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

Taking a Break

(Artist credit:  Jeff Wilkie)

I've decided to take a break from blogging here for a bit. 

Have a lot going on at the moment and feel that stepping away for a bit will be a good thing.

Please feel free to peruse the links I have noted on the right sidebar on my site here to stay updated on the issues facing our marine friends around the globe.

As always, thank you for being here ... I'll hopefully be back before too long :-)

Mahalo,

Dolphin

Dolphin Smile

(Artist credit; francoise_j @ Deviant Art)

I have been debating for awhile now about whether or not to continue my blog here.  There are a lot of resources out there that cover many of the same subjects I do so I have started to wonder if I am just being redundant and not really all that unique with what I do here.

In addition, I'm not very tech savvy, so it is difficult for me to really tell if my blog is actually reaching out to many people, or if people are just too busy, or if what I do really matters all that much.

I'm not writing this to garner attention ... I'm just expressing some thoughts and feelings out loud, so to speak.   I think we all wonder, from time to time, if anything we do is making a difference somewhere out there in the universe.  So I guess I'm having sort of an existential crisis at the moment ;-)

That said, I wanted to remind you that Scott over at Dolphin Smile has made his book, Messages From the Dolphins, available for a limited time as a free download.  Please be sure to check it out.  He has written a really wonderful book here and I recommend everyone take advantage of his generous offer here and read it for free.  Simply click on the book title and it'll take you directly to the page to download.  Please be aware you need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view it, which is a free program.

Worth repeating - Peace in the Water  (click this link to see video at YouTube)



Check your ego at nature's door and tread softly and with respect.  We are each connected in this world and vital to one anothers' survival. 

Thank you for being here ;-)

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.

Rainbow Country Closets

(Artist credit:  Christian Lassen)

One of my favorite quotes from e.e. cummings is:

"To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting."

Chely Wright, a country singer, has come out of the closet.  A lot of chatter out there is hateful, cynical, and questioning her motives for doing this now when she is also pushing her autobiography and making the PR rounds.

A country singer coming out of the closet?!  Now that's a big deal.  It shouldn't be, but it is.  The country music industry is well renowned for it's very conservative bent.  And being gay and country is, in certain circles, an abomination.  Which is funny to me, because it's blatantly obvious there are many celebrities in the country music world who do, in fact, support gay rights. 

It's a sad sad world we live in when, instead of celebrating someones courage, someones long fought battle, and someones character; people bad mouth, spew forth opinions laced with hateful arsenic, and start quoting the bible that gay people are going to burn in hell.

I may not believe in religion, but I find it to be the highest mark of hypocrisy when religious people feel the need to preach God and love by day, and hell, damnation, and hatred by night.   Those who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

e.e. cummings had it right.

Those who say that God loves everyone have it right.

Those who change the rules, make up their own interpretations, and support laws that condone discrimination against people who do not fit into their little narrow minded description of what it means to be a human being, are not, in my opinion, God's faithful servants.

Isn't life a hard enough battle for everyone without all this foaming at the mouth and judging of one another?  Diversity not only gives us more colors in which to see our world, but also challenges us and broadens our very worlds.

We should all take heed of e.e. cummings' very insightful quote ... and celebrate the fact that humanity is not made up of one color, but of multiple ones.  And not just multiple ones, but many different shades of each color.

I don't know about you, but I'd truly be a brain dead zombie long before now if everyone I knew or ever met was an exact cardboard cut out of everyone else.  I love the fact that in my life, I have family and friends of different races, ethnicity, religions, sexual orientations, disabilities, political views, etc etc.  We may not always agree one another, but you can be damn sure that we all care about one another and encourage one another to be who we are without apology or regret.

Kudos to Ms. Chely Wright for having the courage to be herself.  She fought hard for that battle.  It's a battle many of us fight every single day and being who we are and true to that is reason enough to celebrate.

Fly Away

(Artist credit:  Jim Warren)

Those of us who are fans of the late John Denver, continue to be inspired by his call to environmental action and awareness.  The soul of his songs is a message to all souls:  to take care of your Earth and all that inhabit it.

One song that comes to mind for me right now in the midst of not just the Gulf oil spill disaster, but all the various other events taking place around the globe such as clubbing harp seals in Canada, the killing of whales and dolphins without conscience or remorse from Japan, the dumping of garbage into our local parks, beaches, rivers, and anywhere anyone is too lazy to wait for a trash can to dump it into.  That song is Fly Away.

John Denver speaks of how losing ourselves in the high rises can make you hungry for things you can't see, or life in the city makes one miss the sounds, sights, and smells of the sea.

Without nature feeding our souls, we are a lonely people.  Life teems from every pore in every facet related to all the nature around us, everywhere.  People seem to either forget that or take it for granted.

Imagine if you had no access to hiking trails to see a meadow blooming with spring flowers.  Or a walk on a sandy seashore to hear sea gulls all around you or whales and dolphins off in the distance.  Or not being able to dive among the bright and varied colors of the coral reefs that are currently endangered.  Or never seeing a beautiful butterfly flitting around your head in joy.  Or ceasing to ever witness a laughing child romping in the waves or ever picking up an insect to bring you home a "gift."

These are just a few small examples of the great world of nature.  And without it, we would truly be a very sad and depressed world.  Nature gives us life.  It feeds our spirits.  It gives us food.  It allows our eyes to rest on such amazing beauty that unless your soul is truly deadened, it makes your heart soar and sometimes brings happy tears to your eyes.  It inspires you to dance, fall in love, sing a song, write a story, or simply to just be.

Springtime is a season of hope and of renewal.  We are always looking for the spring, the sounds of laughter from children and the signs of love from people.

Will we ever see a day when the majority of humanity on our planet Earth cease to take her and her gifts for granted?  Or will the time come when it's too late to save her, and therefore too late to save ourselves?

Take some time to stop and smell a flower.  Walk barefoot in the grass or on a sandy beach.  Romp with your children and/or dogs in a park and watch the simple yet profound joy they don't take for granted.  Hike a mountain trail to a favorite spot and take a few moments of silence and drink in all that is surrounding you.  Dive into the ocean and say hello to all the colorful, rich, and vibrant life that shares this world with you.  Wave to a whale, dolphin, seal, shark, manatee, etc that you see in the great blue.

We are all part of this global ecosystem.  We should be giving thanks for it instead of continuing to destroy it in the name of temporary greed and profit.  After all, once our beautiful and precious Earth is exhausted with all of her gifts, all the greed and money in the world will not matter one iota.

The only place to Fly Away is here.  This is your home.  Please treat it as such and inspire others to love and respect it too.  Trust me she will return that a million times over.

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

 :-)
      

Time To Scream

(Pic from Google Images)

Maybe I'm an idiot and overlooking the obvious, but does drilling a parallel oil well to stop the first one from leaking the best answer?  How about chemicals that they claim will stop the oil from rising to the surface? (Article here: Oil Options Weighed)

Drilling another well ... using chemicals ... these are the answers to the Gulf oil clean up?  I don't get it.  What part of an environmental disaster do these people not get?  How is using further "solutions" that are likely to cause more environmental or marine species damage the answer?

How about peat moss?  Inhabitat has an article about a Norwegian company that claims organic peat moss absorbs the oil while not absorbing the water and all you have to do is scoop out the oil absorbed peat moss.  Presto, the oil gets out without any chemicals.   But I guess because it has not gone through large scale trials, it's just not good enough.  I don't buy it.  Screw the trials.  Peat moss is a natural way to deal with an unnatural mess.  Again, maybe I'm missing something but that's how it appears to me.  It's a complicated mess with a very plausibly simple and green solution.

Sure it might be messier than using chemicals, and I know that I'm no expert, but it sure seems to me that this latter suggestion is a helluva lot more viable and eco-friendly than drilling another godforsaken well or using chemicals that might further adversely effect the ecosystem and the marine life.

Someone help me out here.

According to that article in the NY Times, it'll be months before the spill is cleaned up.  And there is a very real possibility the oil slick could enter the gulf stream, grabbing a ride around Florida and on up the Atlantic coastline.

Time to get pissy now.  It seems Halliburton has it's dirty hands all over this BP operation

Excerpt:

drilling experts agree that blame probably lies with flaws in the "cementing" process -- that is, plugging holes in the pipeline seal by pumping cement into it from the rig. Halliburton was in charge of cementing for Deepwater Horizon.

Halliburton = Dick Cheney.

Ah yes, the lovely, engaging, and charismatic DICK Cheney.  That man sure gets around when it comes to human and environmental disasters.

So who is responsible for this mess?  Well it started with British Petrol & Halliburton.  Their response to this disaster has been slow.  The Federal Govt. has been slow.  (Too busy talking about what to do versus hauling ass down there and doing something about it.) And US.

Yes, all of us have a hand in this given our dependence on oil.  Seems to me we each need to stop being so damn narcissistic and start being more prudent and realistic.  Sacrifices need to be made.   There IS technology out there that steers us AWAY from oil dependency.  So why isn't it out there?  Take a wild guess.  How do we get steered in the direction away from oil?  By demanding it instead of just giving the whole situation lip service, debating it until the cows come home, and then getting bored and moving on without actually making any real changes.  Politicians and oil companies aren't going to change their ways unless WE change our ways and DEMAND such change.  Until then, we're doomed to repeat history over and over again.


Be sure to check out this excellent blog post:   The Time to Scream is Now

I'm screaming.  Are you?