striped Eirmotus insignis is another recent discovery in Borneo. (CK Yeo/World Wildlife Fund, /Associated Press)The scientists' discoveries include the world's longest known stick insect at 56.7 centimetres, a flame-coloured snake and a frog that flies and changes its skin and eye colour. In total, 67 plants, 29 invertebrates, 17 fish, five frogs, three snakes and two lizards and a new species of bird were discovered, said the report. Borneo has long been known as a hub for monster insects, including giant cockroaches about 10 centimetres long. Notable among the species discovered are: - A snake that has a bright orange, almost flame-like, neck colouration that gradually fuses into an extraordinary iridescent and vivid blue, green and brown pattern. When threatened it flares its nape, revealing bright orange colours.
- A frog that breathes through its skin because it has no lungs, which makes it appear flat. This aerodynamic shape allows the frogs to move swiftly in fast flowing streams. Although the species was discovered in 1978, it was just recently that scientists found the frog has no lungs.
- A high-altitude slug found on Mount Kinabalu that has a tail three times the length of its head. They shoot calcium carbonate "love darts" during courtship to inject a hormone into a mate. While resting, the slug wraps its long tail around its body.
This snake, Dendrelaphis kopsteini, is one of the recent discoveries from Borneo. When threatened it flares its nape, revealing bright orange colours against a background of vivid blue, green and brown. (Gernot Vogel/World Wildlife Fund/Associated Press)
SDG Stephanie's Weight Loss Update 4/23/10
4/23/10 So I got a little discouraged because after I posted my great accomplishment over the last week because then yesterday (4/22) I weighed myself and the needle landed in EXACTLY the same spot! I fully expected to have lost another pound! So I thought, well it is probably just a plateau...maybe I will lose 2lbs by tomorrow! Well I woke up this morning and still 147.6. Not even the decimal point of weight loss! So I am hitting the movies again, and you know what that means...POPCORN! I have not cheated since my last popcorn eating frenzy so I will let you know tomorrow how everything pans out with my and my scale :) I am not going off this cookie diet because I have never had an easier time with weight loss. I will be ordering more cookies today! So off to the movies I go...I will post again tomorrow and let you know what my scale tells me :)
So I got a little discouraged because after I posted my great accomplishment over the last week because then yesterday (4/22) I weighed myself and the needle landed in EXACTLY the same spot! I fully expected to have lost another pound! So I thought, well it is probably just a plateau...maybe I will lose 2lbs by tomorrow! Well I woke up this morning and still 147.6. Not even the decimal point of weight loss! So I am hitting the movies again, and you know what that means...POPCORN! I have not cheated since my last popcorn eating frenzy so I will let you know tomorrow how everything pans out with my and my scale :) I am not going off this cookie diet because I have never had an easier time with weight loss. I will be ordering more cookies today! So off to the movies I go...I will post again tomorrow and let you know what my scale tells me :)
Earth Day: No more burning rivers, but new threats
WASHINGTON – Pollution before the first Earth Day was not only visible, it was in your face: Cleveland's Cuyahoga River caught fire. An oil spill fouled 30 miles of Southern California beaches. And thick smog choked many cities' skies. Not anymore. On Thursday, 40 years after that first Earth Day in 1970, smog levels nationwide have dropped by about a quarter, and lead levels in the air are down more than 90 percent. Formerly fetid lakes and burning rivers are now open to swimmers. The challenges to the planet today are largely invisible -- and therefore tougher to tackle. "To suggest that we've made progress is not to say the problem is over," said William Ruckelshaus, who in 1970 became the first head of the Environmental Protection Agency. "What we've done is shift from the very visible kinds of issues to those that are a lot more subtle today." Issues such as climate change are less obvious to the naked eye. Since the first Earth Day, carbon dioxide levels in the air have increased by 19 percent, pushing the average annual world temperature up about 1 degree Fahrenheit, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "We've cleaned up what you can see and left everything else in limbo," said Kathleen Rogers, president of the Earth Day Network. Improvements took shape in the form of the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and changes in the way businesses treat the environment, said Denis Hayes. Those reforms, he added, grew out of the first Earth Day, an event Hayes helped coordinate. "It is the most powerful, sweeping, society-wide change America has had since the New Deal," Hayes said. "The air is cleaner despite the fact that we have twice as many vehicles traveling twice as many miles." 
Nancy Sutley, head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said progress in the past 40 years is about more than just laws. It's also about innovation that made cleaner cars. And that innovation, Sutley said, "is going to be the answer for tackling climate change." No place illustrates progress more than the Cuyahoga River. Cleveland's main river used to periodically catch fire. On June 22, 1969, trash and an oil slick ignited. The river burned for half an hour, drawing national attention to water pollution nationwide. People didn't swim in the river at the time, and anyone who fell in needed to be checked by a doctor. "The river bubbled like a cauldron. There were all kinds of chemicals in there, and that was what was bubbling at the bottom," said Wayne Bratton, a boat captain then and now, and the first president of the Cleveland Harbor Conservation Committee. On Tuesday, Wayne Bratton was aboard his boat, The Holiday. He looked over the starboard side at Collision Bend and described by telephone what he saw: "I'm looking at a lot of gulls, there's a loon, a lot of black heron." People now fish in the river, which holds 60 species. There's a spiffy amphitheater on the river bank, which never would have been built when the water had a dreadful stench, Bratton said. It's not just the Cuyahoga. In 1957, the Public Health Service declared the Potomac River unsafe for swimming. Now Rogers lets her children swim in it. "I don't even wash them off any more," she said. In Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s, the joke was that if you moved in during the summer you wouldn't notice the nearby mountains until the winter. Now peak smog levels are only one-third as high as 40 years ago, he said. "Unfortunately, it leads some people to think that we don't have a problem any more," said Sam Atwood, spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The region still has 6,000 yearly premature deaths linked to unseen tiny particles in the air that cause heart and lung problems, Atwood said. In 1970, Ruckelshaus said, about 85 percent of pollution was from places like factories or power plants that the government could regulate. Now such sites account for only 15 percent, with most pollution coming from sources like farms that are harder to control. That makes fixing the remaining problems politically difficult, said Russell Train, chief environmental adviser in 1970 to President Richard Nixon. "Back in the '70s, people felt the threat of environmental mistakes and misbehavior," Train said. "There was a real threat to your health and people knew that. Today, people will accept that as a general principal, but don't feel any immediate threat from climate change or indirect source pollution from farmers." Last month was the hottest March on record worldwide. It was 1.4 degrees warmer than March 1970, according to NOAA. The average temperatures for the last 40 years are higher than the rest of the 130 years of record-keeping, said Deke Arndt, head of climate monitoring at NOAA's National Climate Data Center. And, this week, German scientists published an analysis in the scientific journal Nature that says the greenhouse gas agreement reached by some international leaders last December in Copenhagen would lead to a 10 to 20 percent increase in carbon dioxide levels in 2020. That puts "in dire peril" chances for limiting the effects of warming, the researchers said. Still, the White House's Sutley is optimistic. "The Cuyahoga River is not on fire anymore, and air quality in Los Angeles is not as bad as it was 40 years ago. I think people get those connections," Sutley said. "People get that something is changing about our climate."
Nancy Sutley, head of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, said progress in the past 40 years is about more than just laws. It's also about innovation that made cleaner cars. And that innovation, Sutley said, "is going to be the answer for tackling climate change." No place illustrates progress more than the Cuyahoga River. Cleveland's main river used to periodically catch fire. On June 22, 1969, trash and an oil slick ignited. The river burned for half an hour, drawing national attention to water pollution nationwide. People didn't swim in the river at the time, and anyone who fell in needed to be checked by a doctor. "The river bubbled like a cauldron. There were all kinds of chemicals in there, and that was what was bubbling at the bottom," said Wayne Bratton, a boat captain then and now, and the first president of the Cleveland Harbor Conservation Committee. On Tuesday, Wayne Bratton was aboard his boat, The Holiday. He looked over the starboard side at Collision Bend and described by telephone what he saw: "I'm looking at a lot of gulls, there's a loon, a lot of black heron." People now fish in the river, which holds 60 species. There's a spiffy amphitheater on the river bank, which never would have been built when the water had a dreadful stench, Bratton said. It's not just the Cuyahoga. In 1957, the Public Health Service declared the Potomac River unsafe for swimming. Now Rogers lets her children swim in it. "I don't even wash them off any more," she said. In Los Angeles in the 1960s and 1970s, the joke was that if you moved in during the summer you wouldn't notice the nearby mountains until the winter. Now peak smog levels are only one-third as high as 40 years ago, he said. "Unfortunately, it leads some people to think that we don't have a problem any more," said Sam Atwood, spokesman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District. The region still has 6,000 yearly premature deaths linked to unseen tiny particles in the air that cause heart and lung problems, Atwood said. In 1970, Ruckelshaus said, about 85 percent of pollution was from places like factories or power plants that the government could regulate. Now such sites account for only 15 percent, with most pollution coming from sources like farms that are harder to control. That makes fixing the remaining problems politically difficult, said Russell Train, chief environmental adviser in 1970 to President Richard Nixon. "Back in the '70s, people felt the threat of environmental mistakes and misbehavior," Train said. "There was a real threat to your health and people knew that. Today, people will accept that as a general principal, but don't feel any immediate threat from climate change or indirect source pollution from farmers." Last month was the hottest March on record worldwide. It was 1.4 degrees warmer than March 1970, according to NOAA. The average temperatures for the last 40 years are higher than the rest of the 130 years of record-keeping, said Deke Arndt, head of climate monitoring at NOAA's National Climate Data Center. And, this week, German scientists published an analysis in the scientific journal Nature that says the greenhouse gas agreement reached by some international leaders last December in Copenhagen would lead to a 10 to 20 percent increase in carbon dioxide levels in 2020. That puts "in dire peril" chances for limiting the effects of warming, the researchers said. Still, the White House's Sutley is optimistic. "The Cuyahoga River is not on fire anymore, and air quality in Los Angeles is not as bad as it was 40 years ago. I think people get those connections," Sutley said. "People get that something is changing about our climate."
Innovative Scuba Clothing: ScubaDoRags™
Mention coupon code SDGCoCo get 10% off. ScubaDoRags™ (US Patent 6,738,986) were originally developed for divers to contain their hair, identify them underwater and provide sun protection on the surface. If they become wet, they dry quickly and do not blow off like other hats on the boat. Boaters and fishermen started wearing them, now anyone that needs to keep their hair contained on those bedhead or beach bouffant days Some females with medium length put their hair in pigtails which peak out from the two spaces on either side of the Secret Compartment. If you have longer hair, you can tie the Ragtails over and under your ponytail and stuff it into the SecretCompartment in the Stingray Pouch™ or use the included ziplock bag for storing a bit o' cash, credit card/ID, key, lucky charm or a tip for your favorite dive master. 
Now to the history of how this product came to be…While going through a "MidLife Awakening", I was developing this character, CoCoCheznaynay®, Secret Agent of Truth & Style. She teaches to own all of who you are, to find your mission and to develop your true sense of style in a whimsical, non-threatening way. I was writing through CoCo to be fearless about making change. I was quite confident in parlaying this information because of my own personal experiences and growth – until I started scuba lessons. I came face to face with my own fears I did not know I had – performance anxiety about doing the skills in front of others and not being able to speak underwater when I was scared or did not understand. I then understood what a huge issue this is for me and many others – giving your power away and trusting that someone would have your best interest in the forefront. The class was big and haphazard and I realized once again, I evidently learn and process differently than most. I also realized not being able to use my personality or gift of gab underwater greatly handicapped my normal coping skills and I had always been hired or praised for being so different in my design and special event business. I really felt "like a fish out of water" … 
One night the class was small and I was descending with two other students and I went down too fast without clearing – I blew out my ! ear but luckily with no permanent damage. While it healed, I went on a scheduled trip to England and knew I had to go back and finish no matter how scared or bothered. I was paralyzed by my fear and knew if I did not face it I could never teach about courage through my character, CoCo. That dive instructor quit before we could finish the class so they hired another. I started all over instead of making up just what I had missed. I finally got certified in a rock quarry and vowed that I would never dive again unless it was blue water and warm. I traveled by myself to Mexico and was still shaky but feeling better. I started seeing the beauty of owning my fears so I could see the beauty at the bottom of the ocean. I was writing about how much scuba parallels life lessons. I went on eight trips that year and had another horrible certification experience (Advanced) with a dive instructor who had a problem with alcohol. But I became very vested in becoming a good diver and really honed my skills in the fast waters of Cozumel. Traveling alone has its merits – I met so many wonderful divers and started paying attention to their equipment, their processes, their fin kicks, their breathing and their thoughts on how to develop their skills. One girl I was diving with had medium length hair and messed with it the entire dive. I always liked Secret Agents and grew up with many. 
I love gadgets and appreciated how they always had the perfect tools for any situation. That's another reason I love scuba – the "Stuff"! My Secret Agent mind started the process of seeing the hair problem and knowing James Bond surely would have had a fix for this… I came back and researched what was on! the mar ket and improved and developed new features. I made the first ten myself, paid for a label design so others would know I was serious about protecting my innovation, went on a trip to test dive them. After great reviews, I started the manufacturing and distribution learning curve. (I am still in the curve). 
Since that time, we've added many new products such as ScubaGoodHoods, ScubaTubeSocks, OhMyTie!, CoCoCoverUp, BigOh!, and many more to come. We credit our customers with some of the best ideas and improvements we make – customer feedback rocks – and we listen! 
Every design decision we make is based on the Secret Agent philosophy of CoCo Cheznaynay® who believes in the energetic power of color and the constant quest for courage to own all of who you are. Our products are designed for safety, action, and style with dual purposes, secret compartments, hidden messages, and reversible features for your Secret Agent, mysterious, stylish life. ScubaDoRag™ on Scuba Diver Girls Directory Email ScubaDoRag™
Catalina Ca. Event: Chamber Day 2010 – May 5th, 2010
Help support the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber in its 36th year of service to the Southern California Diving Communities. The 22nd annual Chamber Day and 12th annual Chamber Evening Fund Raiser for the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber will be held on Wednesday May 5th. For the past 36 years the USC Catalina Hyperbaric Chamber has been dedicated to the treatment of diving accidents on a 24/7/365 basis. Having the Chamber available gives divers in Southern California waters a vital safety net in the event of a diving accident. The Chamber's contract from LA County provides a little over 50 percent of the Chamber's annual budget needs. The annual Chamber Day contributions from divers, clubs, shops, manufacturers, organizations, publications and dive boat operators provide a significant portion of the remaining budget. These funds go to covering transportation of Chamber Volunteers to and from the mainland, treatment gas, equipment purchases, maintenance, and repairs. If you haven't already signed up for Chamber Day 2010 there are many ways you can participate: - Participate in the 22nd Annual Chamber Day Dive
- Attend the 12th Annual Chamber Eve Dinner
- Enter the Chamber Day Raffle
- Donate to the 2010 Catalina Chamber Challenge
- Participate in the Chamber's Safety Sponsor Pledge Drive
- Dive The Flying Dutchman
- Order Chamber Day & Chamber Evening Shirts On-Line
Ecuador > Galapagos > Dive Center Silberstein
Mention you are a Scuba Diver Girls Fan and get a 5% discount from our published rack rate in Diving. Also get a free Scuba Diver Cocktail after each Dive Day in our Cafeteria/ Bar El Pelicano from Hotel Silberstein and with a minimum of 3 Dive Days a free Dive Center Silberstein Dive Crew T-Shirt. 
Sub Aqua Dive Center Silberstein in Puerto Ayora on Santa Cruz Island is the German-speaking dive center in the Galapagos Islands. We are a PADI Resort, the first of its kind in Galapagos. The building for our office has not been completed yet. For that reason we are temporarily situated in an adjoining room at Hotel Silberstein. The facilities with equipment and compressors are situated outside the hotel facilities, just a few meters away. 
The facilities for rental equipment, personal equipment of our dive guests as well as tanks and compressors consist of three large well ventilated and lockable rooms. Furthermore, two basins with fresh water for rinsing the equipment are available. There are as well two bathrooms with toilet for changing and showering. 
As these rooms are situated in a big garden, there is the possibility to relax and to have a cool drink after an adventurous day of diving. Our Dive Center is operated in cooperation with „SUB AQUA", to ensure safer, more relaxing and high quality diving for our dive guests and to be constantly up to date with the worldwide dive activities. „
SUB AQUA Tauchreisen" is one of the leading dive tour operators in Germany and „SUB AQUA Dive Center" has successfully been operating own dive centers for more than 30 years in Egypt, Thailand and the Maldives. Dive Center Silberstein on Scuba Diver Girls Directory Email Dive Center Silberstein [caption id="attachment_4563" align="alignright" width="240" caption="T-shirts, swearshirs, hats and more!"]
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Burning oil rig sinks in Gulf of Mexico
April 22, 2010 3:53 p.m. EDT
(CNN) -- An oil rig that was burning in the Gulf of Mexico after an explosion has sunk, the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday. This latest development came as the search continued for 11 workers who have been missing since the "catastrophic" blast on the rig Tuesday night off the Louisiana coast, Senior Chief Petty Officer Michael O'Berry said. "Every hour that passes without locating them obviously decreases survivability, and we're still searching, and we want families of those who remain missing to know we are continuing our efforts," O'Berry said Thursday afternoon. Pollution response teams are on the way, and crews are assessing how much oil is leaking from the sunken rig, he said. Up to 336,000 gallons could spill into the Gulf, based on the amount of oil the rig pulled out daily, he said. Up to 700,000 gallons of diesel fuel also could leak, Coast Guard Petty Officer Ashley Butler said. An investigation was under way to determine what caused the blast about 10 p.m. Tuesday aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Watch the VIDEO 
The rig was about 52 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana, O'Berry said. "It obviously was a catastrophic event," he said. There were no indications it was a terrorist incident, the Coast Guard said. Officials said 126 people were on board at the time of the explosion. Of the 115 accounted-for workers, 17 injured were evacuated by helicopter from the rig. Ninety-four others were taken to shore with no major injuries, and four more were transferred to another vessel, according to the Coast Guard. It was not known whether the missing workers were able to make it to one of the rig's lifeboats -- fully enclosed, fire-resistant vessels designed to evacuate people quickly. The Coast Guard said favorable weather conditions and warm Gulf waters increase the likelihood of survival for the missing workers. "We're still searching, and there's still a probability that those crew members are alive," O'Berry said. Carrol Moss told CNN affiliate WWL-TV in New Orleans, Louisiana, that her husband had been rescued from the rig. But she said she had some anxious moments before receiving the call. "The only thing I was thinking is, 'How am I going to tell my kids that their dad is not coming home?' " Moss told the affiliate. "The worst goes through your mind. We were just blessed we got the call." With rescue crews continuing to search for survivors, a federal lawsuit was filed Wednesday in New Orleans alleging the companies connected to the oil rig explosion were negligent. The suit was filed on behalf of one of the 11 missing men. Transocean Ltd., which owns the rig, and BP PLC, which operates the license on which the rig was drilling, were named as defendants. BP spokesman Tom Mueller declined to comment on the suit, and a spokesman for Transocean did not immediately return a call requesting comment. The suit does not provide details about the blast but says one man, Shane Roshto of Amite County, Mississippi, "was thrown overboard as a result of the drilling explosion, and his body has not yet been located." His wife, Natalie Roshto, also is named as a plaintiff. Adrian Rose, a vice president for Transocean, said Wednesday that "we are deeply saddened by this event. Our thoughts and prayers are with the crew members of the Deepwater Horizon and their families." Transocean's website describes the company as the "world's largest offshore drilling contractor" with 140 offshore drilling units. The rig involved in the explosion -- a mobile unit that moves to different locations in the Gulf of Mexico -- had been drilling for oil in its current spot since January, said Eileen Angelico, a spokeswoman for Minerals Management Service, the U.S. Department of the Interior agency that regulates the oil industry in federal waters.
SDG Stephanie says "I lost weight!"
So after months of nursing school and sitting around, I stepped on the scale one day and WHOA! I had gained over 15 lbs!!! How did that happen? I mean, I am relatively active...I dive a couple times a week...hmmm. Then I took a mental account of what I had been eating. Let's see....yes, In and Out Burger was definitely on the menu quite often! Oh yeah and then the daily sugar boost with my M&M's! Looking back, I realized the path that had brought me to this day where I found myself staring at the numbers 156 between my toes. Now what? I jumped off the scale and plopped down next to my hubby and said "it is time for US to get in shape." Yes, it is a partnership all the way down to gaining and losing poundage! So we turned over a new leaf...starting with a trip to the Co-op to get our healthy foods and then a stop at the gym to renew our membership. Over the next month and a half we worked out religiously and ate healthy and I lost a whole 2lbs. Well that is discouraging. Then, one day while sweatin' to the oldies I noticed a girl who I had seen several times at the gym but the difference between her and I was SHE was actually getting smaller. I walked over and asked her how she was doing it! That is when I found out about the cookie diet. She told me that all you have to do is eat a 90 calorie cookie in the morning with a big glass of water, if you are still hungry in 15 min, eat another one. Then at lunch repeat that process and for dinner eat a sensible mean from 700-800 calories. I laughed at her and said "first of all, 1 or 2 cookies will not keep me full and second of all who eats cookies to lose weight?" And she smirked at me and said "I do...case closed." 
So last Tuesday April 13th I got my cookie diet order in the mail and me and my husband got started. I was so surprised that I was not hungry like I thought I would be and the cookies are super good! The day I started the cookie diet I weighed 154lbs. NO I did not take a before picture...I mean...come on would you? I don't want to memorialize this whole thing! But I promise I will take an AFTER picture soon! Over the last week I did cheat on my diet a couple times, once I ate out at the Yardhouse and then another day we went to the movies and we ate 3 tubs of refillable popcorn! And even with that...I weighed myself this morning and guess what? The scale told me 147.6!!! Happy Dance!!! So I am going to keep on eating my cookies because summer is here and that means bikini season and with the results I have had in just a little over a week...I can only imagine what my weight will be by June!!! So I will keep you posted on my progress over the next several weeks and if you are doing the cookie or any other diet successfully, feel free to comment! I am also open to words of encouragement :)
US > Colorado > Greeley > Tortuga Bay
Mention you are a Scuba Diver Girls Fan and get 10% discount on all non sale items on the retail floor. 15% off tuition for private classes. ½ price tuition on any training done while on a Tortuga Bay group trip. Tortuga Bay is a PADI 5 Star IDC Center. We have an onsite Course Director. We offer training from entry level through all the professional levels. Tortuga Bay also teaches technical courses through the Technical Diving International agency (TDI) as well as public safety diving. 
Tortuga Bay is home to the "world's deepest, Indoor, heated, saltwater pool". It is our onsite training pool and is 14 feet deep. Tortuga Bay offers "on demand" training. That means we have no set course schedules. You, the customer tell us what your schedule is and we try to accommodate that schedule the best we can. The bulk of our classes are private, but at standard course pricing. This gives you a very personalized class, usually one on one, but never more than 4 to 1. Tortuga Bay offers several group trips per year as well as individual bookings. Tortuga Bay on Scuba Diver Girls Directory Email Tortuga Bay
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