I've been hanging out at National Geographic for a few days and I've found some really cool videos I'd like to share:
Gulf Turtle Eggs Relocated
Relocated Gulf Pelicans "Enjoying" Texas
Octopus vs. Sea Lion—First Ever Video
Tiny New Sea Species Discovered—First Ever Video
Yayyy fun update! :)
Showing posts with label sea turtles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sea turtles. Show all posts
Wednesday, 28 July 2010
Friday, 9 July 2010
Gulf Oil Spill - How we can Help - NEAQ
For my 100th post, I'm going to write about something I've been meaning to for a while now...it's only fair.
New England Aquarium (NEAQ) in Boston, Massachusetts. One of my all-time favourite places to check out what's going on in the sea. As a child, my family used to vacation to Boston every summer, and I remember DESPERATELY waiting for the day we'd visit the aquarium. I remember the central Giant Ocean Tank, and always trying to find my favourite fish - the "big nose fish" aka hogfish. I remember FREAKING out at the dolphin show (which the no longer have, thankfully...but what does a kid know?) and waving my stuffed sea lion, Guthry, in the air super-high so I would get picked to have the sea lion in the show give me a kiss. They never picked me, though. Regardless, I truly believe that NEAQ furthered my passion for following marine science. I even got to volunteer there after I graduated college, but that's another story. Anyway, now that I've given NEAQ a proper nod - the real story:
NEAQ is one of the relatively few (as far as I know) aquariums to be involved in lots of other areas outside their main look-at-fish scheme. One of those areas is responding to the Gulf oil spill. NEAQ rescue teams have brought in over 40 oiled sea turtles from contaminated waters for recuperation in rehabilitation facilities based in New Orleans. The turtles were collected by boat and brought back to local facilities at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas to be cleaned and treated. To see all of the amazing hard work they've done (and photos of happy sea turtles, of course), check out their Marine Animal Rescue Team Blog (This is the first post of the series, for consecutive posts follow the "Oil Spill Posts" menu on the right)!
photo credit NOAA, Georgia DNR, NEAQ
But if that wasn't cool enough, NEAQ is building their own rescue and rehabilitation facility in Quincy, Massachusetts where turtles can come to be properly cared for after environmental disasters such as this spill. If you're feeling particularly generous, why not send a few dollars (pounds, euros, etc.) their way to help raise the $500,000 they need? Think of the happy turtles.
photo credit NEAQ
More information here (NEAQ)
New England Aquarium (NEAQ) in Boston, Massachusetts. One of my all-time favourite places to check out what's going on in the sea. As a child, my family used to vacation to Boston every summer, and I remember DESPERATELY waiting for the day we'd visit the aquarium. I remember the central Giant Ocean Tank, and always trying to find my favourite fish - the "big nose fish" aka hogfish. I remember FREAKING out at the dolphin show (which the no longer have, thankfully...but what does a kid know?) and waving my stuffed sea lion, Guthry, in the air super-high so I would get picked to have the sea lion in the show give me a kiss. They never picked me, though. Regardless, I truly believe that NEAQ furthered my passion for following marine science. I even got to volunteer there after I graduated college, but that's another story. Anyway, now that I've given NEAQ a proper nod - the real story:
NEAQ is one of the relatively few (as far as I know) aquariums to be involved in lots of other areas outside their main look-at-fish scheme. One of those areas is responding to the Gulf oil spill. NEAQ rescue teams have brought in over 40 oiled sea turtles from contaminated waters for recuperation in rehabilitation facilities based in New Orleans. The turtles were collected by boat and brought back to local facilities at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas to be cleaned and treated. To see all of the amazing hard work they've done (and photos of happy sea turtles, of course), check out their Marine Animal Rescue Team Blog (This is the first post of the series, for consecutive posts follow the "Oil Spill Posts" menu on the right)!
photo credit NOAA, Georgia DNR, NEAQ
But if that wasn't cool enough, NEAQ is building their own rescue and rehabilitation facility in Quincy, Massachusetts where turtles can come to be properly cared for after environmental disasters such as this spill. If you're feeling particularly generous, why not send a few dollars (pounds, euros, etc.) their way to help raise the $500,000 they need? Think of the happy turtles.
photo credit NEAQ
More information here (NEAQ)
Tuesday, 6 July 2010
The Latest on the Oil Spill - NY Times
Oi. It's hard to play catch-up after a holiday, but in the interest of my mental health I choose to take full advantage of my time off and not worry about a thing, so forgive me if I've missed a few details in the posts that follow. Anyway, here we go.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts that the likelihood for oil to reach the Eastern coast of the United States is still small, using models based on historical wind and ocean current information. The Florida Keys, however, may not be so lucky. NOAA predicts a 61 - 80% chance that oil will reach the shores of the Keys, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Meanwhile in Texas, tar balls are being found on beaches on the Bolivar Peninsula and at Galveston Island.
Hurricane Alex has been hindering cleanup efforts, but several skimmers have been able to return to the area since Friday, although success results have been deemed inconclusive due to remaining foul weather.
BP is currently working with wildlife protection groups addressing a lawsuit alleging that sea turtles were being burned alive in controlled burn areas due to their inability to escape the slicks. A US Navy "airship" (read: blimp) is being sent out to the site to help monitor wildlife in the contaminated area and to track slick movement from air. This is actually pretty cool, despite how lame blimps are, because it can stay in the air for 12 hours - much longer than planes and helicopters.
BP's total cost spent on the response has officially surpasses $3 billion...and everyone's talking about how that's a big deal, but honestly I still think that's nothing compared to what it's going to cost the families and states affected - not to mention the toll on wildlife losses. This figure doesn't include the $20 billion fund set up for personal loss claims by citizens in the areas, however. But I don't know, I still thought it would have been more than that by now. BP has also begun to relax their control over what the media sees and does not see. Perhaps we'll be seeing more from the Southern shores? ...Or perhaps they're confident in their cover-up efforts.
Full articles here (NY Times)
NY Times is doing a day-by-day report; this is the most recent (day 76).
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) predicts that the likelihood for oil to reach the Eastern coast of the United States is still small, using models based on historical wind and ocean current information. The Florida Keys, however, may not be so lucky. NOAA predicts a 61 - 80% chance that oil will reach the shores of the Keys, Miami and Ft. Lauderdale. Meanwhile in Texas, tar balls are being found on beaches on the Bolivar Peninsula and at Galveston Island.
Hurricane Alex has been hindering cleanup efforts, but several skimmers have been able to return to the area since Friday, although success results have been deemed inconclusive due to remaining foul weather.
BP is currently working with wildlife protection groups addressing a lawsuit alleging that sea turtles were being burned alive in controlled burn areas due to their inability to escape the slicks. A US Navy "airship" (read: blimp) is being sent out to the site to help monitor wildlife in the contaminated area and to track slick movement from air. This is actually pretty cool, despite how lame blimps are, because it can stay in the air for 12 hours - much longer than planes and helicopters.
BP's total cost spent on the response has officially surpasses $3 billion...and everyone's talking about how that's a big deal, but honestly I still think that's nothing compared to what it's going to cost the families and states affected - not to mention the toll on wildlife losses. This figure doesn't include the $20 billion fund set up for personal loss claims by citizens in the areas, however. But I don't know, I still thought it would have been more than that by now. BP has also begun to relax their control over what the media sees and does not see. Perhaps we'll be seeing more from the Southern shores? ...Or perhaps they're confident in their cover-up efforts.
Full articles here (NY Times)
NY Times is doing a day-by-day report; this is the most recent (day 76).
Sunday, 20 June 2010
Venice, Louisiana, Boat Captain/ by Catherine Craig - YouTube
A boat captain hired by BP to help rescue sea turtles caught in the oil speaks about his experience. Capt. Mike Ellis was surprised how easy it was to catch the normally elusive turtles now that they are covered in oil. He describes a situation where BP drove his boat away from the rescue site and proceeded to set the entire scene on fire. Turtles included.
The turtle rescue program has now been shut down due to BP's interference.
Video here (YouTube)
The turtle rescue program has now been shut down due to BP's interference.
Video here (YouTube)
Wednesday, 16 June 2010
Oil Spill Update
I'll get to Obama, not in this post.
It's getting hard to keep up with all the incoming news from different sources, different angles, people with different motivations...It's getting confusing. People are using the spill to push their own agendas and precious data is getting lost in the process. Let's try to figure some of it out.
So, estimates on oil volume spilled/spilling have increased...again. Does anyone see a pattern here? The "new" spill rates are between 40,000 - 50,000 barrels per day, which is what scientists have been suggesting for weeks (hence “new”). Some estimates are even higher. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, widely considered to be a top authority on marine research and education, estimates the flow at 1 - 2.1 million gallons per day.
"But even using other numbers that federal officials and scientists call a more reasonable range would have about 63 million gallons spilling since the rig explosion...By comparison, the Exxon Valdez, the previous worst U.S. oil spill, was just about 11 million gallons. The new figures mean Deepwater Horizon is producing an Exxon Valdez size spill every five to 13 days."
Just in case the cleanup effort didn't have enough setbacks already, the Discoverer Enterprise - the ship currently assigned to capture oil leaking from the well - was struck by lightning yesterday. The ship caught fire and containment efforts were halted, allowing the flow into the Gulf to increase. Discoverer Enterprise has since been able to resume its containment efforts. Worth mentioning, satirical Twitterer BPGlobalPR tweeted: "Lightning struck one of our ships! Come on Planet Earth, what did we ever do to you?!? #bpcares"
Well, I can think of a few things. 1,075 oiled birds have been found, 633 of which were dead. Scientists estimate only 10% of oiled birds are ever found.
""Others sink or they're scavenged," said Rebecca Dunne, of Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research."
As difficult as it is to count frightened oiled birds trying desperately to escape, counting other animals such as turtles and dolphins is nearly impossible. These animals live much farther away from responders and will rarely wash up on shore. Because of this, we will never truly know the full impact of the spill. Other unseen victims are the sedentary life forms at the bottom of the gulf, such as corals and oysters, which cannot move out of the contaminated area and will most likely be smothered by sinking oil or poisoned by dispersants. A website has been set up here keeping tally of the avian, reptilian and mammalian victims of the spill. You can follow these numbers on Twitter at bpdeadbirds.
photo credit France24
What I'm kind of loving is that BP isn't getting any support from fellow oil whores. Sure, it's easy enough to push the bad publicity towards someone else when it makes you look better (I'm looking at you, ExxonMobil), but the fact is that the traditionally strong bonds of support amongst oil companies is beginning to weaken...and that's a good thing. Maybe they're all realizing it could have just as easily been one of them and they're freaking out a little...?
To put it into an insanely immature spoiled brat's perspective:
"“In one sense we feel like kids who have had their recess taken away because of what somebody else did,” Larry Dickerson, CEO of Diamond Offshore Drilling, told CNBC. “This blanket punishment doesn't seem right.”"
Wahh. Cry me a fucking river.
Full articles here:
New Oil Numbers may mean More Environmental Damage (Las Vegas Sun)
Gulf Oil Spill: Lightning-Ignited Fire Halts Oil Collection System (LA Times)
Most Oil-Struck Birds, Marine Life Die Uncounted (France24)
BP Faces Backlash from Big Oil Rivals (MSNBC)
It's getting hard to keep up with all the incoming news from different sources, different angles, people with different motivations...It's getting confusing. People are using the spill to push their own agendas and precious data is getting lost in the process. Let's try to figure some of it out.
So, estimates on oil volume spilled/spilling have increased...again. Does anyone see a pattern here? The "new" spill rates are between 40,000 - 50,000 barrels per day, which is what scientists have been suggesting for weeks (hence “new”). Some estimates are even higher. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, widely considered to be a top authority on marine research and education, estimates the flow at 1 - 2.1 million gallons per day.
"But even using other numbers that federal officials and scientists call a more reasonable range would have about 63 million gallons spilling since the rig explosion...By comparison, the Exxon Valdez, the previous worst U.S. oil spill, was just about 11 million gallons. The new figures mean Deepwater Horizon is producing an Exxon Valdez size spill every five to 13 days."
Just in case the cleanup effort didn't have enough setbacks already, the Discoverer Enterprise - the ship currently assigned to capture oil leaking from the well - was struck by lightning yesterday. The ship caught fire and containment efforts were halted, allowing the flow into the Gulf to increase. Discoverer Enterprise has since been able to resume its containment efforts. Worth mentioning, satirical Twitterer BPGlobalPR tweeted: "Lightning struck one of our ships! Come on Planet Earth, what did we ever do to you?!? #bpcares"
Well, I can think of a few things. 1,075 oiled birds have been found, 633 of which were dead. Scientists estimate only 10% of oiled birds are ever found.
""Others sink or they're scavenged," said Rebecca Dunne, of Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research."
As difficult as it is to count frightened oiled birds trying desperately to escape, counting other animals such as turtles and dolphins is nearly impossible. These animals live much farther away from responders and will rarely wash up on shore. Because of this, we will never truly know the full impact of the spill. Other unseen victims are the sedentary life forms at the bottom of the gulf, such as corals and oysters, which cannot move out of the contaminated area and will most likely be smothered by sinking oil or poisoned by dispersants. A website has been set up here keeping tally of the avian, reptilian and mammalian victims of the spill. You can follow these numbers on Twitter at bpdeadbirds.
photo credit France24
What I'm kind of loving is that BP isn't getting any support from fellow oil whores. Sure, it's easy enough to push the bad publicity towards someone else when it makes you look better (I'm looking at you, ExxonMobil), but the fact is that the traditionally strong bonds of support amongst oil companies is beginning to weaken...and that's a good thing. Maybe they're all realizing it could have just as easily been one of them and they're freaking out a little...?
To put it into an insanely immature spoiled brat's perspective:
"“In one sense we feel like kids who have had their recess taken away because of what somebody else did,” Larry Dickerson, CEO of Diamond Offshore Drilling, told CNBC. “This blanket punishment doesn't seem right.”"
Wahh. Cry me a fucking river.
Full articles here:
New Oil Numbers may mean More Environmental Damage (Las Vegas Sun)
Gulf Oil Spill: Lightning-Ignited Fire Halts Oil Collection System (LA Times)
Most Oil-Struck Birds, Marine Life Die Uncounted (France24)
BP Faces Backlash from Big Oil Rivals (MSNBC)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)