08x02 - Jack, the Seal and the Sea

[bunniefuu]

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

♪ Butterfly in the sky ♪

♪ I can go twice as high ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can go anywhere ♪

♪ Friends to know ♪

♪ And ways to grow ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ I can be anything ♪

♪ Take a look ♪

♪ It's in a book ♪

♪ A reading rainbow ♪

♪ Reading rainbow ♪

Water.

Every living thing
needs it to survive.

Plants and animals
depend on it.

So do you and i.

We drink it,

Bathe in it,

And we play in it.

So it's important
that we learn

How to take care
of it.

We're on
a discovery voyage

On the san francisco bay
on this floating laboratory,

Where marine biologists
check the quality of the water

And what lives in it.

Here you go, mary.

Thanks, levar.

No one knows better
than the creatures of the sea

How important it is to keep
our water clean and healthy.

Here's a story about one

Who helped a fisherman
find that out.

It's called...

As a boy, jack
was always out on the sea

With his father,
a fisherman.

When jack was old enough,

He bought
his own fishing boat.

He always worked hard,

Fishing the same waters
his father had.

Slowly, though,
things changed.

The sea did not sparkle
as it once had.

The fish were
small and sickly.

One day, jack hauled
his net onboard,

Expecting the usual catch
of half-dead fish.

Instead, he stared
in amazement

Into the eyes of a seal

Who lay among
the mackerel.

It was clear

There wasn't much life
left in this seal.

Oily film covered his fur,

And bits of debris
were stuck to him.

Jack gave the seal
a bath

And some mackerel.

Soon jack could see
a bit of sparkle

In the seal's big, dark eyes.

"You'd like to see
your friends," jack said.

All afternoon,
jack searched for seals,

But there were none
to be found.

Jack saw garbage
scattered on the beaches

And garbage floating
by his boat.

"No wonder the seals are gone,"
he thought.

"Why would they want to live
in this mess?"

The little seal
got restless,

So jack brought him fish.

He gobbled them up
and looked for more.

"More?" Chuckled jack.

"If you've got
that big an appetite,

Maybe you should fish
for yourself."

Jack lifted the seal
over the side of the boat.

Jack followed
to make sure he'd be ok.

When the boat caught up
with him,

The seal had
a big mackerel in his mouth.

It was the healthiest-looking
mackerel

Jack had seen in a while.

The seal gobbled
the fish up quickly

And caught another
and then another.

"This is a good spot
to fish."

To keep him
from getting tangled,

Jack brought
the seal onboard.

The fisherman pulled his nets
through the water.

When he
brought them up,

They were filled with big,
healthy fish.

"What luck you've brought me,
little seal!" He exclaimed.

It was late
when jack finished fishing.

The sea was calm.

He decided to stay out
for the night.

He settled down on the deck
with the seal by his side

And fell asleep.

Suddenly, the wind picked up,
the sky darkened,

And the waves grew
to a frightening size.

Jack's boat
was in a terrible storm.

A huge wave broke
in front of him.

He heard a deep, booming
voice rise from the depths.

"Help me, jack.

"Help me as you did
my friend the seal.

"I rewarded you for that.

"Now it is time for you
to rescue me.

"Everything that's
been dumped in me

"Has made the fish sick.

"Plants can't live in me,

"And people are afraid
to swim in me.

Stop polluting the sea!"

The storm stopped
as suddenly as it began.

When jack awoke, the seal
was nowhere to be found.

On his way into port,

Jack saw bottles and trash
floating by his boat.

It kept bringing his dream
back to mind.

"I didn't think it would happen
to our sea,

But it has."

Then it came to him.

There was something
he had to do.

Now jack sails
up and down the coast.

He stops in the villages
to tell his story.

Sometimes he thinks about being
a fisherman again,

But not until everyone
hears his message

And cares about what happens
to the sea.

Ready to put
the net
in the water?

I'm ready.



And heave!

Oh, good.

Drop the float line.

Let the line out.

How's it going?

Good.

Mary nishimito
is an ecologist

Who studies fish
and marine life

And the health
of their environment.

What are we doing
here today?

Animals can't talk,
but they can tell us

About the bay.

We'll see
where they live
and what they eat.

What do creatures
in this bay eat?

A variety of things.
We can go to the bow

And look at
the small things.

What's that?

Plankton.

Plankton!
Yeah, let's go.

Let's see if we've got
any plankton in here.

Let's see what we have.

How'd we do?

Whoa!

Look, you can see
the little, tiny animals

Swimming around.

These are
animal plankton.

Plant plankton are
too small to see.

There's a lot
of animal plankton.

What does this
tell us?

Because there's a lot
of animal plankton--

What do they eat?

Animal plankton eats
plant plankton.

Right.

This tells us
there is

Enough food
for them to eat.

A balance of plant
and animal plankton

Means it's a healthy
environment

In the ocean.

Right.

[Whistle]

It's time
for the net.

All hands.
That's us!

Pull, pull!

Pull, pull!

Come on, come on!

Yes!
Whoo-ee!

Ú
I think we got
something here.

Can you bring it in?

Yeah. Here we go.

All right!

Whoo!

Ooh,
they're jumping!

Looks like there's
something big in there.

What now?

Put it
in the water?

Wow!

We got...whoa!

What's that?

A leopard shark.

It has
a lot of strength.

Feel the muscles
in his body?

Feels like
he's all muscle.

Rub your hands
along its body.

I've never
felt anything
like this before.

Rub your fingers
this way.

That's really rough.

Look where
its mouth is.

Where do you think
he feeds?

The bottom
of the ocean.

Right.

This shark,
at this size,

Feeds mostly
on crabs and shrimp.

So a lot of these--

Ahh.

Wow! What's that?

What a treat!

This is a skate.

He's huge!

Take a close look
at it.

Notice these big fins.

These are
pectoral fins.

What are
these fins for?

He flies
through the water.

Right.
He uses them
like wings.

Is this
a fast fish?

He can be fast.

He speeds up quickly.

What's that
by your hand?

These are parasites.

These are called
copepods.

They're growing
on the skate.

Parasites become a problem

If the animal
becomes weakened.

Then the parasites

Can more easily
take advantage
of the animal.

An animal
in the ocean

Would be weakened
due to...

It could be weakened
due to disease,

And pollution is known
to be a culprit.

Let's put him back
so he can breathe.

Are there
any fish in here
that eat plankton?

Yes. This is
our plankton feeder.

This is
the top smelt.

He is a surface-swimming fish.

He has a silvery belly

So predators
looking from below
don't see him.

Camouflage.

What fish
eats this?

How about
this guy here?

Yeah.

These plankton feeders
are very important

Because they eat
the plankton,

And then these larger fish
will eat our plankton feeders.

So we've got
a food chain going.

We eat
the larger fish.

We're at the top
of the food chain.

What happens
if pollution enters
that food chain?

We could lose
our fellow travelers
on this planet.

Our friends
under the sea.

And harm ourselves
in the process.

Yes, sadly.

Pollution affects
everything.

The more there is,
the greater the damage.

Not long ago in alaska,

A tanker spilled
tons of oil,

Threatening the water
and everything around it.

The oil laid a thick slick
on the water

That stuck to everything.

It clung to rocks,
coated beaches,

And spread like poison
for hundreds of miles.

An emergency effort
was launched

To save the coastline.

One of the most important
things to be done

Was to stop the leak
in the tanker.

A floating corral,
or containment boom,

Was placed
around the ship

To keep more oil
from spreading.

Another ship
docked next to the tanker

To remove
the remaining oil.

Then the tanker was hauled off
for repairs.

More booms were used to keep oil
out of special inlets

Where baby fish were growing
in hatcheries.

The lives of these fish
were saved.

However,
many animals d*ed.

Others were rushed
to recovery centers,

Where people worked
to clean off the oil.

Birds were carefully
washed, bathed--

Hold his body.

Scrubbed,

And hosed down.

If they float,
they're ready to go.

They're waterproof.

This otter's fur
was all sticky with oil,

So he was shampooed

And dried off.

Good.
Shake it out.
Shake it out.

Many endangered species,
like this bald eagle,

Were also affected.

Special care was given
to clean them up,

Feed them...

And then release them
back into the wild.

The oil lay
on the water and the beaches.

It had to be washed
by high-pressure hoses.

An all-out battle took place
against the oil,

With thousands of people
fighting

The polluting effects
of the oil.

Different techniques
were used

To loosen the oil
from rocks.

Some oil was steamed off,

Some sprayed
with cold water.

Rocks had to be washed

Over and over again.

Once the oil was loosened,

It was sprayed
down to the water

To a holding area.

It was skimmed
off the top,

Picked up by conveyer belts,
and carted away.

Inch by inch, workers moved
down the coastline,

Cleaning new areas of beach.

Many of the animals
were released

Back into the water,

Where they were happy
to be home.

The story
of this oil spill

Is still not over.

It will take years
for these waters

To regain their health
and beauty.

Only if we care
will we prevent

This kind of accident
from happening again.

All right.

I think
we've got something.

Let's bring that in.

Hold it right there.

Could you lower it
just a bit?

Right there.
That's good.

Wow! Look at that mud!

Let's look at it.

Touch it.

Whoa.

Smell it.

Mmm.

I love mud.

It smells good.

That's a good sign.

If mud can
smell clean,

This smells like
clean mud.

If the mud smells
like rotten eggs,

It's a bad sign.

It means there's
no oxygen.

It could be caused
by pollution.

What else
is in here?

I'll put mud
into the screens,

And you take a hose
and spray it down.

We'll find out
who lives in the mud.

Mud is one of
the most important
habitats in the bay.

So there are
actually animals
that live here.

What are these
tubelike things?

These are mud tubes.

They're hollow.

Maybe we can find
the creature
that makes these.

An animal
lives in this?

This is the home
for an animal.

He makes
his own house.

There's an animal
in here someplace.

What's that there?

Here's
something else.

This is
a spider crab

With long, thin legs
like a spider.

All sorts of animals
live in this mud.

Here's another one.

We've got
quite a few.

Let's find
what made that tube.

Whoa! Look at this!

What's this here?

That's what made
that tube.

It's a worm.

Worms make these tubes
using mud and mucus.

Here's one
that's in the tube.

Here he comes.

Wow.

Look at that.

The tubeworm is like
the earthworms on land.

They are
the decomposers.

They eat
plants and animals
that have d*ed.

They're very important
here in the bay.

We also have
the clams.

Clams are important
because they filter the water,

And they eat the plankton.

So they act as
a filtering system.

Right.

Mud is another
fragile ecosystem

That must
be maintained

For the health
of the bay.

Yes.

The mud is very important
in this ecosystem.

It's an important habitat.

You bet.

People are more aware
of pollution's dangers.

Things are
getting better.

How about you?

How can you take care
of your environment?

Pick up trash.

Recycle.

Don't throw garbage
in the water.

These are soda rings.

We should rip them so that
animals' throats--

Like seals and birds
and fish and stuff--

Don't get caught in them.

Don't waste paper.

Take a shower with your dog
so you both get clean.

Put posters up
about pollution.

Don't litter.

Recycle your newspapers.

You could take a soup can
that you've already used

And make it into
a pencil or crayon can.

There are lots of things
you can do.

If it's water you're into,

Here are some books
guaranteed to make a splash,

But don't take
my word for it.

Hi. I'm daniel.

I bet you never thought
seriously about water.

I'd like to change that
with this book-- water.

Did you know the water
we drink today

Is the same water
dinosaurs drank?

Earth has only
so much water,

So nature recycles it.

Water evaporates
from the earth,

Turns into clouds,

And comes back down

In the form of
rain, snow, and hail.


Is covered with water,

But less than 1% of that water
is drinkable.

Everybody needs water,

And everybody
should read water.

Drink up.

Hi. Are you looking for

An exciting
and challenging career?

Have you ever considered
studying underwater creatures?

Lynn walter does
in this book,

A day in the life
of a marine biologist.

Lynn is
a marine biologist,

And she has
a fascinating job.

The book takes you
through a day with her.

She starts
by feeding the animals

At the oceanographic institute.

She goes scuba diving
for marine-life samples.

She runs into
some pretty dangerous creatures.

If any of you scientists

Want to be
marine biologists,

Here's a book
to start with.

This is kate levine,
your career counselor.

Good afternoon.
I'm matthew o'connor.

I'm reporting from
reading rainbow.

Today's top story is

Sterling: the rescue
of a baby harbor seal.

Sterling is a newborn pup
abandoned by its mother.

The new england aquarium
sends a rescue team.

Sterling is brought
to the marine mammal center.

First they check
her temperature.

Next, they weigh her.

Then they pour
special formula

Into sterling's mouth.

Eventually,

Sterling is released
back into the ocean.

It looks like today's story
is a winner.

So is this book.

Signing off,
matthew o'connor.

Ok, little buddy,
back into the water.

One thing
I found out today--

The more you know
about your environment,

The more you care.

We have to keep
our waters healthy.

This planet is our home,

And it's the only one
we've got.

I'll see you next time.

[Toot toot toot]

Today's reading rainbow
books are

Jack, the seal and the sea
by gerald aschenbrenner,

English adaptation
by joanne fink,

Published by
silver burdett press,

A division
of simon & schuster.

Water: what it is, what it does
by judith s. Seixas,

Illustrated
by tom huffman,

Published by
greenwillow books.

A day in the life
of a marine biologist

By david paige,
photos by roger ruhlin,

Published
by troll associates.

Sterling: the rescue
of a baby harbor seal

By sandra verrill white
and michael filisky,

Published by
crown publishers, inc.