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)

Gulf Oil Spill: New Spill in Gulf Area after Barge Crashes into Abandoned Oil Well - LA Times

photo credit US Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Wayne Alleyene

If you're collecting oil spills this summer, you're in luck! Here's another to add to your collection!

Honestly, this is getting a little ridiculous. Has anyone else but me thought that perhaps this is just constantly occurring...Maybe we just have a heightened awareness now because of the BP spill? I wonder how many spills a year go unreported...

A barge crashed into an abandoned well head in Barataria Bay on Tuesday, spilling oil into the already suffering Gulf of Mexico. The pipeline is now spewing orange and brown oil 100ft into the air before it comes raining back down into the Gulf.

Great.

Full article here (LA Times)

Enbridge Spill yields Fresh Ammo for Oil Sands Critics - The Globe and Mail

photo credit John Grap & AP

Because we just still don't quite have enough of these. An Enbridge pipeline broke on Monday, spilling three million liters of oil into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan.

Although the broken pipeline has been shut down, the leaked oil is flowing towards the Great Lakes:

"Enbridge doubled the number of staff working to contain the spill before it reaches Lake Michigan, and cleanup crews expressed optimism on Wednesday that oil would not reach the lake, which provides drinking water to millions of Americans living near its shores."

The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers is "confident that the EPA’s view will not prevail" when it comes to the Obama administration's decision to favor either big energy or environmental issues. TransCanada has said "It’s not ideal and it has heightened the level of awareness the public has." So, pretty much the oil giants are pissed that the public knows what's going on now. Boo-hoo.

Full article here (The Globe and Mail)

'Life's Not Fair' - Wail of Outgoing BP Boss Hayward - ThisIsMoney

photo credit ThisIsMoney

What a whiner, goddamn. Was he an only child?

Well, we can add something new to the list of dumb Hayward quotes. Actually, a few things:

"life isn't fair"

"Sometimes you step off the pavement and get hit by a bus."

"I became the public face [of the disaster] and was demonised and vilified."

Wah. He also said he was too "busy" to attend the US Congressional hearings over BP's possible connection to the Lockerbie bomber...which is a whole separate story I'm not even going to try to get into.

Job well done, Tony.

Full article here (ThisIsMoney)

BP Petrol Station Protests - The Guardian

photo credit Felix Clay & Greenpeace

Did I say I didn't like it here? I changed my mind.

Oh, and did I say I didn't like Greenpeace? I changed my mind about that as well.

Tuesday in London, 30 BP petrol stations were shut down by Greenpeace activists protesting at the pumps. I wish I had known about this beforehand because I would have totally been there! Anyway, check out these sweet pics from the event.

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! :)

BP Buys up Gulf Scientists for Legal Defense, Roiling Academic Community - Alabama Local

Well that ain't good. It still bums me out that scientists go for this crap...I like to think we're better informed people, or more environmentally conscious people...but really we're just people.

"The Press-Register obtained a copy of a contract offered to scientists by BP. It prohibits the scientists from publishing their research, sharing it with other scientists or speaking about the data that they collect for at least the next three years."

This is actually a little scary. The scientists that BP hires cannot testify against them, no matter what their findings. By signing on they agree to silence their research and to take orders from BP's attorneys. The contract plainly states that BP is hiring scientists for the purpose of fighting the Natural Resource Damage Assessment being put forth by the US government in the wake of the spill. Unfortunately, as a result of the recession and major research funding cuts, many university scientists have jumped at the opportunity.

"More than one scientist interviewed by the Press-Register described being offered $250 an hour through BP lawyers. At eight hours a week, that amounts to $104,000 a year."

""It makes me feel like they were more interested in making sure we couldn't testify against them than in having us testify for them," said George Crozier, head of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, who was approached by BP."

The US government will draw heavily from the research being conducted at academic institutions along the Gulf, but if BP hires out most of the scientists we're gonna have a problem. Lawyers and university officials see issues with using publicly owned laboratories to conduct private and confidential research. Scientists who have already signed on with BP were told by federal officials that they could expect to lose their government funding for ongoing research projects.

"BP PLC attempted to hire the entire marine sciences department at one Alabama university, according to scientists involved in discussions with the company's lawyers. The university declined because of confidentiality restrictions that the company sought on any research.
"We told them there was no way we would agree to any kind of restrictions on the data we collect," said Bob Shipp, head of marine sciences at the University of South Alabama. "It was pretty clear we wouldn't be hearing from them again after that.""

Full article here (Alabama Local)