Gray Whale 'Duh' moment.

I have whales on the brain.

According to a report by World Wildlife Fund, Scientists (namely the Western Grey Whale Advisory Panel) have found that whales are threatened by off-shore oil and gas development, including loud industrial noise and seismic activity.

Um. Duh?

I mean, I get it. I know you have to do these studies and come up with hard evidence to show to the oil and gas companies to make them listen...but when have they EVER listened?

Point in fact, and I quote: "However, Exxon, BP and Rosneft have refused to address their threats to the Western Gray Whale and these oil giants plan to carry out further activities in 2009 including seismic testing, construction and other loud activities that could displace whales from their annual feeding area."

The last line of the article reads thus: The Western Gray Whale is one of the world’s most endangered whales, with only 25-30 breeding females remaining.

So why is it that a petition seems to be all that stands between these whales and extinction? When is some authority going to actually step in and say "Hey, big bad oil company, what you're doing is illegal, because it's harming a critically endangered species! So Sod Off!"

Or do I have to go up there and do it myself? Btw, BP, You're on my list now, buddy.

Petitions out the wazoo

I get half a dozen of them in my mailbox on a good day. They are petitions from countless conservation organizations, and I try to share as many as I can with you. Just in case you don't get them on your own!
Here are the ones I've signed so far today:

Reinstate Moritorium on Drilling the Outer Continental Shelf

Help Save the Grand Canyon

Support Historic Bill to End Canada's Commercial Seal Hunt

Happy Solstice, and don't forget your friends!

Happy Solstice, everybody! Finally, it's officially winter, and Christmas and New Years are just around the corner. We at ALivingGaia.org can hardly wait for the new year, and our new President! Meanwhile we've been very busy with preparations for the holidays (hence the no updates thing) and with fighting off Bush's last minute attacks on the Endangered Species Act, and the environment. Recent actions include:

Stop Bush's Last Minute Attacks on the Environment
Stop Drilling off the Virginia Coast
Clean Slate Energy Agenda
Green Nation

Click any of those links and all you have to do is sign a petition to do your part!
Now, I know I'm too late to get in under the 'ship by Christmas' deadline but just in case you have any last minute shopping left to do, WWF, Defenders, and other organizations still have great gifts and adoptions available all year round! You can even send your loved ones an environmental e-card to let them know you didn't forget about them, and their gift is in the mail. You can go to these sites and others and choose from any number of great environmentally conscious gifts or symbolic wildlife adoptions:

World Wildlife Fund
Defenders of Wildlife
Oceana

Here's another holiday idea. When you get the feeling that sometimes your loved ones just don't know what to get your for the holidays, why not purchase some wildlife holiday cards and send them a little pre-holiday note. Let them know that all you really want to do for christmas is help save the world, and could your loved one maybe make a donation to the charity of your choice instead of buying you yet another turtleneck sweater, please? It's a great way to help your charity, AND get the word out there by introducing your friends and family to activism.

And a last minute holiday suggestion: Don't forget to send holiday cards to your elected officials wishing them a happy holiday and letting them know how important environmental legislation is to you!

Have a Happy Solstice, everyone!

"Drill, baby, drill" is not the answer!

Courtesy of Care2:

The scope of environmental damage from Hurricane Ike is only now becoming apparent: at least half a million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico and water spaces of Louisiana and Texas.

Stop Big Oil and demand the clean energy future we deserve. »

The Minerals Management Service, which oversees oil production in federal waters offshore, said the storm destroyed at least 52 oil platforms and another 32 were severely damaged.

And yet Big Oil and its allies continue to say that drilling off-shore and in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is environmentally safe. We cannot allow Congress to be fooled by Big Oil's smooth talk.

Urge your Representative and Senators to reject the tired pro-drilling policies of the past and move our country towards the clean energy economy we need. »

Top Issues: Drilling

Yesterday my mood was improved by my mother, followed by an email from the Obama campaign, informing me that in the wake of John McCain's announcement of Palin as his VP more first time contributors donated to the Obama campaign than ever before. Ah, the smell of political suicide in the morning.
Today, irked by the once again rising cost of gas (and doughnuts) I'm not in such a good mood.
A good friend of mine told me when we were discussing various political problems the other day that she supports more drilling in order to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Alright, I'll give her that. I respect her opinions. But I see no point in opening up new areas such as in the Gulf of Mexico and ANWR to drilling when we aren't even striving for peak production with the drilling operations we HAVE. Until such time as production peaks in our CURRENT oil interests, I continue to be against further drilling. And I also expect that by such time as production peaks we will also be well on our way to the We Campaign (WeCanSolveIt.org) goal of 100% clean energy.
So that said, here is your chance to speak out against further offshore drilling, thanks to Defenders of Wildlife:
Please urge the U.S. Minerals Management Service -- the federal agency accepting comments on the Administration’s plan -- to shelve the Bush/Cheney Administration’s latest offshore oil drilling scam.

• Offshore drilling contaminates water, routinely spilling oil and toxic liquids into our oceans and releasing hazardous fumes into our air.
• Pollutants like mercury and persistent hydrocarbons contaminate important marine habitat near platforms.
• Seismic testing associated with drilling can cause dolphins, whales and other marine mammals to become disoriented and stranded and -- in some cases -- even die.
• Massive spills that can result from drilling and increased tanker traffic can kill dolphins, seabirds, sea turtles, fish and marine mammals.

And while the environmental damage of offshore drilling may be significant, the savings to U.S. consumers would not be. The U.S. Department of Energy reports that drilling off our coasts would have "no significant" impact on domestic production until 2030, and even then “impact on average wellhead prices is expected to be insignificant."

Tell the MMS that we don't need more drilling, what we need is a new way of thinking!