More Than a Memory

Remember the 2010 British Petroleum (BP) oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico? How about the 2010-present BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico?

That second one may not ring any bells, but it's more realistic than the first. The ruptured well that poured tons of oil into the gulf was never an isolated blip in time, no matter how much BP and everyone else wanted it to be. It was precipitated not by a rig explosion but by our consumption of oil, and the spilled oil's disappearance didn't end the story. Marine animals and birds continue dying in unprecedented numbers.

Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Ocean Alliance have teamed up to remind people that the Gulf of Mexico disaster continues and to help show its larger implications. Check out a video of Operation Toxic Gulf below:



Sea Shepherd and Ocean Alliance intend to continue their work in the future and are looking for help. If you are interested, you can read more about the project here.

We can tuck our thoughts of human-caused environmental disasters into the back of our minds, but the consequences of those disasters will continue impacting us and our entire environment.

Something Small, Something Great

We're coming up on the one-year anniversary of the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and the horrific story of the event continues to unfold as sea turtles and baby dolphins wash up dead in record numbers this spring.

Although many responded to the spill by denying their responsibility and/or complicity in what happened, an 11-year-old girl got active and sought to make a difference.

Olivia Bouler called the Audubon Society and offered to help. She began selling her bird drawings to raise money for the Gulf cleanup, and she has now released a book of drawings, Olivia's Birds: Saving the Gulf, for the same purpose.

It's heartening to see Olivia step up like this, and her actions send a great message to anyone--adults and children alike--about how to be proactive on environmental issues. Her efforts represent an awesome story about a small act that stood in the face of a massive disaster.

Check out the book. It's available on Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com, and I'm sure you can find it at other booksellers as well.