BP = Bumbling Poopheads

(Artist credit:  Egank0 @ Deviant Art)

Various news reports offer up various versions of what is happening in the Gulf of Mexico.

I'm amazed that there would be a media blackout considering BP does not own the Gulf of Mexico.  On one hand, I can understand doing so out of safety concerns.  On the other hand, silence doesn't ease concerns or fears.  It only encourages speculation and conspiracy theories.

That said, take the links I will be sharing here with a grain of salt.

It appears that shortly after the oil rig explosion, Britain offered to help with the clean up and the U.S. government declined.     Why?  This mess is only growing worse and is now on the precipice of being a global disaster versus a local one.  Politics and money should be set aside in the interests of ensuring this is nipped in the bud as quickly, as efficiently, and as safely as possible.  Right?  I must be missing something.  If an asteroid was heading straight for earth all the nations in the world would be banding together to brainstorm on how to stop it and then get busy.  Right?

Well this oil disaster in the Gulf has the potential to quickly reach the point of leaving no one on the planet immune.  Whether the oil ends up in the gulf stream and reaches our neighbors across the Atlantic, or creates oily rain across the eastern half of the USA causing pollution and harm to crops and our food supply, or a hurricane hitting the gulf and lifting up and spreading that lovely stuff even further inland.

I must be naive or missing something somewhere.

Has the silence of some environmental groups been bought?  Check out this article:  Sierra Club and Gang Green: Oil Spill Cleanup "Just Fine"

Is BP engaged in a massive cover-up of the disaster?  See this video:  BP Coverup

Another video:  Toxic Alert

Yet another:  Is It Raining Oil in Florida?

As if things couldn't get any worse, at first BP denied there were cracks in the sea bed (so shocking, them denying yet something else) but now they are admitting it:   Oil Spills from the Sea Bed

Folks in the Florida Keys aren't waiting for BP to get their crap together.  They are taking preventive action and attempting to prepare for the possibility of the oil spill reaching them:  Florida key Residents Plan Their Own Oil Spill Cleanup

BS politics and excuses from BP: (Excerpt from the Keys link)

But there's a problem with their plans for grass-roots activism: BP (and the Deepwater Horizon's Unified Command, which BP runs with the Coast Guard and other agencies) has so far insisted on complete control of the cleanup operations. A BP spokesman told TIME that the only appropriate way for interested boat captains to become involved would be to register with the Unified Command's Vessels of Opportunity program. Never mind that according to BP's numbers, only a third of the 7,200 boats "under contract" through the program are in active service. Robey says captains in the Keys haven't even been able to register. "It's a joke, a total joke," he says. "Our people have called them for over a month. They don't return phone calls."

I think I'm being way too kind calling these people bumbling poopheads.


In other news, as we approach the IWC meeting coming up next week in Morocco, things are heating up on this issue all over.

In Australia:  Canberra Acts on Whale Claims

In Palau:  Palau Ends Support for Japan's Scientific Whaling

Good one:  Whistle blower Aims to Expose the Dark Side of Japanese Whaling

Have you taken action yet against the IWC proposal?  It's not too late.

There can't be action against whaling without Sea Shepherd's Paul Watson weighing in:  Japan Dives Deep into Depravity to Destroy the Whales


Please watch this video: What Have We Done?

Then remind yourselves that "It only takes a fraction of 1% of a population to tangibly shift the energy of a whole area ..."    Peace in the Water

The Failure of Humanity

(Artist credit:  Josephine101 @ Deviant Art)

People often ask "Why has the world gone to hell in a hand basket?"  Or something similar.

Aside from the usual stupidities associated with politics and war, the ravages of our environment and the killing off of various species is our own undoing.

Pollution?  That's our fault.

Oil spills?  Our fault.

Destruction of the rain forests, which leads to certain species becoming either endangered or extinct, not to mention how it affects global climate?  Again, our fault.

When will enough people wake up to realize that the decisions they make every single day in whatever they are doing, has a profound ripple effect that is felt around the world?

No one is immune.  And we are each guilty.

We've all been brainwashed to believe we can not live without oil.  We've been fed propaganda after propaganda about the conveniences of oil but rarely are we taught about the downside - until it is too late.

The mess in the Gulf is a prime example of that.

It amazes me that it takes such a huge catastrophe for people to realize how truly fragile this planet is.  It also amazes me how so many take the ocean for granted, seemingly forgetting that 2/3's of our world is water.  And without the oceans and all that live in it, we would not be alive.  I'll say that again:  we would not be alive.

So here we have reports of countries like Japan bribing other countries to vote their way in the upcoming IWC meeting.  While Japan is busy putting up a PR front of denying these allegations, they are busy in backrooms making shady deals and paying off people to vote their way.  It takes 75% of the vote at IWC to bring the whaling moratorium crashing down and the resumption of almost 2,000 whale murders annually, regardless if they are endangered or close to extinction.

Their bullshit excuses continue.  "The whales are eating up all the fish!"  "It's a matter of national pride, history, and culture!"  "We kill whales humanely!"

I'd like to see a whaler volunteer for an experiment on what it's like to be killed whale-style.  Harpoons ... explosives ... rifle shots ... being dragged backwards and held under water to the point of drowning.   Yes, that is humane alright.  That's like being a seal and watching a club being repeatedly bashed against your head.

The egoistical nature of humanity is sickening.  The entitlement so many people have disgusts me.  Certain people take, take, take, and take some more.  But they don't give back and they don't take sustainably.  They don't take with respect or humanely.  It's all about them and how it benefits them.

I'm not saying the majority of humanity is like this.  I guess it just amazes me how such a small percentage of humanity that IS like this, are the ones destroying each and every single one of our homes.

The time has long passed for everyone to look to their leaders for solutions.  They act like they are in charge, but they aren't.  And usually they do not have humanity's best interests at heart - only theirs and how it will grow their bank accounts.

Corporations don't have the answers either.  Most have run amok with their own greed and power trips.  And when confronted with their abuses against humanity and the environment, they either deny it until they are blue in the face or buy peoples' silence.

The answers start with each and every single one of us.  It's not an easy answer.  It requires great sacrifice and change.  But until we are willing to sacrifice and change the error of our ways, our planet and therefore all of us, will continue to suffer for it.

A day will come, unless the tide turns soon, that we will no longer be known as a "blue marble" or a "green earth."  Instead, it'll be a black marble, totally encased in the blood of careless and greedy corporations and global politicians.  Land, air, and water will be black and/or polluted.  And unless you are one of the richest people in the world with a cave deep underground for these so-called doomsday prophecies, you will be long dead.  Lying on the shores with all the other whales, dolphins, manatees, seals, turtles, etc. who died an agonizing and painful death.

Yeah, that's a very fatalistic scenario I'm painting there.  But unless every single human being on this planet stands up and starts holding those responsible accountable for these atrocities, it's not a matter of if but when that scene becomes a reality.

This is our home.  More and more people are fighting back in big and small ways.  Sooner or later, the corporations and the governments of the world have to stop pretending to be deaf and blind and start listening and seeing.

It's not up to them.   It's up to us.

I see a difference happening out there.  Many people are sending out vibrational energies to the Gulf in hopes that it will help everything and everyone to turn things around and start the healing process.   People are out there protesting off shore drilling with organizations such as Hands Across the Sands and Surfrider.  More people are getting in tune with our planet's wildlife and mammals and hearing their cries for help.  More people are recycling, reducing the their driving, and getting back to nature.

No one wants to walk on the beach and side step tar balls and black oil.  No one wants to see a black ocean versus a blue one.  No one wants to see the ocean devoid of all that brings it, and us, life and beauty.  More people are buying organic GMO-free foods and speaking from their wallets while flipping the bird to corporations like Monsanto.

The tide CAN turn.  But again, it's up to each of us to take responsibility. Living our lives with love and passion for not only the people and pets in our lives, but for the Earth that unconditionally provides us with so much so many of us take for granted.

"To cherish what remains of the earth and to foster its renewal is our only legitimate hope of survival." ~ Wendall Berry ~

"The earth we abuse and the living things we kill will, in the end, take their revenge; for in exploiting their presence we are diminishing our future."  ~ Marya Mannes ~

Is BP Turning a Deaf Ear to Solutions?

Artist credit:  Wolverine080976 @ Deviant Art

There are two camps in this gulf oil disaster:  (1)  Those who think and believe BP and the government are doing everything in their power to clean it up and (2) those who do not.

No surprise, but I'm in the 2nd camp.

Maybe I'm missing something and as always, I welcome enlightenment from anyone wiser, more educated, and more knowledgeable than ordinary folks like myself.  It just seems to me that I'm seeing a lot of solutions being offered up, some seemingly quite viable, reasonable, cost effective, and far more environmentally friendly yet they are being shot down by BP or whoever is in charge.

Examples:

Bio remediation.   Two links provided for your perusal:

(1)  Spill Fighters

(2)  Gutsy Solution Restores Environment in Six Weeks (YouTube video)

BP has so far shown themselves to be liars.  Not good ones mind you, but liars nonetheless.  They've spouted all sorts of contradicting figures about how much or how little oil is in the gulf.  They also deny any underwater plumes.  They minimize the damage in any way they can while more stories, more photographs, more evidence everywhere down there indicates not only the opposite, but that things are going to get a helluva lot worse before we see a modicum of improvement.

Meanwhile, the whole of the natural environment is being pretty much raped 24/7, including just about all sea, land, and air life in the area.  But never mind that.  It's much more important for BP to save as much oil as it can.  Saving the turtles, birds, fish, coral reefs, dolphins, whales, etc. simply is not profitable.

In addition, would it surprise you to know that the U.S. has known for at least the past decade that this oil spill disaster was a real possibility?  If so many people involved in the govt. and the oil business have known about this for at least that long, why wasn't anything developed to prevent this damn thing from happening?

I'll say it again:  If we have the technology to drill into the earth a mile under the sea, then we damn well should have the technology to prevent such a disaster.  I realize my thinking is flawed because after all, people have car accidents and after much trial and error, adjustments and modifications are made to reduce accidents and minimize injuries, etc.  But various reports out there indicate that the people working on the Deep Horizon oil rig and BP KNEW there were problems BEFORE the explosion and millions of gallons spewed out into the gulf.

They can't say this was an accident.  They can't say they are not at fault and that basically "shit happens."  They KNEW and yet ignored the reports of problems.  They KNEW and figured "It's not going to happen to us."

I know I sound redundant on this whole matter.  It just pisses me off.  Because here we are, almost 2 months later with no end in sight to the biggest global environmental disaster in human history.

Based on what I read on various news sites, both mainstream and alternative, I get the impression that BP is basically just taking rags and mopping up the mess and not much else.  So if they are claiming to be as frustrated as everyone else is on this issue, then it's time to take their thumbs out of their asses and look at all the various ideas being offered to help clean this up.  Continuing to put a band aid on such a humongous wound isn't working, And  continuing to spray dispersants over the area when it's been well documented that it causes further negative effects on the water and wildlife obviously isn't working either.

Is Bio remediation the answer?  Is Kevin Costner's solution the answer?  I don't know.  But to hell with liability issues, etc.  BP needs to stand down and basically try every single thing until something actually works instead of behaving like mice running on a wheel.

Personally, I wouldn't want the fate of our future environment resting solely in the hands of oil executives and politicians.  Would you?

I'm Angry

(Artist credit:  Jim Warren)

Okay, so that break didn't last too long.  I can't shut up.

I have a rant I need to get out of my system. 

(1) I'm angry that BP still hasn't gotten a handle on this damn oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

(2)  I'm angry that BP, the Federal government, and various other so-called politicians and regulators and other people in positions of authority and/or power appear to be mostly standing around not knowing whether to scratch their watches or wind their butts.  

(3)  I'm angry that various wildlife, on the land and in the water, are getting sick, getting slicked, and getting killed.

(4)  I'm angry that it took President Obama over three weeks to act like he was doing something about this mess.  Even now, he's still not taking a strong enough stand on this.  I'd put him in the "scratching my watch, winding my butt" group of nincompoops on this matter.

(5)  I'm also angry at Obama for breaking his promise to not turn his back on issue of ending commercial whaling.   

(6)  I'm angry that Sea World is not yet out of business.  And I'm angry at the people who continue to buy their tickets, merchandise, etc. and don't seem to give a damn.  What part of captivity is cruel do folks not understand?

(7) I'm angry that despite the obvious environmental catastrophe in the Gulf, that certain people are still clamoring for more oil drilling.  I'll be bitchy for a second and put them in the category of folks who actually want Sarah Palin to be our next President of the United States. 

(8)  I'm angry that according to this poll (CNN Oil Spill Poll)  16% of the respondents state they do not feel they, or anyone they know, are now or will ever be directly impacted by the Deep Horizon Oil disaster.  What?!  I knew narcissism was alive and well, but this one takes the cake.

(9)  I'm angry that when the EPA demanded BP to stop using toxic dispersants, BP basically flipped 'em the middle finger and said "It's not as toxic as you think."    Right, 'cuz ya know, you KNEW you had a problem with the Deep Horizon rig BEFORE it blew up and caused this big hellish mess.  So therefore, we should kiss your ass and believe whatever you say?  Okay, I'm convinced :-P

(10)  I'm angry that if just three sperm whales die in the Gulf as a result of all this, we could be seeing the end of them.  They are already on the endangered species list.

(11)  I'm angry that we need sites like these:  Gulf Oil Spill Tracker and Live Cam of the OIl Spill

(12)  I'm angry that we need sites and petitions like Cetacean Rights when it should be a given that these mammals have the right to co-exist with us in harmony and without fear for their lives.  And I'm angry that not every single human being on this planet has signed it.

(13)  I'm angry that countries like Japan take no heed to warnings like "Pride cometh before the fall" with their arrogance, ignorance, and greed in continuing to murder whales and dolphins without remorse or conscious.

Some important links well worth your time:

Message From the Dolphins & Whales From the Gulf of Mexico

Time to Say Goodbye

Road Less Traveled

(Artist credit: Barshomy @ Deviant Art)

The cover-ups, the lies, the corruption, the scandals, and the lack of oversight by people in positions of power and/or money continues on like a bad soap opera or a really unbelievable and crappy spy novel.

BP has a history of spills and safety lapses.

The interior department of the U.S. government doles out more off-shore oil drilling regulatory exemptions like they're candy to give out to excited children.

According to Sea Shepherd, they rightfully state this whole disaster could have been avoided.    BP paid a $20 million dollar fine and was charged with a misdemeanor before an investigation that would prove BP was operating in a negligent manner was concluded.

It's not enough that oil is blackening and poisoning the ocean, but for BP to attempt to hide millions of gallons of toxic oil and ignore safer alternatives for cleaning up?  "Dispersal of the oil does not eliminate it, nor does it decrease the toxicity of the oil. It just breaks it up into small particles, where it becomes less visible."    Folks like this are such an inspiration to folks like me. :-P

No tests have been done on the toxicity levels of these dispersants.  You know what Einstein said about insanity?  Why oh why aren't these buttwipes learning anything but how to cause further harm to our planet?

This whole clean-up in the Gulf continues to be a "challenge" because, ya know, they weren't required by law to be responsible to ensure not just the safety of their employees, but the whole of the environment.  Their capping of the spill has failed.  So now, among many ideas, is the theory that "throwing garbage" at the hole will stop the leak.  Can you say "idiots!" in sign language?

How does the thought process work after such a blow to the environment and MORE people are now supporting off-shore oil drilling?  According to the folks at Politico, 55% are in favor of developing more off shore drilling.  See the bewildered expression on my face over that one.

Meanwhile, the gulf is getting more dirtied with more than 210,000 gallons a day continuing to vomit into the sea, the marine species are washing up on shore either dying or dead upon arrival, and all that icky oil stuff that's getting into the fishies is going to enter into the food supply too.  No, I have no proof that the latter will happen.  But should it be expected otherwise given the lack of oversight on this mess that's going to affect all of us for decades to come?

I find it absolutely amazing that those with all the money and power can play havoc with billions of lives, both human and non human, and screw with Mother Earth, and yet be exempt from full responsibility for crap like this.  Why is it that people who have money and power are above the law?  And why aren't more people being angry about this instead of just accepting it and calling it "business as usual?"  Do most people simply not care? 

Five experts weigh in on ideas on what should be done about the clean up in the gulf.   They forgot to add one last idea:  STOP drilling for more oil and start using cleaner, alternative energies.  If it means we have to each make sacrifices for a more sustainable planet, then dammit, we should.  Enough with this continued and repetitive attempted murdering of our Earth.

And finally, we should all take time to listen to what the dolphins have to say.  After all, they've been around far longer than us human beings, are far wiser than we could ever aspire to be, and have lessons and insights into our world that we can only hope that one day we'll be as caring and as enlightened as they are.  Please see their message here:  A Message From the Dolphins

"The 'control of nature' is a phrase conceived in arrogance, born of the Neanderthal age of biology and the convenience of man."

"We stand now where two roads diverge.  But unlike the roads in Robert Frost's familiar poem, they are not equally fair. The road we have long been traveling is deceptively easy, a smooth superhighway on which we progress with great speed, but at its end lies disaster. The other fork of the road / the one less traveled by / offers our last, our only chance to reach a destination that assures the preservation of the earth."

~ Both quotes by Rachel Carson ~

For far too long we have taken the easy road with proven disastrous results.  It's not too late to change our journey and to take the road less traveled.

Matter of Trust

(Image credit:  Oceanic Defense)

Are we going to see another rich corporation get away from 100% liability?  It seems that it may happen with BP and the Deep Horizon oil spill.

U.S. Law Limits Oil Company Liability

While there is a push to amend this law, BP will only be liable for up to $75 million, not including costs of the clean up. Remember, the costs are always passed on to us consumers.  It's never the corporation who has to make sacrifices, it's us.

Where will that leave the people along the gulf states who rely on tourism, etc. for their livelihood?

I'm truly baffled that with all the so-called state of the art and ever improving & changing technology out there, and given that there are thousands of oil spills taking place every year of varying sizes, that there is yet to be anything anywhere that either prevents these spills from happening or to not have a way to immediately clean things up with as little eco-damage as is possible.  If they have the technology to drill deep into the ocean, why don't they have the technology to prevent such a disaster? Maybe I'm being judgmental, but it just seems to me that they should be smart enough to have contingencies in place that have been tested and to have back ups for all their back ups.  The environment is such a fragile thing.  Are people really that blind to not consider all the variables before proceeding with something that has such potential to cause not just local damage, but global?

Skimming over safety protocols in the interest of short term profits will always come to bite one in the ass.  It never ever fails.

We are deeply mired in our dependency on oil.  So many areas of our lives are touched or impacted, in big and small ways, by oil.  70% of our oil dependency goes to transportation methods.  According to this article: Do Americans Make the Connection Between Transportation, Oil Use, and Environmental Impact, there are three ways we can dramatically reduce our dependency on this resource.  (1) More efficient vehicles, (2) renewable or diversified fuel sources, and (3) spending less time driving around.

Obviously #3 is not feasible for some people for a variety of legitimate reasons.

On the flip side, according to this article:  With Hybrids & Electric Vehicles, U.S. Risks Switching Dependency from One Foreign Commodity - Crude Oil - to Another - the Rare Earths  going green is not necessarily really going green.

Obviously, there are no easy answers.  But obviously, there IS technology out there to REDUCE our dependency.  There are also alternatives and choices and sacrifices and and and etc etc etc that we can each make that can and does make an environmental impact.

Here's one place that has gotten creative about cleaning up oil spills:  Matter of Trust

They collect human and animal hair from people all over and then they turn around and make materials and booms out of them to help with oil spill clean ups. I wonder what would happen if everyone shaved their heads, groomed their dogs, got their dog groomers and local hair salons involved, and gave all of that hairy stuff to this organization?

Check out their YouTube video on this and how they are making a difference:  Hair Boom

Check out the 7 Stupidest Statements Made About the BP Gulf Oil Spill

Another link:  Track the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Movement

Marine mammals being held in captivity is still being debated.  DC lawmakers are currently welcoming public comments on the captive mammal industry until this Friday, May 7th.  Please go to the following link and take a couple of minutes to send a comment to your representatives.   Oceanic Preservation Society Needs Your Voices TODAY

Want some inspiration on making a difference?

How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.  ~Anne Frank

Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself.  ~Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy

Live simply that others might simply live.  ~Elizabeth Seaton

It seems to me that any full grown, mature adult would have a desire to be responsible, to help where he can in a world that needs so very much, that threatens us so very much.  ~Norman Lear

I am only one, but I am one.  I cannot do everything, but I can do something.  And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do.  ~Edward Everett Hale

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope... and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.  ~Robert F. Kennedy

Never doubt that a small group of individuals can change the world, indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. ~ Margaret Mead

Be the change you wish to see in the world. ~ Gandhi

 :-)
      

Saving Our Seas Together

(Artist credit:  Jim Warren)

There's some good news, or at least news that puts us a step in the right direction, regarding marine mammal captivity.  Congress has scheduled a hearing slated for April 27th on this very issue.

For anyone out there who truly believes that parks like Sea World are a great, magical, inspirational, and educational way to witness and to learn about these mammals, please read the Facts of Dolphin Captivity.  I cannot speak to its current accuracy as there is no date given on this page, but I personally do not doubt the heart of it.

I can only repeat what I've said before:  please do NOT support parks such as Sea World, Marine land, or any other related business that holds orcas, dolphins, etc. in captivity by calling it entertainment and education while getting rich doing it.  Parks like this do NOT care about anything but the bottom line, no matter what they say.  If they truly do not care about profits, they wouldn't be doing this in the first place.  If they do care, then they should change from being a for-profit business to a non-profit one with the aim to release these mammals to approved and sanctioned marine sanctuaries for either re-training to be released back into the wild or for retirement while being taken care of.

There are more and more marine sanctuaries being created and developed around the world.  This is a sign of growing activism and awareness everywhere that decreasing numbers of people are supporting captivity and increasing numbers are saying "Enough!"  You can check out a list of sanctuaries at National Marine Sanctuaries.

Let's say whales and dolphins, etal are the rulers of the world and not mankind.  Imagine for a few moments this role reversal scenario.   Now let's say a moratorium on murdering people was in effect a couple decades ago.  Let's say certain countries exploited a loophole that allowed them to continue murdering people for research purposes.  Let's further say that an international committee was set to meet to discuss compromises that eventually lead to the complete banning of murdering humans while setting a quota for a period of ten years before this complete ban took effect.     Never mind that certain countries took advantage of certain loopholes to cheat the rules and the laws for their own nefarious purposes and cried foul when activist groups would protest or interfere.  Never mind that they've been doing it for centuries and say it is part of their culture, their traditions, and their history.  So it's a matter of national pride that they'd continue to do this.  And instead of currently being punished for already having broken the laws time and time again, they are now going to possibly be given permission, within certain enforced guidelines, to continue murdering a certain quota of humans.  But it's okay because after ten years, if this international committee keeps its word and follows through on strict enforcement, it will become illegal in ten year's time to ever murder another human being.

Would this be acceptable to you?

That is basically what is happening right now, with the United States leading the way in discussions on such a compromise when the Int'l Whaling Commission meets in a few weeks.

If this compromise takes effect, we are, in essence, letting countries like Japan, Norway, and Iceland, etc get away with murder.  They have broken the laws for the last two decades and are not being punished.  Instead, if this compromise is successful, they are actually being rewarded.

Read more:  Save the Whales, not the Whalers

Good Deal for Whalers, Poor Deal for Whales

Tell President Obama: No Backdoor Deal at IWC

Is this good news that may twist a knife in the heart of the commercial whaling proposals?  Forensic DNA Blow to Whaling Proposals

Oh the shame of it, this embarrassing the country of Japan.  After all, they've been lying their asses off for years regarding their so-called scientific researching on whaling.  "Tradition and culture" my ass.

Related article:  Show Us the Science

News on The Cove ... Japanese Protesters Target The Cove

Hayden Panettiere's Dolphin Diary

FYI, Oprah Winfrey will be discussing The Cove movie on her Earth Day special airing April 22nd.  If this interests you, be sure to set your DVR's :-)

Imagine if the world had more kids like this:   Saving Our Seas Together

By the way, I haven't yet discussed the Great Barrier Reef Scandal.  I will say this ... this only lends further weight to my argument that offshore drilling should not take place.  Accidents can and do happen.  And when they do, the damage is often irreversible and the effects are devastatingly long term.  What more do people need to wake up to the fact that drilling for more oil is simply NOT the answer?