Try the Galapagos Explorer II Cruise! Enjoy a cruise with a swimming pool, jacuzzi, solarium, lounge, three bar areas with music, a boutique, a reading room, and a large conference room. Each room will have amazing views, air condition, a TV, and a mini bar.

Reports have stated that The Galapagos Islands have already been changed and trasnformed by global climate changes and human activity. 1982’s El Nino, overfishing, coral destroying urchins, have all played a role in altering the island’s marine ecosystems. Global Change Biology maintains that the islands still have not fully recovered from El Nino in 1982 and the drastic climate changes that El Nino brought about. It states that overfishing has played the role in severely weakening the island’s marine ecosystem making it nearly impossible to recover from El Nino. Fisherman removed so many large predatory fish and lobster that urchins were able to take the habitat and destroy the coral and preventing it from being able to be re-establish. As a result, 45 species are not globally threatened.

All this information on The Galapagos Islands… do you find yourself asking where and what are The Galapagos Islands? Here is all the information you need to know!

• The Galapagos Islands official name is: Archipielago de Colon
• They are an archipelago of volcanic islands that are distributed around the equated of the Pacific Ocean
• It is west of the continental Ecuador
• It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site
• Wildlife is it’s most admired feature
• The main language on the islands spoken is Spanish
• The island’s population is 23,000 people
• The islands are located off the west coast of South America
• The closest land mass in Ecuador

According to VAO News, the Galapagos Islands has just recently been taken off the list of endangered sites. UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee voted 14-5 in favor of taking the area of the list. The islands have been on the list since 2007 with the increase of tourist, fishing, and other endangering things. Ecuador has made remarkable progress in protecting the islands and preserving the rare species of animals and plants.

Back in April, a lucky South Miami- Dade middle school student, Cecilia Plaza, found out she would be headed to Galapagos Islands this summer. She want an essay contest that was sponsored by Miami Metrozoo. Her essay titled ” Why I Dream of Going to the Galapagos” was judged superior to the other thousands of entries by her peers. She arrived there the 12th of July and is still learning and exploring until she leaves on the 18th.

Since the Galapagos Islands are located on the Equator, residents and visitors enjoy a tropical climate of temperatures in the upper 60s to the 80s year-round.  The islands have two seasons: January to April is the warm/wet season (March is the hottest month of the year, making it an ideal time for snorkelnig and diving in the warm waters) and May to December is the cool/dry season. Many sea creatures are present during the cooler season because of the cooler water temperatures.  December to May is a great season to visit the island because of the warm, pleasant temperature and calm winds. 

–  Guide 2 Galapagos

More to the solar energy story…

According to Yahoo! News, Japan has donated $10 Million to help fund the Galapagos Island’s solar energy project.

 

An agreement between Quito and the Japan International Cooperation System Company will help start a plan to introduce “clean energy with solar generation systems to be located on Baltra Island,” one of 13 islands that form the archipelago, the ministry said in a statement.

The project, part of a larger push for cooperation between the governments of Japan and Ecuador, aims to “mitigate the effects of global warming, reducing the emission of greenhouse gases,” the statement added.

According to the ministry, the money will be use to buy equipment, facilities and “a photovoltaic system.”

The Galapagos were declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO some three decades ago in acknowledgement of the area’s rich flora and fauna both on land and in the surrounding sea.

– Yahoo! News

According to TC Palm, Hydro Alternative Energy has signed a letter of intent to start producing and providing clean alternative energy to the Galapagos.

It will take approximately 12 to 14 months to identify where the Galapagos Islands’ currents are strong and permanent and where to drop up to three turbines in the water, which are manufactured here in Palm Beach County.

HAE has produced a turbine prototype which can create electric energy from the ocean’s waves and currents. This kind of “green technology“ will provide clean, reliable, cost effective energy for national and international use.

– TC Palm

Rebecca Webster at E Magazine reports that within the last month, 39 giant tortoises were released on Pinta Island (one of the Galapagos Islands.)  This makes it the first time in 40 years that these tortoises have lived on Pinta Island.

The tortoise population declined at an accelerated pace with the settlement of the early island colonies in the 20th century. Their large weight (up to 660 lbs) and their long lifespan (up to 150 years) led them to be hunted for food until they were considered extinct. In 1971, scientists were shocked when they found one Pinta giant tortoise left. Removed in 1972, and named “Lonesome George,” this tortoise remains the last of its kind.

The Galapagos National Park has been successful over the years in breeding some of the giant tortoise subspecies and releasing them back in the wild.  As soon as they were placed on the island, the tortoises began to show their place as ecosystem engineers—foraging, feeding and even trying to mate.