Video: 5-Foot Penguin Fossil Discovered - National Geographic

image credit University of Texas at Austin video
(National Geographic)

Scientists in Peru have discovered a five-foot-tall, 36-million-year-old penguin fossil.

Can I say again that it was five feet tall? That's just about as awesome as the giant sloth.

Upon recovering a bit of a feather, they were able to determine that these were not your typical black-and-white tuxedo penguins, but they were rusty-red and gray. And five feet tall. Did I mention that? Additional discoveries from this fossil suggest that the evolution that took place to create our modern-day penguins actually took place early-on. Except for the part about being five feet tall.

Video here (National Geographic)

Dead Penguins Wash Up on Brazil's Beaches - The Guardian

photo credit The Guardian via Reuters

Scientists are trying to figure out what's killed over 500 penguins that washed up on Brazilian coasts recently. The penguins are of mixed species, but most are Magellan penguins which migrate north from Argentina, Chile and the Falkland Islands this time of year to find food.

"Many are not finding it: autopsies done on several birds have revealed their stomachs were entirely empty – indicating they likely starved to death."

Overfishing and shifting currents due to climate change and are suspect.

Typically a few penguins a year get disoriented and lost on their migrations and end up on the shores of Brazil.

Says Thiago do Nascimento, a biologist at the Peruibe aquarum: "What worries us this year is the absurdly high number of penguins that have appeared dead in a short period of time."

Full article here (The Guardian)

Video Party!

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! :)

Gulf Oil Cleanup Crews Trample Nesting Birds - Discovery News

photo credit Discovery News via National Geographic and Chris Combs

"According to conservationists, some well-meaning cleanup crews who unknowingly walk into nesting habitat may be doing more harm than the oil itself, experts say."

It's always a little heartbreaking when people who mean well do more damage than good. But that is exactly what's happening in snowy plover and least tern habitat in Pensacola, Florida. 44,300 people are working on de-oiling the shores from the Deepwater Horizon spill, and with so many people about, adults are being frightened away from their nests and chicks are getting inadvertently trampled. Eggs that are abandoned will literally cook in the sun, and some birds aren't coming back at all.

Heavy machines scooping up large quantities of sand might further the problem. This method removes sand-dwelling animals such as tiny crabs and amphipods - species that the birds depend on for food.

So, in short, already endangered birds may be left with no chicks and no food...and that can't possibly be good.

Said Riley Hoggard, a resource-management specialist for Gulf Islands National Seashore:

"Our bigger responsibility is to the [wildlife], whether it's to a turtle nest or nesting shorebirds. If we have to get cleanup teams off the beach, we'll do that—and deal with the oil cleanup later."

Full article here (Discovery News)

Gulf Farmers Asked to Flood Fields for Migrating Birds - LA Times

This is a pretty cool idea. A federal conservation agency is offering to pay landowners in the Gulf states to flood their fields, in hopes that birds will choose to nest in these areas instead of those that are currently contaminated with oil.

"Landowners would be expected to flood fields and promote the growth of vegetation favored by migratory birds, or to enhance existing wetlands on their properties, for three to five years, said NRCS spokeswoman Chris Coulon. Rice fields and fish farms are particularly suited to the initiative."

Three to five years is a good start. At first I thought this was only for the current season, but obviously the effects of the oil spill will be felt for years to come. I imagine it will take longer to fully clean the area, but hopefully this initiative will be met with success and the program can grow.

"None of this is guaranteed to work," Butcher said. "We're expecting that this will work at least a little bit. We're hoping that it'll help a lot."

Full article here (LA Times)

Girl Uses Art to Raise Funds for Birds in Gulf Oil Spill - CNN

image credit Olivia Bouler

And now for something completely adorable. Seriously, I got all teary!!

Olivia Bouler, an 11-year-old girl from New York, is offering original paintings to the first 500 donors that help her raise $25,000 to help birds victimized by the Gulf oil spill. She has completed about 250 paintings and plans to finish the rest over summer holiday. So far, Olivia has raised over $110,000!

""Many people are outraged and don't know where to vent that because they can't drive to the beach and help. So what Olivia has done has set a beautiful example by using her skills and creating an initiative that is fruitful for everyone," said Delta Willis, the senior communications manager for The National Audubon Society."

To donate to Olivia's fund, click here!

Full article here (CNN)

Sea Creatures Flee Oil Spill, Gather Near Shore - AP

This is becoming more and more of a disaster. Marine scientists have found that the spill in the Gulf of Mexico is triggering some unnatural behavior in ocean life.


photo credit AP via Derick E. Hingle

Fish, dolphins, sharks and birds are all packing in close to the shores, supposedly to escape the pollution in their more natural habitats. This is bad for several reasons.

First, and most obviously, the oil is tainting their normal homes deeper into the Gulf. The fact that so many animals are hanging out close to shore means that something is amiss further out - and they're trying to get away from it.

""A parallel would be: Why are the wildlife running to the edge of a forest on fire? There will be a lot of fish, sharks, turtles trying to get out of this water they detect is not suitable," said Larry Crowder, a Duke University marine biologist."

Second, and maybe not so obviously, more animals in less water equals less available dissolved oxygen. Fish, sharks and many other marine creatures need the oxygen dissolved in water to breathe. The more fish in a given area, the less oxygen there is to share amongst them. Think of it as being sealed in an air-tight room with thousands of other people. There's only so much air to go around.

Third, the animals that are being seen now are trapped between the oil slick and the shore. They can't get out in either direction. Eventually, if something is not done, all of these marine creatures that are trying to race to safety will be covered in oncoming oil.

"Their ability to avoid it may be limited in the long term, especially if in near-shore refuges they're crowding in close to shore, and oil continues to come in. At some point they'll get trapped," Crowder said. "It could lead to die-offs."

Full article here (AP)

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)

Caught in the Oil - The Big Picture (Boston.com)

Truly heartbreaking.

Seabirds caught in the oil slick on Louisiana's East Grand Terre Island.


photo credit The Big Picture via Charlie Riedel

No words.

Full article here (The Big Picture)