“1st oil rig since BP disaster gets go ahead”


The first new offshore oil rig since the BP oil spill was given the go ahead this week with promises of safety. but endangered sea turtles are still at risk.
That’s why I spoke up  for sea turtle rescue at an oil and gas hearing in Houston that was packed with oil industry and government officials. They seemed to listen. Now they need to hear from all of  you, too,  before the March 31 deadline. Click here to take action, and read more below.


Sea turtles need rescue from oil and gas operations!

At the Texas hearing, an oil company consultant said that he loved the sea turtles as much as I do. If that’s true, then the oil companies have a lot of work to do. The loss of endangered sea turtles that we saw during the BP oil spill must never occur again. With the Kemp’s ridley nesting season just around the corner, now is the time to make things right.

Take Action by March 31, 2011

Right now we have a chance to secure new oil and gas regulations by writing to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement. This is the agency that approves new offshore drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and is conducting an environmental review of the 2012 – 2017 oil and gas leasing program and accepting comments by March 31, 2011.

At the very least, oil spill response must include immediate on-water rescue of sea turtles, independent wildlife observers and rescue teams on cleanup vessels. Controlled burns and chemical dispersants must be banned in sea turtle habitat. Sea turtle swimways free of oil and gas rigs must be established. Help us get the message across by taking these steps now:

1. Click here to send a message calling for sea turtle protections in oil and gas leases.
2. Support STRP’s ongoing campaign to protect sea turtles from oil and gas with a gift of any amount you can.

Learn more: Read about our latest actions to protect sea turtles from oil and gas operations.

Sincerely yours,

Carole Allen
Gulf Office Director

At left: Carole Allen testifies on behalf of sea turtles at an oil and gas hearing held in Houston, Texas. (Houston Chronicle photo)


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“23 Kemp’s Ridley released into the Gulf of Mexico”


What a beautiful sight! Twenty three Kemp’s Ridley are all cleaned up and ready to swim home.  A team from NOAA, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, the Riverhead Foundation and the In-Water Research Group rescued these turtles covered with oil weeks ago. No one was certain if these endangered Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles would make it.

The Audubon Nature Institute of New Orleans, state and federal biologists began releasing the turtles back into the Gulf of Mexico near Cedar Key, Florida. Cedar Key provides excellent habitat for Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles and has long been known as an important habitat area for this species,” said Barbara Schroeder, NOAA’s national sea turtle coordinator. “Thanks to the efforts of our rescue teams and rehabilitation facility partners all of the turtles we released on August 18, 2010 have an excellent chance of surviving in the wild and contributing to the recovery of this species.

The turtles received excellent treatment and care, including cleaning and de-oiling, at Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans, La., and at Gulf World in Panama City, Fla. The turtles were then cared for by Sea World of Florida, Mote Marine Laboratory, and the Florida Aquarium.

So far about 500 live turtles have been rescued during the Gulf oil spill, and more than 450 had visible evidence of external oil. Now 350 turtles are still in rehabilitation facilities and will be released as they are given clean bills of health.

“Thanks everyone for all your love, perseverance, dedication and hard work.” -Mother Nature

Resources

Excerpts courtesy of  http://bit.ly/aqnvDY

Image courtesy of  http://bit.ly/djIk9A

“Selflessly rescuers toil to save oiled critters”


It is a lonely, dangerous and potentially health threatening job.

Rescuers are working tirelessly to save the wildlife impacted by the BP oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. They are faced with the overwhelming task of finding and saving thousands of oiled birds and hundreds of injured sea turtles and marine mammals.

We’d like to let them know that we appreciate the incredible work that they are doing. Please join us in sending a thank you letter to the wildlife rescuers on the Gulf Coast.

Take a moment to

Thank the rescuers for saving wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hundreds of government and non-profit staff are working in the toxic environment and the hot oppressive weather to find and rescue injured wildlife.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service alone, has over 500 personnel actively engaged in the response, working to protect wildlife and their habitats, including 36 national wildlife refuges. They have saved 1,643 oiled birds. They have rescued and relocated over 2,000 sea turtle hatchlings. They are also assessing the damage from the oil spill in preparation for the work that will be needed to restore the Gulf of Mexico.

Of course, more staff and resources are needed to help with the wildlife rescue efforts. But, we shouldn’t ignore the great work that is currently going on.

Let them know that you support their work to save wildlife and that you appreciate their dedication. We will compile the thank you letters and send them to the wildlife rescuers.

To send a thank you letter to the wildlife rescuers, click here.

Thank you for your help to save endangered species and their habitat.
The Endangered Species Coalition is a national network of hundreds of conservation, scientific, sporting, religious, humane, business and community groups across the country working to protect our nation’s wildlife and wild places.

www.StopExtinction.org

“Thank you to all of you for all your dedicated hard work. Our admiration and hearts go out to all of you for your tireless efforts.”

Mother Nature and  Nature’s Crew

“Saving endangered wildlife in the Gulf from future destruction”


The once beautiful rare sea turtle is covered in the Gulf of Mexico’s oil. this one is one of the lucky ones that survived to find the caring hands of a wildlife team. It was forced to fight its way through miles and miles of toxic oil. The nesting season for threatened and endangered sea turtles has just begun.  The oil has made its way to the loop current that can take it has far as the east coast where the southern migration of the sea turtles from New England to the Caribbean is underway.

These turtles are precious, and Defenders of Wildlife and its consorioum going to go to court to court to save them.

Please donate now to support our efforts in the courts, on Capitol Hill and on the ground to save sea turtles and other imperiled wildlife.

For years, the federal government has been issuing “categorical exclusions” to help fast-track oil and gas exploration and drilling in the Gulf of Mexico – effectively priming the pump for the massive oil slick now jeopardizing the survival of threatened and endangered sea turtles and other wildlife.

Just last week, Defenders of Wildlife and their associate groups called on the Senate to pass legislation to address climate change and the sea level rise that threatens to devastate sea turtle nesting ground without providing incentives for more dangerous offshore drilling.

On Monday May 17, Defenders filed suit in federal court to stop the federal government’s continued use of these “categorical exclusions” and demand an end to the cavalier disregard for the disastrous impact that offshore drilling and exploration can have on sea turtles and other imperiled species.

Your support for the court fight ahead is needed by Tuesday May 25th.

Thank you for your caring and generous contribution.

Kemp’s ridley and loggerhead sea turtles in the Gulf of Mexico are just now beginning to nest on the beaches where they lay their eggs each year. These and other endangered sea turtles are found throughout the coastal and offshore waters of the Gulf.

Resources
Excerpts courtesy of secure.defenders.org
Image courtesy of twitpic.com/1p7jqz

“Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles caught in double whammy”


Before the oil gusher exploded in the Gulf of Mexico.  extreme fishing pressure by shrimp fleet caused the death of  38+  sea turtles on Gulf of Mexico beaches. Turtles do not win when they get caught in trawlers fishing nets even nets with Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs).

Why are the turtles dying? – Two reasons

1. TEDS

Kemps Ridley hatchlings

  • .  If they  are present but not correctly installed.
  • 2a. Even when TEDs function properly, repeated trips through them can result in serious injury leading to death.

2. The giant ongoing oil gusher
The tireless work by Sea Turtle Restoration Project (STRP) and allies in the Gulf of Mexico over the last two decades has helped the endangered Kemp’s ridley populations recover from mere hundreds to many thousands of nesting females, but they are now in danger from a massive oil slick. Kemp’s ridleys feed on blue crabs off the coast of Louisiana which are now covered by the oil slick. Filter feeding mollusks that endangered Kemp’s ridleys feed on may trap and concentrate oil in the seawater, threatening all sea turtles with toxic oil in their diets.

Cleanup and Restoration Kemp’s Ridley Critical Habitat

Help us establish protective critical habitat for these endangered sea turtles  to ensure their migration, foraging, and nesting habitats get stronger protections.

Send a strong message to the Bi-National Kemp’s Ridley Recovery Team to establish critical habitat and enact strong protections from the deadly duo of offshore oil and shrimp trawling. Here’s how you can help,

1. Click here to send a letter to the National Marine Fisheries Service urging critical habitat protection from offshore oil and shrimp trawls for Kemp’s ridleys.

2. Endangered sea turtles need your support today. Click here to help.

The Sea Turtle Restoration Project and Nature’s Crusaders thanks you for helping save the  endangered Kemp’s ridleys sea turtles.

To make the greatest personal impact, submit a handwritten letter to:

NMFS Deputy Chief,
Endangered Species Division
Attn: Kemp’s Ridley Recovery Plan
Office of Protected Resources
National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Hwy, Rm 13535
Silver Spring, MD 20910

“Dam-age if you do Dam-age if you do not -oil spill clean up”


The potential effects of the crude oil itself on the health of the entire biome, man through the tiniest of sea creatures, from the spill is long term. The crude oil is toxic if inhaled, ingested or if one is coated with it. Everyone’s being touched by it could suffer respiratory, skin reactions and cancers of various types are some of the possibilities.  Toxicity from hydrocarbon (crude oil/petroleum) exposure depends on which organ system is predominately involved. Organ systems that can be affected by hydrocarbons include the pulmonary, brain and nervous system, cardiac, embryological, gastrointestinal, hepatic, kidney, dermatologic, and hematologic systems. The respiratory system seems to be most effected with pneumonia.
As the crude oil is dispersed by wind, weather and the sea, micro organisms ingest it and as larger animals up the food chain eat the smaller ones  thus spreading the residues from the oil into their body tissues. These are the dangers to living systems (without even considering the land, shoreline and soil communities.) is if no one uses dispersant.


The effects of
dispersants

In a 2005 National Academy of Sciences report, the dispersants and the oil they leave behind can kill fish eggs. A study of oil dispersal in Coos Bay, Ore. found that it accumulated in mussels. Another study examining fish health after the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989 found that PAHs (dispersant) affected the developing hearts of Pacific salmon. The acute toxicity of dispersants is generally attributed to the effects on biological membranes; usually the  dispersant disrupts  the outer membrane of respiratory cells, often causing electrolytic and/or osmotic imbalance within the cell.

There is insufficient understanding of the fate of dispersed oil in aquatic ecosystems.
A version of Corexit a dispersant was widely used after the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill and, according to a literature review performed by the group

the Alaska Community Action on Toxics,

Corexit a dispersant was later linked with

health impacts in people including respiratory, nervous system, liver, kidney and blood disorders.

surface-active compounds in the dispersant likely affect the embryonic membrane. This is evidenced by the fact that developed, abnormal larvae were virtually nonexistent at the end of experiments, observers either found fully developed, normal larvae or embryos that had been arrested at the multicell stage, often appearing as only loose aggregations of cells. These observations are consistent with known effects of surfactants on biological membranes.  The dispersant increases permeability, loss of barrier function, and osmotic imbalance  Some other abnormalities have been seen in developing embryos in marine echinoderms and other gastropods. Some mysid mortality may seem to be asphyxiated through damage to respiratory structures
The dispersants used today are less toxic than those used a decade ago.  Toxic still. Maybe they accumulate slowly, or disrupt the hormonal systems of animals and humans less-no one has bothered to research these toxins in long term studies to find out. Possible Russian roulette with the Gulf’s version of Texas Tea.
For a little bit of levity  on the oil rupture check out  Stephen Colbert.
Resources
Excerpts
courtesy of  http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/821143-overview
Excerpts courtesy of  http://www.madsci.org
Excerpts courtesy of   www.pwrc.usgs.gov/infobase/topbibs/petroleum.pdf

Image courtesy of    http://bit.ly/ad2lhb

Image courtesy of   US Air Force


“Something is wrong with this picture- Gulf oil spill”


Toxins, dispersant, delays and red tape and let us see if we can create the magic bullet now…

If a doctor waited to learn how to repair a broken leg until a patient came in with a broken leg, he would be sued for incompetence and jailed.

Why is it that oil (or mining) companies can wait to build something that might help protect the ocean and its creatures  until after the disaster happens?

And no matter what they are now building or new technique they may be try to use congress must approve it!

The lack of efficiency of our US disaster relief system appalls me.


How many ways we can create more chaos in the Gulf-things being tried:

This is not a research project mate if you drill into Mother Earth and extract toxic gas and oil then you should now how to control and clean up your messes.

  • spreading the dispersant and at depths of 5,000 feet (1,524 meters) has never been tried
  • BP has already dispatched 3,000 gallons of the dispersant, which they are expecting to arrive in the Gulf of Mexico soon, but the proposal is still awaiting final governmental approval. Time to evaluate-haven’t you had decades?
  • Skimmers surround the oil floating on the ocean surface, but poor weather will halt their operation
  • Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) are  being deployed underwater to monitor the situation at the blowout preventer (BOP) and wellhead. The wellhead it seems has a history of leaks.
  • BP now wants to get better picture or imaging techniques and improved ROVs available for the cleanup effort.
  • A new  relief well and the three collection domes (still under construction), may be used to encapsulate the leaking oil and funnel it to a waiting ship on the surface.
  • The Materials Management Service has given permission to begin drilling the relief well. Drilling will likely be initiated within 48 hours.

Resources

Excerpts and Image courtesy of http://bit.ly/byxx85

“Louisiana’s oil spill came at the worst time”


Louisiana’s oil spill came at the worst time possible nesting season.

This is migration, spawning and nesting time for migratory song bird, endangered brown pelican and upwards of 25 million birds a day transit the region in their northern migration. More than 70 percent of the country’s waterfowl frequent the gulf’s waters, including the brown pelican, which is in its nesting season on Breton Island, in the spill’s projected path. That population of birds is still recovering from a previous oil spill that devastated the population.

How many will animals will we lose this time?

Federally protected marine mammals including the endangered whales, dolphins and all species of sea turtles are at the greatest risk. A pod of sperm whales has been sighted near the spill but has so far avoided the area. Endangered sea turtles are more vulnerable to nest they swim to shore to lay eggs on protected beaches.

No animal is safe from being coated with oil as they rise to the surface to breathe. Unable to breathe or by eat uncontaminated sea food they and their young are doomed. If feathers are covered in oil birds will starve, they will fly no more.

There seems to be way too many of these “accidents” of late.  Now BP Oil has waited far too long to begin clean up especially since 5,000 barrels of oil are pouring out into the Gulf daily.  Gulf is on fire 1800 degrees manmade fires with 1800 feet plume of toxic gases polluting even the air of the Gulf after a rupture in the well over one week ago.

Tonight (without divine intervention) it will invade the coastal wetlands.

Our government wants to open more of this drilling off the shores of our most pristine lands along the coast of Alaska and in our national parks like the Grand Canyon.

Tell your senators to forget it and develop clean sustainable energy instead or your children may not know much of the wildlife we have grown to love and admire.

Resources

Excerpts courtesy of   http://bit.ly/aAIi35

Excerpts courtesy of   http://bit.ly/aZeT7T

Video courtesy of   http://bit.ly/9N6azh

Video courtesy of  http://bit.ly/9iNrHB


“Poaching +aphrodisiacs + greed + ignorance = the ‘blood diamonds’ of species survival”


You may be seeing the last of these species

It seems even those we pay to protect our animals make more money poaching than caring for the future of animals in their country. Zimbabwe security forces poached 200 rhinos during these past two years. Ivory is worth more now than gold on the black market. They are not alone.

As terrible as this is, we are supporting this behavior every time we purchase something made from ivory, tiger aphrodisiacs or wear a fur pelt from some skinned animal, go hunting for sport or chop up our forests or lands to plant non sustainable crops, build nuclear plants or drill into the sea bed for oil.

Only we can create a new healthier world.

Why do we bother to try to save endangered animals on one hand

– we wipe them out with the other?

Is there president for continuing to work with animal populations that have very few members thus limiting their genetic pool? Especially when “the blood diamond effect” is so pervasive? Why is the gene pool diversity needed?

As current genetic knowledge has it, the more diverse the number of genes contributing to the reproductive pool the stronger the chance that healthy, genetically strong traits to be passed down to offspring insuring the survival of the species.

Many of our most well known animals like the South China tiger, the orangutan, the Sumatran elephant and rhino, the panda, the tortoise, many of the whales, the sea turtles, the cheetah, monarch butterfly, pacific salmon, the North American bears, the wolf, jaguar, sharks, tuna, hundreds of frog, toad and other amphibians… are a few of thousands of animals and plants destroyed along the way to the bank or for aphrodisiacs or to make homes by slashing and burning or long lining their lives to the brink of extinction.

As the blood diamond, the African diamond mined at the expense on the backs of the blacks in the mines of South Africa, so to is the ivory horns, tiger penis, animal pelts, turtle shells and eggs, shark fins, roe of fish, palm oil, illegal animal trade , over fishing, etc are the bloody diamonds rampant in modern society.

Should we try to save an endangered species?

Junaidi Payne chairman of the Borneo Rhinoceros Alliance (BORA) and longtime conservationist with WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), Malaysia answers this question this way, “There are estimated to be 11,000 orangutans [in Sabah alone] and probably 1,500 [Bornean pygmy] elephants, but there are no more than forty rhinos… New populations have stagnated and are going down slowly. It’s about need.

Bornean rhino probably has only 6-7 fertile females. MAYBE THEY CAN BE SAVED.

It is the maybe that keep us going against all odds as explorers of old trying to cross Antarctica and the success stories along the way like the miracles from medical field. Against all odds and commonly held genetic theory some will survive and flourish outside of captivity in their natural habitat. We can do it.

Intensive conservation measures pulled the white rhino back now about 17,480 white rhinos live in east and southern Africa and are the most populous rhino species in the world. Rewilding of the tigers in China is under way trying to help the South China tiger’s numbers. We cannot give up on our world.

Life in all forms is too precious.

Thanks to everyone who loves enough to give their time, energy and money to save our world. Everyone can help become a Crusader for Nature.” – Mother Nature

Resources

Excerpts courtesy of  http://news.mongabay.com/2009/1201-hance_tam.html

Excerpts courtesy of  http://bit.ly/bEKRms

Image courtesy of  http://www.ens-newswire.com/20090716_rhinopoaching.jpg

Image courtesy of  http://english.people.com.cn/200605/24/images/tiger1.jpg


“Why must we save these endangered animals and forests?”


Our future as a species may be tied to saving these animals and forests from extinction.

Besides the beauty and the uniqueness of these ancient animals and forests, scientists are finding that
1. Leatherback turtle blood clots quickly so sharks can not detect their scent after being injured. This  may help scientists unravel clues to stem bleeding in humans. After surgery or injury, bleeding can cause death if not quickly stopped.

2. Cheetah’s are the fastest land animal. Their muscle protein structure may help understand their speed and help in muscle rehabilitation after an accident.

Cheetahs may run free in India

3. The naked mole rat is being studied for his longevity and extended family structure.

4. Leatherback turtles, the biggest species of turtle, can dive deeper than other turtles, leading experts to wonder how they regulate buoyancy. That and the shape of their shells could give clues to submarine or ship design.
5. Honey bee sting is used to decrease pain in joints from arthritis.
6. Frogs and lizards feet and a spider’s webs are being studied for their stickiness and its strength.
7. Tropical forests soak up greenhouse gases and are the treasure house for plants used to heal and a new source of income for poor nations.

Conserving endangered animals, sea life, the oceans, wetlands, forests and the air we breathe may take on such economic value that we will do whatever it takes to save them and us.

Resources


Excerpts
courtesy of   http://www.reuters.com

Images 1 and 3. courtesy of Nature’s Crusaders library

Image 2. courtesy of   http://costaricanconservationnetwork.wordpress.com/leatherback.jpg

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