Which “Ocean Lover” does not want to enjoy a beautiful day at the beach, frolicking in the sand, water & waves? We all do!

But an unprecedented monster is lingering out there, hidden under the seas…

No, we are not talking about the “shark”, which can mistakenly take you out as a turtle while boogie-boarding, or the devilish rip-current that washes you out to sea, or the “Kraken” from “The Pirates of the Caribean”… …we are talking about a “Plastic Monster Wave”, created by all of us - Humans - and carried around by a “Monster Plastic Current”, from Pacific Island to Pacific Island, from beach to beach, from shore to shore…

Only a few months ago a British News Magazine reported about the plastic gyre that has become so thick and expansive that we cannot ignore it anymore as something “remote”. It is a very tangible threat to all plankton and creatures that are somehow related to “Eating Plankton” (which is ultimately us, eating fish) - it is right in front of our own yard! The numbers and facts are staggering and frightening when you look at this graphic from the magazine’s article:

We got inspired a while ago to think a bit harder about this problem when watching “Ocean Adventures Voyage to Kure”, produced by Movie Director & Documentary Maestro Paul Atkins and Marine Wildlife Naturalist Jean-Michel Cousteau about the beauty of the remote NW HI Islands.

As Recently Seen On TV…

One of the key moments (to me personally) in the series was when Jean-Michel grabbed a carcass of a large Albatross and shook it hard, with all the plastic tubes clunking out of the carcass to the ground. It really hit reality hard back home, and truly not only close to the ocean!

Watching this impressive piece of film art, even one of our “Greatest Presidents in the American History” took a heart and declared this area as a “National Natural Monument”! Good so and “Mission Accomplished”!? – May be not so…

Melody Hunter, a young lady on Kauai, mother of two young children, decided that she cannot be longer part of the problem, but wants to become part of the solution: She founded a company called EARTH SURGE (www.EarthSurge.com) to promote and distribute 100% bio-degradable products to replace plastic – how cool is that?

“Almost everything you can imagine that has been Plastic is now bio-degradable! From “Plastic Cups” to “Doggy (Poop) Bags” to “Plates & Cuttlery”, we got it all now. And this old stigma of going down to the baseball or soccer field, and leaving a load of plastic trash behind are simply GONE, even when they are gone with the wind - they do not hurt our environment anymore in the long-term, but break down within a few years.”

The company’s products are now available through their rapidly growing distributor system, and everyone – be is as an individual or company – can enroll as a “Bio-Degradable Affiliate”, and not only buy their products, but earn a fair-share of 15% of the income from the profits made through own contacts and new contracts.

Says Paul Clark, director of “Save Our Seas” on Kauai, and co-founder of “Earth Surge”:

“We may not have the strongest marketing system in place yet to advertise this campaign on a large scale, but still: people start to recognize the importance that we all - as individuals or corporations - can do something in our daily lifes to preserve and protect for our kids what we inherited from our previous generations – a natural world that we all use for our jobs & recreation activities. And our “Mouth To Mouth” referral system starts to show very promising signs of receptivity among those we approach with this.”

Potent sponsors in form of private citizens have started to step up to the plate and allowed to form a very strong team of scientists, educators, entrepreneurs and film makers within “Save Our Seas” over the past 6 months to work together on developing a program that continuously educates the general public and to distribute products that are less harmful to our environment than what we use now in our daily routines - such as “Earth Surge” 100% bio-degradables.

And it is about time because who is interested to be hit by that “Monster Plastic Wave” while playing at the beach? Time to do something before we completely run out of time! Jean-Michel Cousteau and his “Ocean Adventure” team, film director Paul Atkins and many others have set a great path of “WHY to do this…” (the treasures we possibly loose due to our choices are too precious…) - and now it is time for all of us to really DO our fair share to turn the tide!

You can request more information about “Earth Surge” and “Save Our Seas” activities around this campaign by filling out the form at the end of this article (see: below).

Carpe Diem, preferably without using plastic, PLEASE/Por Favor/Bitte!…

T

PS: AMAKUA VIDEO and its German partner, UV-Protection Expert GECKOLINE (www.Geckoline.com & www.Geckoline.us), contribute their own fair-share by offering a UV-protective skin product that protects your skin from within (“ViSola”), PLUS, by doing so, reduces the destructive impact of sun lotion on our local coral reefs!

National Geographic has sponsored some research showing the immensity of this “sun lotion coral reef disaster” over time, and we are proud to say: “We know how to do better! Now only for our skin, but also for our reefs!

Approved by the European Union now GECKOLINE can claim to not only reduce the risk of skin cancer, but also improving our environmental conditioning. Not a bad combo-package after all…

Happy Valentine’s Day to you all!

We want to share with you an urgent call from marine biologist Terry Lilley to his global audience of “Ocean Lovers”, comprising all surfers, divers and all those who care about our environment

PS: We agree full-heartedly with Terry and add our contribution to this theme, simply summarized as: “Love everything you have, including our ocean who provides us with so much riches…”

CLICK HERE to watch this short video-slide show, featuring beautiful & awesome pictures of Terry Lilley:

PS#2: Sign up below to get more information about our growing education and research program with SOS. With your email sign-up you can also order your own 100%-protective UV surf rash guard.

By helping “Save Our Seas” you can now save yourself 35% on the purchase of your own 100% UV-protective surf rash guard (NOW ONLY $45!), featuring the beautiful SOS logo!

PS#3: After many months of kayaking out into the ocean and filming, Terry has some killer underwater footage of some of our favorite surf reefs and places no human has ever seen - until now!…:) Sign up now with SOS (www.SaveOurSeas.org), and request information about this footage!

Take notice! The governor of a beautiful State in the middle of the Pacific, a politican from a political party that denounces the effects of global climate changes, declares “…2008 to be the International Year of the Reef” — That is quite remarkable and worthwhile a loud applause!

We want to add a message from “Save Our Seas” Board Member, marine biologist Terry Lilley, who just came back from Kauai. With his photo & HDV camera he captured big waves (he rides them, too), underwater creatures, rainbows, flowers, and people - people who not only have influence and financial resources, but also a big heart for the ocean. These famous people became motivated to join this campaign to protect our oceans because of Terry’s sincere efforts during his short visit (…talking about how “One person can make a difference…”).

To learn more about this effort, read Terry’s message below, and feel free to contact him via our contact form:

Two weeks ago I gave a talk at the Princeville library in Kauai about the changing reef out at Hanalei Bay. We may all have a different opinion as to why the sea levels are rising, but the bottom line is they are, and it will affect this beautiful bay, its surf and local community.

Please take notice of the article coming out in this particular magazine, and which you can request from me personally per email. That this article is in a prestigious magazine is not important, but what we do with the scientific information we have learned is very important!

We all love the ocean and many of us have made money from our love of the ocean. It is time we give back and protect what we love. Hawaiians for thousands of years have developed ways to protect what gives us life and enjoyment, and I feel it is time to follow the old ways, but with new equipment!

Please support Save Our Seas in our mission to document the changes in this beautiful bay and other coastlines around the world. One day we will have to tell our children what we did to protect this beautiful place, and I will tell my kids “I did everything I could with my knowledge and resources”.

Soon we also will have a chance to share with you who on Kauai has opened his & her heart toward our effort, and what these great people decided to do with their resources.

Enjoy the photos as it may not always look this way without your help. Please forward this email to anyone you choose who loves the ocean.

Aloha and Mahalo for you support,
Terry Lilley, Marine Biologist
Save Our Seas

There is nothing to add to this (we agree with Terry full-heartedly…), and encourage you to sign up on this form so that Terry can send you personally his article(s), and inform you about “how to preserve, protect, restore our oceans.”

Join NOW the “Save Our Seas” effort at: http://www.SaveOurSeas.org/Join.htm !

Ho O’ Pono Pono - Thomas

PS: Amakua Video contributes the short video on this blog to the “Save Our Seas” educational & ocean-monitoring campaign, its top-notch AMPHIBICO underwater video gear, video & TV/Internet broadcasting services, plus our special UV-Protective surf rash guards featuring the beautiful SOS-logo.

Think about what YOU can do TODAY to help “Save Our Seas”, and with that, how you positively impact our oceans and thus other people’s life, especially that of our children…

WELCOME 2008!

Greetings from beautiful Hanauma Bay on Oahu, Hawaii! What a great way to start the New Year!

Our best wishes to you for a very successful, healthy & prosperous “2008″!

In 2007 Amakua Video LLC has started to modify its operation pretty drastically, and we want to make sure to continue this trend - as we believe: It’s a good one!

Besides offering “Traditional Video Production Services” (such as education-oriented documentaries), Amakua Video has actively started to promote products that help to “…find peace with our Planet…”, like Al Gore encouraged all of us in his Nobel Prize acceptance speech.

Like so many others around the world, we were absolutely gratified with his strong call for “Earth Peace”, and we want to make sure to contribute our fair-share to reduce our global “Carbon Foot Print”.

In order to achieve this goal we want to encourage all our clients & customers to look into either joining our efforts as proposed below, or approach us with your OWN ideas, so that we can join, promote & support YOU in your great efforts. We are open to help you with any type of “Traditional Video Promotion & Presentation”, but furthermore encourage product affiliations in lieu of attractive price reductions for our services.

Here is what we currently promote through video services and Internet-based marketing tools:
1) We like to “reduce, reuse, recycle” as much as possible. Accordingly, we HEAVILY support a new company from Hawaii that offers “100% bio-degradable products”, be it shopping bags, cups, containers, and so forth. It is almost imperative that we start NOW to reduce the overflow of our landfills and “plastification” of our World Ocean (http://www.earthsurge.com/about.htm).
2) Support organizations that foster education and activities to preserve, protect & restore our Planetary resources (www.SaveOurSeas.org)
3) Stay healthy & fit without hurting ourselves, e.g., through excessive exposure to UV-radiation while being outdoors. We promote our German partner firm “GECKOLINE” (www.Geckoline.com, and soon www.Geckoline.us) to “have fun in the sun”, and to build bridges among people through Geckoline’s global “Gecko & Friends” sports campaign. We also promote a unique aquatic workout program that helps everyone to stay fit in a gentle way (find your up-dates on www.GetFitWithAloha/blog).
4) Nutrify yourself through a “functional beverage”, and by doing so support the preservation of parts of the Amazon rainforest and benefit orphans in Rio de Janeiro (www.TheGreatProduct.com/Acai4Health4Wealth)
5) Get yourself a better “mpg” by adding non-poisening substances to your gasoline. It really works! We just tested this product during a cross-country trek, and with each tank-fill we got better and better “mgp’s”!

So: If you decide to do something about the environment, PLUS enhance your own health AND wealth, contact us TODAY, and we fill you in, up and get you going ASAP!

PLUS, contact us if you want to promote your own products likewise!

Are you ready to meet YOUR Planetary challenge today?

Not only think about your children’s future — Teach them from the beginning by the “embodiment of…” to go forward in a sustainable manner.

In gratitude to our beloved Mother Earth -

Thomas

A HAPPY, HEALTHY & SUCCESSFUL 2008 to all our dear AMAKUA VIDEO visitors, clients & partners!

Our tip for 2008 from “The Ocean Man” himself: Save Our Seas Marine Biologist and “Shark-Tale Story Teller” Terry Lilley!

“I am in the ocean almost every day, for filming creatures to share with you on TV, surfing, kayaking, or fishing. As an active Ocean Lover you want to protect yourself against dangerous UV-radiation while engaging in your most favorite beach and water activity! - At least that’s what I do every time I spend time at the beach or out at sea.”

Click here to learn more about the special 100% UV-protective Surf Rash Guard that Terry wears in the picture above!
(with courtesy of Vincent Shay, CA, on the Internet at http://www.VincentShayPhotography.com)

Be safe & protect your skin while having fun in the sun also in 2008!

Our very best to you all - with ALOHA! Thomas and Crew

PS: Sign up in 2008 with AMAKUA VIDEO to receive free video tutorials throughout the year, for example how to use the PD150 SONY camera and AMPHIBICO underwater housing, and other gear for our film productions. Exclusively and only available through AMAKUA VIDEO LLC!