Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet by Bill McKibben (2010)

Let’s start with Bill McKibben’s eaarth, which is by far the more radical of the two books. eaarth opens with a terrifying premise: that, when it comes to climate change, humanity has already altered the earth’s environment to the point of no return. For the bulk of human existence, the level of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere has remained somewhat stable at 275 parts per million (ppm). Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, CO2 levels have been on the rise, as has been scientific debate over its safest uppermost concentrations. Initially, 550 ppm was the supposed ceiling; in 2007, climatologist Jim Hansen identified 350 ppm as the “safe number.” This is problematic to say the least, as currently the planet has almost 390 parts per million carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Even if we drastically reduce emissions overnight (an impossibility, both practically and politically speaking), we’ve already reached the tipping point; our home’s climate is changing, and for the worse.

“Worse,” anyhow, for most of the species that have evolved to live on earth as it was, humans included. The “new earth” – christened “eaarth” by McKibben – will be a planet of much harsher living conditions and more extreme weather patterns; a planet “with dark poles and belching volcanoes and a heaving, corrosive sea, raked by winds, strafed by storms, scorched by heat.” McKibben looks to current climatological trends as indicators of what’s to come: warmer air and water temperatures, melting glaciers and ice caps, rising sea levels, increasingly acidic oceans, more powerful storms, prolonged droughts, a decrease in biodiversity and corresponding increase in invasive “pest” species – all of these phenomenon are interconnected and influence one another in myriad ways; sometimes unpredictable, almost always tragic.

I’m no climate scientist, so I can’t speak to the veracity of McKibben’s predictions – but the data presented in eaarth (buttressed by 25 pages of end notes) certainly makes for a striking argument. If nothing else, McKibben clearly demonstrates the degree to which seemingly disparate natural occurrences are interdependent; a change in one aspect of the earth’s climate affects all others. Human-driven climate change is real, and it’s really happening. Even if you accept this as a scientific truth, however, McKibben’s solution will be hard to swallow (not that you’ll necessarily have a choice, mind you).

In the second half of eaarth, McKibben shares his vision of a new way of life for a new planet. Though he doesn’t describe it in so many words, McKibben’s eaarth strikes me as somewhat anarchist in nature, marked by a number of small, mostly self-sufficient city states functioning under a shared moral code or social contract.* (It’s hard to pin down this new society exactly, as MicKibben doesn’t elaborate on such minor details as systems of government or human rights. I guess those things will just…work themselves out? Sarcastic, who me?) Rather than “regressing” to older ways of life, McKibben sees us living lightly on this changed planet by retaining some necessary and beneficial aspects of our current culture (e.g., the internet, new energy technology) and discarding those which are unnecessary and unsustainable (most of our current, bloated economy, including but not limited to the entertainment industry. No word on traveling bards, fwiw.)

Of course, the most obvious contributors to climate change – energy (i.e., fossil fuels) and food (particularly animal agriculture) – merit a drastic overhaul in this new world. Conservation coupled with a transition to renewable energy can make us energy independent, while a switch from industrial “factory” farming – necessarily reliant on the input of petroleum-based chemicals and focused on short-term gains – to farming that’s small, local, organic and works with nature rather than against it, will provide us with healthy food and a healthier environment: for the people, by the people.

Naturally, this next agricultural revolution must involve a significant shift toward a plant-based diet. While purveyors of local / organic / free-range / “happy” meat (and milk and eggs) would have you believe otherwise, animals exploited (I’m sorry, “raised”) sustainably simply cannot provide enough animal-based foodstuffs for us all, and certainly not in the volumes to which we’ve become accustomed. Sustainability isn’t just about you; it’s about all of us humans – all seven billion and counting. Animal agriculture requires a massive input of resources – energy, land, water, plants – and results in a relatively small return in food. Eaarth will not support such a system, even by McKibben’s own (speciesist) account.

Not that McKibben would have us all become vegans, nosiree! While he’s able to accept that animal flesh and secretions will become a rare delicacy on eaarth, McKibben is reluctant to give up his sirloin steak altogether. In light of the other proposals set forth in eaarth, forgoing the occasional glass of milk or chicken breast seems a downright conservative “sacrifice” to make. And yet, even as he argues in favor of a radical restructuring of human society, McKibben stubbornly refuses to welcome nonhuman animals – our friends and neighbors on this new planet – into his moral circle. Such is the degree to which human exceptionalism has poisoned our consciousness. It may not be in our best interests to enslave, slaughter and exploit other animals – but we reserve the right to do so, dammit!

To this end, McKibben spends quite a bit of time praising small-time animal exploiters. The many scribbles, underlining, explanation points of outrage, and all-caps commentary – most of which reads simply “YUCK!” – that you can find in the later chapters of my copy of eaarth speak to the disgust I felt at McKibben’s shameless displays of speciesism. Establishing a nonprofit to encourage meat and chicken farming?** “Swine clubs” in which pigs are kept in drained swimming pools? Livestock mortality composting? Yuck, yuck, yuck.

In the forward to Diet for a Hot Planet, McKibben writes, “Three times a day, we’re reminded of what is, and what could be.” Indeed.

As long as we’re rebuilding society, why not create a more compassionate world for all? Now that’s a truly radical idea.

Three out of five stars, with one star deducted each for speciesism and a failure to explore this new eaarth beyond the bounds of food.

Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork and What You Can Do about It by Anna Lappé (2010)

In Diet for a Hot Planet, Anna Lappé also looks at agriculture’s contribution to climate change. In contrast to McKibben’s eaarth, Diet for a Hot Planet’s comparatively narrow focus results in a more cohesive and comprehensive discussion of the topic. Unfortunately, like eaarth, it too is riddled with speciesism.

From farm to plate and everywhere in between, Diet for a Hot Planet identifies and examines the many unsustainable aspects of our food production and distribution systems. This necessarily involves standardization, industrialization, waste, pollution, and – perhaps above all else – a dependence on fossil fuels, resulting in a glut of energy-dense foods. (It’s all connected, yo!) As McKibben notes in the forward, “[T]he entire industrial food system essentially ensures that your food is marinated in crude oil before you eat it.”

In order to compensate for the degradation of soil quality, farmers have moved away from crop rotation and the use of leguminous crops (which bind with atmospheric nitrogen) to the over/use of synthetic, petroleum-based fertilizers and animal waste (which may solve the problem of soil fertility in the short-term, but actually exacerbate it in the long run). Food travels across countries and around the globe before reaching our dinner tables, requiring the use of fuel and attendant carbon emissions. Consumers travel by car to supermarkets and groceries – many of which are concentrated in the suburbs – to buy this food, most of which is heavily processed. (Not even the fruits and veggies escape such a fate: about half of the vegetables consumed in the U.S. are canned, frozen or dried!) In anticipation of our patronage, grocers store perishable items in massive, continuously-powered refrigerators and freezers – some of which consist of open cases. (Explain that one to your ten-year-old!)

As if this isn’t appalling enough, roughly 27% of our edible food is wasted – simply thrown away – at both the individual and institutional levels. As Lappé points out, most of this waste finds its way not into compost piles, but the garbage; some municipalities report that food waste represents 50% of the contents discarded into their landfills. Instead of feeding people or nourishing the soil, this uneaten food becomes waste – waste that’s the second-largest source of methane, next only to enteric fermentation (read: animal agriculture).

And then we have the most egregious offender of them all: meat, eggs and dairy. In Lappé’s own words,

[L]ivestock production is one of the biggest contributors to the country’s greenhouse-gas emissions, both from pastures and from feed-crop production, from smallholder farms to large-scale ranchers to multinational corporations. The deforestation driven by pastureland and cropland is only one reason livestock contribute so much to global warming, as we’ll see.

Globally, livestock account for as much as 18 percent of all global greenhouse-gas emissions, according to the U.N. study mentioned earlier. That figure includes almost one tenth of carbon emissions, more than one third of methane, and roughly two thirds of nitrous oxide. (Livestock is responsible for other polluting emissions as well, including two thirds of all human-made ammonia.) (p. 19)

Yet, like McKibben, Lappé simply isn’t able to imagine in world in which humans don’t retain their supremacy over nonhuman animals:

All told, 70 percent of all agricultural land in the world is tied up with livestock production. But livestock don’t need to cause such ecological harm. Traditionally and still today, in much of the world, livestock have been integrated into diverse farms and their communities, playing a range of roles: providing companionship, manure to enrich soils, muscle for farm work, and as a source of protein as meat. [...L]ivestock can be an integral component of sustainable systems. Well-managed livestock can even nurture the land. All that stomping and tromping helps to press seeds into the earth, fostering plant growth. The action of hooves on the ground can also break up the soil, allowing in more oxygen and improving soil quality. Today’s self-described “carbon farmers” are adopting these proven practices and mimicking time-honored grazing methods to increase carbon content in the soil. (p. 19)

While I agree that nonhuman animals “can be an integral component of sustainable systems,” I don’t understand why humans must enslave them in order to realize this. Nor can I comprehend why a diet comprised of no meat is so much harder for Lappé, McKibben & Co. to swallow than one involving a serving of meat once every few weeks or months. Lappé (daughter of Frances Moore Lappé, a longtime vegetarian and author of Diet for a Small Planet) describes herself as an “on and off” vegetarian since her teen years – so you’d think she’d know better than to, say, categorize nonhuman animals as “plants.” Then again, perhaps the “and off” part explains it.

All snark aside, as with eaarth, a good deal of Diet for a Hot Planet is devoted to celebrating small, local, organic farmers – including those who make a buck off the bodies of others. While Lappé does at least broach the idea of vegetarianism – according to my notes, McKibben only mentions the v-word (vegan) once and, if I remember correctly, it’s to make a very unfunny joke at our expense – it’s in a rather wishy-washy, noncommittal way that’s guaranteed to have abolitionists rolling their eyes. Sandwiched between the glorified animal exploitation, however, sits a wealth of facts and figures, tables and numbers, including some original reporting by Lappé. Additionally, she tackles a number of common myths surrounding climate, industrial agriculture – and biotechnology’s ability to save us from the perils of each.

If you can get past the speciesism, both books are interesting reads. Whereas eaarth is more thought-provoking in its subversiveness, Diet for a Hot Planet leaves the reader with the information necessary to counter climate change skeptics and corporate apologists for our existing food industries.

Three out of five stars, with two stars deducted for speciesism – including Lappé’s inability to promote a plant-based diet without objectifying nonhuman animals.

Updated to add: I posted variations of these reviews on Amazon and Library Thing; if you enjoyed them and are so inclined, please click on through and vote them as helpful, mkay?

eaarth: Amazon | Library Thing

Diet for a Hot Planet: Amazon | Library Thing

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* That said, my first and last introduction to anarchism was Bob Torres’s Making A Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights, which is equally short on the specifics in regards to building anarchistic societies. While an interesting read, in trying to present the case for veganism to anarchists – and anarchism, to vegans – Torres necessarily abbreviates both discussions, to the detriment of each. (imho, anyhow.) Making a Killing piqued my curiosity, but I haven’t had the opportunity to follow up on the topic as of yet. So I could be completely off-base in identifying McKibben as an advocate for anarchism, is what I’m saying.

** As if, um, chickens aren’t also animals and thus included under the rubric “meat”?

In this black and white double exposure, we see a photo of some sidewalk graffiti juxtaposed with the image of two people walking together, arm in arm, along a city street. The graffiti is a stencil of the bespectacled, top-hatted Monopoly millionaire – now bearing wings as well – flying out of an opened bird cage; freedom! Underneath this image is the slogan “Invest in Sharing.” A lovely pairing of words, I think. CC image via Flickr user beeteeoh.
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I admit it; I so did not come up with the title of this week’s “frugal vegans” post by my lonesome. Prior to finding multiple examples of the totally awesome “Invest in Sharing” stencil (pictured above) on Flickr, this tip was to be called “frugal vegans share with others.” Meh, how boring. I don’t even think such a title is fit to grace a Sesame Street skit.

So what, pray tell, do I mean by “invest in sharing” in the context of frugality? Well, it’s simple, really. If you’re anything like me, you own multiple kitchen appliances, utensils and assorted gadgets that rarely, if ever, see the light of day. Possibly you purchased them new – or even second-hand – and with every intention of getting your money’s worth. Perhaps you do use some of these items as often as is reasonable – but reason only requires occasional or seasonal use. Whatever the case, your kitchen – indeed, your entire house – is most likely packed with consumer goods that are not in use 99% of the time.

Why not save money – and the environment – by splitting the cost and custody of these items with like-minded friends?

By way of illustration, let’s say that both you and your BFF are jonesing for a shiny new ice cream maker. Neither of you can afford to buy a nice electric model on your own. But if you pool your resources, what was an out-of-reach luxury purchase suddenly becomes do-able (albeit possibly still a luxury). At most, you might churn a batch or two of ice cream a month; the rest of the time, the machine would sit on a shelf in your pantry, unused and totally bored. Rotating the ice cream maker between two households on a weekly basis, then, won’t really affect the amount of use and enjoyment that each party can get out of it. Just plan ahead and make a little extra ice cream for your “off” week when it is your turn to use the ice cream maker.

This “shared cost, shared custody” arrangement could work with a number of kitchen items – depending, of course, on personal use and preferences:

- Cup/cake decorating tips and accessories
- Cup/cake display stands
- Bread makers
- Juicers
- Espresso machines
- Margarita machines
- Deep fryers
- Food grinders*
- Waffle makers
- Pressure cookers
- Rice cookers
- Buffet servers
- Fondue pots
- Food dehydrators
- Vacuum sealers
- Rotisserie ovens/kits (for Tofurky, duh!)
- Barbecue grills (for vegetables, yo!)
- Popcorn machines
- Cotton candy machines (yes, they exist!)
- Extra/fold-able table and chairs (i.e., for entertaining)

…to name but a few.

Of course, sharing need not be confined to the kitchen! Here are some other household items that one could conceivably share with only minor inconvenience:

- Animal traps (humane, of course!)
- Animal cages (e.g., for rescued and yet-to-be-rehabilitated free-living animals)
- “Pet” grooming/nail clipping kits
- Laminators
- Sewing machines
- Ladders
- Plumber’s snakes (bathroom supplies in a food post? ew!)
- Pressure washers
- Chainsaws
- Electric drills
- Garden tillers
- Wet/dry vacs
- Work lights
- Hand trucks
- Lawn mowers
- Snow blowers
- Wood chippers
- Log splitters
- Welding supplies

I’m sure that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of items that I’m overlooking; most likely, I even own a few of them and have plum forgotten, since I use them so infrequently!

Now, before you protest – Cake stands! How dare you!?! I need those for my thrice-daily food porn photo shoots! – let me repeat that this list will differ from person to person. My idea of a rarely used, nearly-dispensable widget is not necessarily your idea of a rarely used, nearly-dispensable widget – and that’s fine. All that matters is that the two (or more!) parties purchasing and sharing these items are in agreement.

Naturally, this tip comes with a laundry list of caveats and obstacles:

The above video depicts an “oil spill cemetery” erected by Grand Isle, LA resident Patrick Shay in his front yard. The art installation/protest includes dozens of white crosses, each standing waist high and bearing the name of something (or someone) – an animal species, activity, item or foodstuff – that’s been impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil “spill.” The “deceased” include: the beach, sand, a walk on the beach, seagulls, diving, sharks, birdwatching, star gazing, shrimp, shrimp scampi, shrimp omelette, shrimp cocktail, shrimping, oyster boats, oyster Rocherfeller, summer fun, sandcastles, family time, frogs croaking, marsh, brown pelican, sea turtles, dolphins, redfish, crabbing, boiled crabs, stuffed crabs, fish fry, seafood gumbo, and our soul. Shots of individual crosses in the cemetery are interspersed with footage of the local beaches as they look now.

More than any news coverage I’ve witnessed since (the cemetery was erected and reported on in early June), this graveyard embodies the disconnect between humans’ expressed empathy for the nonhuman victims of the oil spill – and our actions toward them, before, during and (no doubt) after the Gulf disaster. For example, the inclusion of “food” animals in the cemetery is rather ironic; had they not perished or become otherwise “polluted” in the oil spill, “crabbers” and “fishermen” would have slaughtered these same shrimps, redfishes and crabs (etc.) by the millions. Absent the oil spill, these animals would have died anyway; Shay’s (et al.’s) tears are not for these animals themselves, but for the many products borne of their exploitation: seafood gumbo, oyster Rocherfeller and stuffed crabs. As someone who considers all animals equally worthy of consideration, I simply cannot join Mr. Shay in mourning a “way of life” that’s predicated upon taking the actual lives of others. Whether stolen by megacorp BP or by working-class fishermen, these mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, daughters and sons will never get their lives back.

Although I continue to follow the Deepwater disaster with a mix of horror, anger and grief, my empathy rests with the disaster’s (and the kyriarchy’s) perpetual victims – in this case, the millions of nonhuman animals to whom the Gulf Coast is home. The rest of us? We’re all complicit in this tragedy – and the billions of smaller, mostly-invisible tragedies that take place every single day – to varying degrees.

While many of vegans no doubt share similar feelings, our perspective is virtually nonexistent in mainstream coverage of the oil spill and its fallout. And so I was terribly excited to see the following call for papers posted on the NILAS mailing list. Crude Behavior: Animal Rights in the Wake of Deepwater Horizon will examine the oil spill, its short- and long-term effects, and public discourse surrounding these from an animal welfare/rights perspective. (I’m inclined to scream “Finally!,” but – doesn’t it seem a bit soon to be dissecting a disaster that’s still ongoing? Wev, I’ll scoop up a copy regardless of when it’s released.) Abstracts are due August 1st.

For more on the Deepwater Horizon disaster, please see BP Oil “Spill”: Animal Rescue, Disaster Relief, Action Alerts & Vegan Views, also at easyvegan.info.

———- Forwarded message ———-
Date: Thu, Jul 1, 2010 at 2:32 PM
Subject: Fwd: [humananimalstudies] Call for Papers
To: H-NILAS [at] h-net.msu.edu

Hello All:

I am just writing to solicit proposals for a volume on animal rights and the Gulf oil spill. Information is below. If you are interested in proposing a paper, please send a 500 word abstract and a short bio/c.v. to skelly [at] fgcu.edu.

Thanks,
Sean Kelly
Associate Professor of Phil. & Lit.
Florida Gulf Coast Univ.

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Call for Proposals: Crude Behavior: Animal Rights in the Wake of Deepwater Horizon

The U.S. popular media had constructed the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico as an environmental, ecological, economic, and even political disaster. While all of these are undeniably fair readings of the catastrophe, these same outlets have not expended much of an effort considering the effect that this event can and should have on how we perceive our duties and responsibilities toward the individual animals impacted by it.

While there are discussions about how many animals may be dying in the Gulf; how many tarred birds have been appearing on beaches; and how many fish are dying in the near-shore, oxygen-depleted environments to which they have fled, these discussions have been careful to avoid holding BP or others ethically responsible to those individual animals.

There is no question that the general public is concerned with these animals. For most of us, we have a vague feeling that we are responsible, or that at least someone is, to them. However, the public debate is doing little to help us understand this feeling. Because the disaster has been framed almost entirely within conservationist terms, terms that privilege ecosystems above individuals in those systems, the media has decidedly framed our emotional understanding in ways that absolve us from considering our duties to animals who are suffering right now in the Gulf. One of the major philosophical implications of our public failing to consider these individual animals is that we risk widening the rift between conservation and animal-rights positions to the point where a conservationist understanding totally eclipses rights based one. The danger there is that this denies us access to what a rights approach brings to the table in helping us to better understand our emotional, ethical, and public feelings regarding this unthinkable tragedy.

“God Help Us All!”: Protest art situated outside of a tattoo parlour in Larose, Louisiana. A sculpture (mannequin?) of an oil-soaked man wearing a gas mask and holding a dead fish stands nearly two stories high. To the man’s side stands a small child, hood pulled tight over his head; in the foreground, he holds a large sign reading, “God help us all!” Off in the background, there’s a one-dimensional cutout, shaped and painted to resemble a water tower. The tower’s lettering reads, “Louisiana water tower,” with the word “water” crossed out and “oil” scribbled beneath. Again, that poor fish need’s God’s intervention more than any Gulf Coast residents – oil spill or not. CC image via kk+ on Flickr.
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This volume seeks to call attention to the ethical issues that a moral individualist approach raises in the aftermath of the BP disaster. Papers from all disciplinary and methodological viewpoints are encouraged. Sample topics might include:

conservationist v. moral individualist approaches to the disaster

treatment of the Deepwater Horizon disaster from positions in traditional and non-traditional animal rights/welfare philosophy

the larger issue of ethical responsibility to non-human animals in light of the oil spill

insightful cultural studies’ approaches to the media’s responses

theoretical musings about the implications that this event will have for future animal rights debates

human v. animal rights in the public discourse

Please send 500 word abstracts along with a brief bio to Sean Kelly at skelly [at] fgcu.edu. Deadline for abstracts is August 1, 2010.

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As with the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile, I’ve decided to create a single blog post which will act as a sort of “hub” where I’ll post information, action alerts, newsletters, etc. related to the recent BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Given that President Obama intends to push forward with previously announced plans to expand offshore drilling, there’s a special emphasis on action alerts that address fossil fuels and/or their place in proposed climate change legislation. Where appropriate, I’ve also included information on what you can do to help meet immediate disaster relief needs in the Gulf Coast region.
 

 

“mom, this is just crazy!” Soleil the Sun Conure wants desperately to do something to aid her free-living avian cousins living in the Gulf Coast area. Can you HALP! her?
CC image via mNicolem on Flickr.
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This section includes links to action alerts re: the recent BP oil spill, as well as offshore drilling and pending climate change legislation in general. The links are sorted chronologically, with the most recent additions appearing first. The list is far from inclusive; rather, it’s comprised of the emails that have landed in my inbox, and has been pared down based on usefulness and speciesist language.

Ongoing – Oil Spill: Wildlife Crisis [A project of the Endangered Species Coalition]

04/20/11 – CREDO Action: Destroying our gulf shouldn’t be a tax write-off. Tell BP to pay their fair share.

03/30/11 – Save Our Environment: No More Deepwater Drilling Permits in the Gulf!

01/24/11 – NRDC: Tell Congress to implement the recommendations of the presidential oil spill commission to prevent another Gulf oil disaster

10/19/10 – Save Our Environment: Offshore Oil Drilling Ban LIFTED?!?!

10/05/10 – Alliance for Justice: Tell BP to Do the Right Thing

10/01/10 – NRDC: Tell your senators that failure to address the BP oil disaster is not an option

09/29/10 – NRDC: Stop the Pebble Mine; Tell Anglo American: No More Broken Promises!

09/27/10: Public Citizen: Send Public Comments to the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

09/22/10 – NRDC: Tell your senators that failure to address the BP oil disaster is not an option

09/17/10: PEW Environmental Group: Senate Action Can Help Stop Another Spill

09/16/10: The Wilderness Society: Keep arctic wildlife safe from drilling rigs. Take action now.

09/03/10 – Save the Manatee Club: Keep Pressure on Washington for a Federal Drilling Moratorium

08/25/10 – Public Citizen: BP Trust Fund Not So Trusty

08/23/10 – Environment New Mexico: Help us defuse BP’s ticking time bomb in the Gulf

08/18/10 – Wildcare: Petition to Support AB 234 Pre-Booms in California’s Waters

07/29/10 – Endangered Species Coalition: Tell Congress to protect our communities and environment from offshore oil disasters

07/28/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Tell Your Politicians to Clean up Politics and Save Gulf Wildlife

07/27/10 – The PEW Environment Group: Plug the leaks in the law now.

07/23/10 – NPCA: Protect National Park Lands Today and Tomorrow

07/22/10 – The Wilderness Society: Tell Congress to protect our lands from another drilling disaster

07/21/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Life-Saving Gulf Wildlife Aid at Risk: Don’t Let Big Oil Win

07/15/10 – Endangered Species Coalition: Save all wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico

07/15/10 – Public Citizen: Congress: You Have Oil on Your Hands

07/13/10 – Louisiana SPCA: July 2010 Tail Mail – The Impact of the BP Oil Disaster

07/12/10 – True Majority: Stop the Big Oil Bailout

07/08/10 – NRDC: Tell Interior Secretary Salazar to stop BP’s Liberty Project.

07/07/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Don’t Let BP Play Russian Roulette With the Arctic

07/01/10 – Call for Proposals: Crude Behavior: Animal Rights in the Wake of Deepwater Horizon

07/01/10 – Earthjustice: It’s Time For Independence From Fossil Fuels!

06/25/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Burned Alive – Help Stop BP from Torching Endangered Sea Turtles

06/25/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Take Action for Sea Turtles, Pelicans and Other Coastal Wildlife [Should you choose to use it, please edit the sample letter for speciesism.]

06/22/10 – PETA: Push Attorneys General to Charge BP With Criminal Cruelty to Animals!

06/22/10 – Endangered Species Coalition: Stop BP from burning turtles alive in the oil spill

06/22/10 – CREDO Action: BP is burning endangered sea turtles alive.

06/22/10 – Firedoglake: Tell BP: Put Cleanup Workers’ Health Before Your PR

06/20/10 – Power Without Petroleum: Stop the bribes! Demand clean energy!

06/17/10 – Oil Change International: Separation of Oil and State

06/16/10 – CREDO Action: What President Obama should have said.

06/10/10 – Patrick Leahy: Support ECEA – Hold Big Oil Accountable! [Should you choose to use it, please edit the sample letter for speciesism.]

06/10/10 – The Wilderness Society: Protect Arctic Alaska, A Place Like No Other

06/10/10 – Endangered Species Coalition: Never Again: Save Wildlife from Deadly Oil Spills

06/09/10 – WWLTV: Oil spill hardships forcing owners to give away pets [With a list of food banks to which NOLA residents can make a donation]

06/08/10 – NRDC: Tell Your Senators to Pass Clean Energy Legislation and Prevent More Spills

06/08/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Take Action for Loggerhead Sea Turtles

06/07/10 – The Wilderness Society: Don’t Let Them Gut the Clean Air Act! [Deadline: June 10]

06/05/10 – Change-dot-org: Not an Environmental Disaster? Tell Congressman Don Young to Stop Defending Big Oil

06/05/10 – PBS: How Much Oil Has Leaked Into the Gulf of Mexico? [Get your Oil Spill Ticker here!]

06/04/10 – ecorazzi: Betty White Wildlife Fund Provides Grant To Gulf Dolphin Research

06/04/10 – Save Our Environment: Tell Obama: No More Offshore Drilling!

06/03/10 – The Wilderness Society: Sarah Palin and YOUR Alaska Lands

06/03/10 – The Sierra Club: Join the Eco Rescue and Recovery Team

06/03/10 – Cetacean Conservation: Declaration Of Cetacean Rights

06/01/10 – Change-dot-org: Tell Obama: Replace Ken Salazar as Interior Secretary

06/01/10 – National Whistleblowers Center: Protect Environmental Whistleblowers!

05/28/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Stop Risky Offshore Drilling Without Environmental Review

05/28/10 – Firedoglake: Tell the Senate it’s time to Hold BP Accountable; Sign our petition to the Senate to eliminate the liability cap and hold BP completely responsible

05/26/10 – Dawnwatch: Jack Hanna misinforms Anderson Cooper on BP gulf clean-up 5/25/10

05/26/10 – Earthjustice: It’s Time to Pause Arctic Oil Drilling! [Should you choose to use it, please edit the sample letter for speciesism.]

05/25/10 – CREDO Action: Tell EPA: Take away BP’s billions in federal contracts

05/25/10 – Repower America: Tell BP: Spill the Truth!

05/24/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Help Stop the Arctic Offshore Oil Disaster

05/21/10 – True Majority: No Bailout for BP

05/20/10 – Green for All: Gulf Oil Spill: Urge BP and President Obama to do their part!

05/17/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Protect Our Oceans From Oil Drilling’s Invisible Threat: Acidification [Should you choose to use it, please edit the sample letter for speciesism.]

05/17/10 – WWF: Prevent an Oil Spill Disaster in America’s Arctic

05/17/10 – NRDC: Tell your senators to oppose Sen. Murkowski’s attack on the Clean Air Act

05/17/10 – America Blog: Urge the President to fire homophobe Jonathan I. Katz

05/15/10 – Ecological Internet: Obama’s Crude Awakening: Offshore Oil Drilling Is Ecologically Devastating and Must End [Should you choose to use it, please edit the sample letter for speciesism.]

05/14/10 – Save the Manatee Club: Protect the Southeast U.S. From Another Oil Rig Disaster

05/13/10 – CREDO Action: An inconvenient truth about the climate bill

05/13/10 – IDA: Tell President Obama And Vice President Biden Please Stop All New Offshore Oil Drilling!

05/13/10 – AVAAZ: No More Offshore Drilling!

05/12/10 – RAN: Tell Obama to stand up to Big Oil! [Bullet point #5: Go vegan! You'll have to pencil that one in yourself, though.]

05/12/10 – Defenders of Wildlife: Help Wildlife Survive a Changing Climate [5/17/10 deadline]

05/10/10 – The Wilderness Society: Stop Shell Oil’s offshore drilling plans in the Arctic

05/08/10 – Public Citizen: Boycott BP

05/08/10 – Oceana: Stop the Drill

05/06/10 – 350: Ban Offshore Drilling — Permanently!

05/06/10 – NRDC: Tell President Obama to Impose a Moratorium on New Offshore Drilling

05/03/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Gulf Spill Disaster – No New Offshore Oil Drilling!
 
 

V-E-G-A-N spells LOVE. Also: I refuse to include crazy sad pictures of grounded pelicans and oil-soaked otters and turtles belonging to endangered species, splayed out dead on their backs; there are plenty of those in the Kinship Circle alerts below. Until then: LOL birds, vegan food not-porn, and silly smooth red dachshunds, mkay?
CC image via frippy on Flickr.
——————————

In her Mother’s Day newsletter, Karen Dawn noted that she’s seen relatively little discussion of this man-made disaster on animal advocacy listservs. While I admit that my reading list has grown slimmer and slimmer as of late, I tend to agree (which is actually one reason why I decided to compile this link/info roundup).

In this section, I’d like to highlight vegan reactions to the BP oil spill. Where appropriate, I’ve also included links to ongoing coverage from (mostly veg-friendly) environmental organizations. All links appear in reverse chronological order.

Ongoing – Sea Shepherd: Operation Gulf Rescue

Ongoing – The Center for Biological Diversity: Gulf Disaster Coverage

Ongoing – Oil Spill: Wildlife Crisis [A project of the Endangered Species Coalition]

Ongoing – International Bird Rescue Research Center blog

Ongoing – NRDC’s Switchboard Blog: Disaster in the Gulf

Ongoing – Humane Society of the United States (HSUS): Gulf Coast Response

Ongoing – Defenders of Wildlife: Offshore drilling in the U.S.

Ongoing – Mother Jones: MoJo’s BP Oil Spill Coverage

Ongoing – Democracy Now: BP Oil Spill

Ongoing – Salon: Gulf Oil Spill

Ongoing – Matter of Trust: Press and Press Releases

08/06/10 – Fast Company: Oil Is the New Black

08/01/10 – Invisible Voices: Paws for the Cause: Fundraiser for the Gulf Coast [August 15, 2010 @ Barrel Oak Winery in Delaplane, VA]

07/15/10 – vegansaurus!: How to help the other animals affected by the BP oil spill

07/09/10 – Alliance for Justice: Judicial Gusher: the Fifth Circuit’s Ties to Oil [.pdf]

07/07/10 – Best Friends: Relief for innocent victims; Twenty tons of dog food donated to help folks affected by Gulf oil spill provides the assistance needed to keep pets with their families

07/02/10 – Bloomberg Businessweek: BP, Coast Guard Will Save Turtles From Oil Burns

06/30/10 – Rainforest Action Network: Photo Essay: Ecuadorean Delegation Tours BP’s Oil Disaster in the Gulf

06/28/10 – Rainforest Action Network: Indigenous Ecuadoreans Share Oil Spill Experiences with Gulf Coast Communities

06/28/10 – Rainforest Action Network: The Lasting Stain of Oil: Cautionary Tales and Lessons from the Amazon

06/28/10 – The Discerning Brute: Oil Spilling and Spilling and Spilling

06/22/10 – Mother Jones: Louisiana Police Pull Over Activist at Behest of BP

06/19/10 – BuzzFeed: BP is Burning Sea Turtles Alive

06/18/10 – Poverty News Blog: How would you like 50 years of oil spills?

06/11/10 – Deep Roots: Animal Rights Blog: Birds and the BP oil spill

06/10/10 – International Bird Rescue Research Center: Post release survival of oil affected sea birds

06/09/10 – Tom Dickinson @ Rolling Stone: The Spill, The Scandal and the President

06/09/10 – United Animal Nations: Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and the Animals: Q & A

06/09/10 – vegansaurus!: Treehugger says that oil-soaked birds should be killed, not cleaned.

06/09/10 – Break the Matrix: Who Voted to Limit the Liability of Oil Companies?

06/07/10 – Kiss Me, I’m Vegan: The Animals of the Gulf Coast Oil Spill

06/07/10 – Best Friends: Gulf Oil Spill: Saving those they can, Part 2

06/06/10 – Best Friends: Gulf Oil Spill: Saving those they can, Part 1

06/05/10 – GOOD Blog: BP Banishes Hair Booms

06/04/10 – If It Was My Home: Visualizing the BP Oil Spill Disaster

06/04/10 – Stephanie @ Animal Rights & AntiOppression: Their Faces Will Haunt Us

06/03/10 – True/Slant: Five ways to boycott BP without helping Exxon

06/02/10 – Sue Coe: Murder in the Gulf

06/01/10 – Change-dot-org: Why Ken Salazar Should Take the Fall for the Oil Spill

05/25/10 – Green is the New Red: Greenpeace Protesters Who Oppose Off-Shore Drilling Could Face Terrorism Charges

05/17/10 – Animal Legal Defense Fund: Lessons from the Oil Spill

05/14/10 – Reuters: Huge BP spill means a high-stakes hurricane season

05/12/10 – Our Hen House: PATH Says Wildlife Damage in the Gulf is Much Bigger Than BP Will Admit

05/12/10 – Center for Biological Diversity: Kerry-Lieberman Climate Proposal a Disaster for Climate

05/06/10 – Spiegel Online: Expert Recommends Killing Oil-Soaked Birds

05/05/10 – vegansaurus!: Once more with feeling: Oil, not wind turbines, kills birds.

05/04/10 – vegansaurus!: This is the worst week ever, so watch some videos of adorable sneezing animals. Also, a rant.

05/04/10 – vegansaurus!: Devastating oil spill SUCKS BALLS: How we can help!

05/04/10 – Vegan-dot-com: Yes, PETA Really Does Convince People that All Animal Advocates are Nuts

05/04/10 – Vegan-dot-com: PETA Taunts Oil Spill Victims

05/03/10 – Green is the New Red: Did “Eco-Terrorists” Cause the Gulf Oil Spill?

05/02/10 – Sociological Images: The Power of Images in Environmental Movements

04/30/10 – PETA Media Center: PETA’s ‘Meat on Your Grill Equals Oil Spill’ Banner to Soar Over Alabama’s Gulf Coast [Oh yes they did.]

07/19/09 – Doris @ Animal Rights: Dawn Kills Animals
 
 

Angry Otter sez, “Fah-Q, BP! & Obama, u can shut ur piehoal 2, mkay? I d’nt vote 4 u anyway, so der.”
CC image via xrrr on Flickr.
——————————

Ongoing – The Colbert Report: Videos tagged “oil.”

Ongoing – The Daily Show: Videos tagged “oil.”

10/05/10 – Crude Justice: The Deepwater Oil Spill and the Search for Justice

06/17/10 – The Rachel Maddow Show: Energy Independence is a Myth

 
 
4. Donate Your Hair, Help Mop Up Oil (!)

For serious, y’all! The super-awesome science nerds at Matter of Trust make oil-sucking mats out of donated hair. Human, dog, llama, it matters not: any hair will do. The only requirement is that it must be clean – freshly washed or shampooed – and dry.

[I assume that this necessarily excludes naturally shed hair, which is a shame. All five of my dog-kids are short-haired and never require grooming, i.e., a fur cut or trim. Yet, the four rat/fox/Jack Russell terrier mixes shed like mad, especially in the spring and summer - so much so that I "frisk" and then brush them off before vacuuming the house. (Look! It's snowing!) Probably I collect enough dog hair to make a mat or two every year. If mats could include dander and dust, that is. But don't take my word for it; perhaps a lil' dust is a-ok. Or maybe there's a way of washing loose hair that I'm not aware of?]

Like oil itself, hair is hydrophobic; it repels water. Hair is also – as anyone with hair can tell you – lipophilic; it attracts and holds oil. Together, these two properties make it the perfect material for drawing oil out of water. Enter: “mats” woven from human and animal hair. (Kind of like the Sham-Wow!, as reinvented by Buffalo Bill.)

This short video explains it all:

On its website, Matter of Trust offers instructions for individuals – and barbers and groomers – who’d like to contribute to the project:

Hair / Fur / Waste Wool Clippings & Recycled Nylons Donations

Salons, groomers, wool farmers… all natural fiber donors can sign up to contribute to this program and get posters about our Hair For Oil Spills Program. Please see our specific instructions for this program. Individuals can tell their salons about the program and / or just mail in their own hair after reading our instructions for individuals. Nylons must be washed, can have small runs, and be put in a separate bag from the hair if coming together. Thank you!

As you may have already gathered, used nylons are also needed – to make mini-booms, I think – but c’mon, that’s nowhere near as cool as hair, so of course I wasn’t going to lead with it.

Anyhow, please consider donating your hair – either in full or just the occasional trimmings – to this most worthy of projects. But don’t stop there! If they aren’t already involved, introduce your local salons and animal groomers to the program, and encourage them to participate as well. You can also hold a “hair drive” and collect hair to send directly to Matter of Trust. Just, you know, be sure to let everyone know what it’s for, lest you look like a giant pervo. Maybe hold the drive in conjunction with a bake sale, a la vegansaurus? (‘Cause that doesn’t look weird at all! In a shiny way, I mean.)

Ralphie and I – and my luscious brown locks – circa 2002. My hair is at least 12″ shorter now – in the years after this photo was taken, I trimmed it a few inches at a time until it fell just past my shoulders, an act of foolishness for which I have yet to forgive myself – though I’m currently growing it out in order to donate it to Locks of Love or similar. I think I have the requisite extra 8-10″, but I’m trying to hold out until July or August, when the heat of summer is most oppressive. Or at least I was; now I’m torn. Oil-covered otters or cancer-stricken children: dear dog, how on earth do you choose between the two?!?
——————————

Updated, 6/22/10: And the Gulf Coast it is! Allow me to introduce to you to my severed ponytail, whom I have name Creature, and who will soon be on her way to the Gulf Coast (or wherever else she is needed) to help mop up oil – after a brief stopover at Matter of Trust, of course! Please consider deploying your own hair thingamapeoples, wanted or unwanted, if you can. Creature is lonely, yo.
——————————

Finally, I’ve crossposted select action alerts and newsletters below. (I expect that the bulk of these will be from Kinship Circle, which does an excellent job of covering and, at times, directly participating in disaster relief efforts. If you can spare it, you should totally throw a few bucks their way. No, really.)

Again, these are sorted chronologically, with the most recent alerts appearing first.
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Fri, Aug 20, 2010 at 5:07 PM
Subject: ANIMALS – Pakistan Flood / Gulf Disaster Update

[For simplicity's sake, I've removed the "Pakistan Flood" portion of this email alert. Since I've also created a page dedicated to the flooding in Pakistan, I decided to instead include it there; see: 2010 Pakistan Floods: Animal Rescue Resources. - ed.]

KINSHIP CIRCLE 8/20/10
AUGUST GULF OIL DISASTER UPDATE

ALL PHOTOS (C) WA2S.ORG / KINSHP CIRCLE

AUGUST UPDATE: Kinship Circle’ Brenda Shoss soon heads to the Gulf to join Team #5 off barrier islands and waterways in search of oiled animals. We urge animal advocates to not be lulled into an “everything is okay now” attitude. It isn’t. For example: Remember the baby Royal Tern chicks we found oiled on Queen Bess Island 6/12/10 [PHOTO ABOVE]? Conservation Coordinator Drew Wheelan informs us that they all died. For Kinship’s Rachel Laskowski, part of the ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition team that originally spotted/reported these babies, the news is heartbreaking.

Still, many others have been saved. We won’t give up our search for them. The oil’s impact has evolved…and now we need UNDERWATER CAMERAS and additional VIDEO GEAR to find and report animals in its toxic path.

DONATE ONLINE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

ANIMAL DISASTER RELIEF FUND

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130

KINSHIP CIRCLE & WORLD ANIMAL AWARENESS SOCIETY NEED FUNDING FOR:

** Boat charter fee for us to locate and report oiled animals: To canvass complex waterways and shores…we pay boat charter fees from $500 and up.

** Vehicle rental + gas for volunteer teams across 4 states: Our volunteers scout oiled regions across LA, MS, AL, FL. In order to follow oiled wildlife leads, we may travel hundreds of miles daily.

** GoPro Helmet Hero Wide: Cameras for underwater footage.

** More video equipment: Footage and post-production — for teams documenting in different oil polluted areas simultaneously.

** WISH ITEM: RV-motor home for mobile command center.

** WISH ITEM: 30-foot boat with cabin: For daily water exploration, documentation, and oiled wildlife reporting.

** Daily communications: In order for Kinship Circle to navigate ground teams and strategize daily, we incur large communications bills. Without funding for long distance, internet and public messaging, we can neither implement work on the ground nor publish daily reports, photos, videos.

DONATE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

With over 2 million gallons of crude leaked into Gulf waters, more marine mammals are likely to suffer. Kinship Circle’s Darla Wolak photographed this Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin, who washed ashore dead in Key Largo, FL.

KINSHIP CIRCLE is focused on wildlife harmed in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Partnering with World Animal Awareness Society for ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition, our volunteers:

* Comb beaches, estatuaries, nesting grounds and open waters — traveling hundreds of miles daily in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida — to find distressed animals and map the oil’s present and long-term impact.

* Locate and report suffering animals to area Unified Command Centers.

* Provide GPS coordinates and other details about oiled wildlife — that expedite rescue and save lives.

* Embed on planes/boats with US Fish & Wildlife, Coast Guard and other agencies/officials.

* Document the oil disaster’s influence on animal habitat and survival.

* Keep a “living map” to chart our journey with photos, video, news.

GULF DISASTER HOME: kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/
FIELD NOTES: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/2010-06-notes.html
PHOTO LOG: kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/photo-log-06-2010.html
REAL-TIME LIVE MAP: www.wa2s.org/

Kinship Circle has no major funding support for animal disaster response. Your tax-deductible gift is a lifeline!

Kinship Circle is a 501c3 nonprofit. All donations are tax-deductible.

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe[at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info[at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Thu, Jul 29, 2010 at 5:33 PM
Subject: Rock N’ Roll For Gulf Oil Victims!

PLEASE FORWARD FAR & WIDE!
Rock N’ Roll For Gulf Oil Victims – Have Fun Helping

GULF OF MEXICO BENEFIT CONCERT
August 29, 2010 * 2:00pm to 10:00pm

WHERE: Mulcahy Pub & Concert Hall
3232 Railroad Ave / Wantagh, New York 11793

RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW:
Ron Delfino, Benefit Sponsor: 631-575-2748, delfinoron [at] yahoo.com

CONCERT BENEFIT PROCEEDS GO TO:

1) KINSHIP CIRCLE: Oiled Wildlife – To fund locating/reporting oiled wildlife and documentation of long-term impact on animals.

www.KinshipCircle.org/gulf_spill

2) ST. BERNARD COMMUNITY CENTER: Small Businesses – Support small businesses devastated by the Gulf oil disaster. www.ccstb.org/index.html

PHOTOS (c) WAS2.org / Kinship Circle July 2010

Do you feel helpless watching this oil disaster unfold? Now you can do something to help — and have a blast. The Gulf Of Mexico Benefit Concert features some of New York’s hottest bands, including: No Request Band; Full House; Status Joe; Bad Medicine; Rock Hard Comedy Show

CONTACT RON DELFINO TO RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW!
631-575-2748, delfinoron [at] yahoo.com

The delicate cleaning process of an oiled Laughing Gull at Theodore Wildlife Rehab Center in Theodore, AL. Photo (c) WA2S.org / Kinship Circle, Gulf 2010

Kinship Circle, a 501c3 animal advocacy organization, is focused on wildlife hurt in the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Partnering with World Animal Awareness Society for ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition, our volunteers:

- Locate and report suffering animals. Our reports to Unified Command Centers — with GPS coordinates and details of oiled animals — save lives.

- Embed on planes and boats with US Fish and Wildlife, Coast Guard…to document long-term oil impact on animals. Our “living documentary” includes photos, videos, interviews and a real-time map…

KINSHIP CIRCLE NEEDS FUNDING FOR:

** Boat charter fees in oil polluted states, to locate/report oiled animals

** Vehicle rental + gas: AEOTGE teams scout oiled areas across four states.
To follow oiled wildlife leads, we travel hundreds of miles daily in:

REGION #1: Greater New Orleans, Jefferson Parish (Grand Isle); Plaquemines Parish (Venice, LA)
REGION #2: Coastline between Biloxi, Mississippi and Pensacola, Florida, Alabama
REGION #3: Southern tip of Florida coastline down to Florida Keys, Miami Beach, etc.

** BIG WISH / GoPro Helmet Hero Wide: Hi-tech camera for underwater footage.

** BIG WISH / RV-motor home for mobile command center

** BIG WISH / 30-foot boat with cabin: For daily water exploration, documentation, and oiled wildlife reporting.

** Daily communications: In order for Kinship Circle to navigate ground teams and strategize daily, we incur large communications bills. Without funding for long distance, internet and public messaging, we can neither implement work on the ground nor publish daily reports, photos, videos.

DONATE ONLINE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: Gulf Oil Disaster

** GULF SPILL 2010: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill
** FIELD NOTES: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/2010-06-notes.html
** PHOTO LOG: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/photo-log-06-2010.html

 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Sun, Jul 18, 2010 at 12:14 AM
Subject: Help Us Find Oiled Animals, Gulf Coast

KINSHIP CIRCLE
Help Us Find Oiled Wildlife And Uncover The Truth
We can’t reach suffering animals without your support!

July 18, 2010, Gulf Coast — A heavily oiled bird clings to a boom. A dead dolphin washes ashore. Further out, rusty globs ooze toward a living shore… Kinship Circle, a 501c3 organization, is on the ground — focused on animals harmed in the Deepwater Horizon oilrig disaster.

Audubon Aquatic Center at Freeport-McMoRan Audubon Species Survival Center is base camp for oiled manatees, sea turtles, dolphins. Our team gains unique access here. Above, turtles are cleaned, tagged and micro-chipped.

A WINDOW TO THE TRUTH — In partnership with World Animal Awareness Society for the ALL EYES ON THE GULF Expedition (AEOTGE), Kinship Circle animal disaster responders embed on planes and boats with US Fish and Wildlife, Coast Guard…to form a living documentary of photos, videos and interviews. SAVING LIVES — They also act as “spotters” to locate and report suffering animals. Our reports to Unified Command authorities — including GPS coordinates and details about oiled animals — save lives.

**ALL PHOTOS (c) WAS2.org / Kinship Circle July 2010**

Please donate online now:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

Or mail a check to:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: Gulf Oil Disaster

We find oiled baby birds on contaminated shores along Queen Bess Island, LA.

KINSHIP CIRCLE HAS NO MAJOR FUNDING SUPPORT – YOU ARE OUR LIFELINE!

DONATIONS FOR GULF DEPLOYMENT HELP WITH:

* Boat charter fees in oil polluted states, for us to locate and report oiled animals: To canvass complex waterways around Gulf barrier islands…

* Vehicle rental + gas for volunteer teams covering four states:
Volunteers scout oiled areas in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida. In order to follow oiled wildlife leads, we travel hundreds of miles daily.

* Deployments: We’ll send AEOTGE teams through August, and continue with wildlife rescue deployments. Cost for field work includes such items as:
– Volunteer lodging / On-ground emergency fund
– Volunteer gear as needed, ie: HAZMAT/Tyveck suits, respirators…
– Volunteer wildlife training/certification

* Daily communications: In order for Kinship Circle to navigate ground teams and strategize daily, we incur large communications bills. Without funding for long distance, internet and public messaging, we can neither implement work on the ground nor bring you daily reports, photos, videos.

“WA2S.org Executive Director Tom McPhee, with volunteer Jonathan Shurtz, spot two oiled pelicans. Jon immediately calls Unified Command to relay the birds’ GPS coordinates. Later, authorities confirm that these oiled pelicans are rescued and transported to the IBRCC bird cleaning operation. We’re thanked for ongoing efforts to locate and report oiled wildlife.”

“While investigating Black Mangrove Island, LA, Kinship Circle’s Esther Regelson and Darla Wolak, spot a juvenile Roseate Spoonbill. The severely oiled bird fights to stay atop an oil boom. The sighting is called in, but it becomes unbearable to watch the bird struggle to keep from drowning. So the bird is caught, brought to emergency triage, and then transferred to IBRRC Fort Jackson Rehabilitation Center. During one of our regular visits to IBRRC, we learn that this bird will live.”

DONATE ONLINE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle / 7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: Gulf Oil Disaster

**Kinship Circle has no major funding support for any of its animal disaster response. Your tax-deductible gift is a lifeline!

GULF OIL SPILL PHOTOS, VIDEOS & REPORTS:
* GULF SPILL HOME: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill
* FIELD NOTES: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/2010-06-notes.html
* PHOTO LOG: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/photo-log-06-2010.html
* SUPPORT: www.kinshipcircle.org/donation
* INTERACTIVE MAP/VIDEOS: www.wa2s.org

************

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – disasteraid [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Sun, Jul 4, 2010 at 10:32 PM
Subject: Gulf Spill Window To The Truth

7/4/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE
Window To The Truth – Gulf Oil Spill 2010
Bookmark: www.KinshipCircle.org/gulf_spill

This July 4th we honor an American tradition: THE TRUTH. Kinship Circle volunteers are at the Gulf Oil Spill — partnering with World Animal Awareness Society for All Eyes On The Gulf expedition. We’re on the ground as investigators and animal spotters. We want YOU to see too. It’s all here, photos and reports on what is really happening in the Gulf:

** GULF SPILL HOME: www.KinshipCircle.org/gulf_spill
** FIELD NOTES: www.kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/2010-06-notes.html
** PHOTO LOG: kinshipcircle.org/gulf_spill/photo-log-06-2010.html

CHECK OUT THE MOVIE: ALL EYES ON THE GULF – CHAPTER 1

www.KinshipCircle.org/gulf_spill

It’s at the top left side of the page, underneath a counter showing real-time gallons of oil spewed into Gulf waters.

Our volunteers report oiled baby birds along contaminated shorelines in Queen Bess Island, Louisiana. PHOTOS (C) WA2S.org/Kinship Circle

News Bytes From The Gulf

7/4/10 – Houma, LA: Kinship Circle/WA2S.org vols fly over ground zero in a Coast Guard plane with CNN and other media. Smoke. Fire. Oil. Rusty globs and streaks stretch for miles, oozing toward a living shore.

7/3/10 – Venice, LA: While on the water with American Bird Conservancy, loud Coast Guard airboats zip past and scare birds. An oiled pelican lags behind his spooked flock. Report him? Officials won’t come till he’s flightless.

7/3/10 – IBRRC, LA: For every bird rescued, hundreds more aren’t. Each mother here means babies abandoned out there. Only state or federally licensed wildlife experts are authorized to rescue wildlife at this time.

7/2/10 – Black Mangrove Island, LA: Our team members, embedded with USFW, spot a juvenile Roseate Spoonbill (ABOVE). The severely oiled, fragile bird struggles to stay atop an oil boom. He’s flightless and could drown. The sighting is called in, but our boat captain cannot bear to watch any more. He floats within reach and grabs the worn-down bird, who is taken to Grand Isle Marina for emergency triage. The bird is then transferred to IBRRC Bird Cleaning Operation. During one of our regular visits to IBRRC, we see that this lucky bird is recovering. PHOTOS (C) WA2S.org/Kinship Circle

SEE OUR REAL-TIME MAP WITH VIDEOS & MORE: www.wa2s.org

DONATE ONLINE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: All Eyes On The Gulf

************

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Ken Shapiro – ken.shapiro [at] animalsandsociety.org
Date: Wed, Jun 23, 2010 at 2:55 PM
Subject: ASI News from the Gulf

The crisis in the Gulf of Mexico is on everyone’s mind, and images of oil-coated birds, turtles and other wildlife remind us of how terrible the toll is and will continue to be. Often forgotten are the countless microorganisms and other small animals the loss of whom makes this truly an ecological disaster. Although the Animals and Society Institute is not directly involved with animal rescue, we nevertheless support those on the front lines and will get behind all efforts to protect the environment from oil spills, factory farm pollution and any other human-based threat. We encourage you to stay informed and help where you can.

Oiled Perspectives from the Gulf Coast

Kristin L. Stewart, ASI Board member and co-author of our dolphin policy paper, lives on the Gulf Coast (pictured above with Ursa Minor, Mango and husband Ben) and sends this eyewitness report:

The beaches of Northwest Florida have been my home for more than 15 years. President Obama visited us in Pensacola Beach on Tuesday morning, and from the Oval Office that night he addressed the nation to talk about the BP oil spill, recognizing it as “the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced.” I think he is right on about that, although it still does not seem to capture the magnitude of this thing. I cannot fathom what the days, months, years, even generations ahead may reveal about the true breadth of this disaster and what it will mean for coastal and marine life and habitat.

Wildlife biologists say that, unlike dolphins, turtles do not show avoidance behavior when encountering oiled waters, and birds can hardly avoid the affects of oil. Still, I have seen dolphins off the shore here as recently as today and, strangely enough, since the spill began in late April, I’ve noticed far fewer pelicans and seagulls at the beach than normal. That doesn’t mean the birds have escaped the oil, of course. Although I haven’t yet come across oiled wildlife, I’m not looking forward to that inevitability. The official count of affected wildlife along the Gulf coast, as of June 16, is up to 1,417 birds (alive and dead), 449 sea turtles (353 of whom were found dead); and 43 marine mammals -almost all of whom were dead dolphins. (Photo above was taken at Nela Beach last week.)

During his speech, President Obama also characterized pretty well what most people on the Gulf Coast are feeling these days: “sadness…anger…[and] a wrenching anxiety” about what this means for us, our environment, and our way of life. I include all animals in that definition of “us.” From my current perspective, clean-up crews seem disorganized and lethargic; accurate, reliable information about the spill and its impact has been spotty at best; and the question of how best to respond to this unprecedented event – now and in the future – remains urgent, complex, and utterly unclear.

(Watch for more updates in our future newsletters)

Protests Target BP

On June 8, the 50th day of the BP oil spill, a series of vigils were held around the country, organized by MoveOn.org. Managing Director Bee Friedlander (above, right) attended the event in Ann Arbor, Michigan, along with friends from the local animal advocacy movement. Bee spoke briefly comparing the current oil spill with the 1989 Exxon Valdez tragedy. She noted that many of those in attendance were there specifically because of the animals affected by the disaster. (Photo by Kate Brindle)

Click here to read about Bee’s previous experience during the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska.

Oil Isn’t the Only Thing Spewing into the Environment

Sadly, the assault on the environment in the Gulf is not the only major environmental threat in the United States. Every day, millions of gallons of bacteria-laden manure runoff from concentrated animal feeding operations – CAFOs, or factory farms – pollute groundwater, contaminate crops and combine with methane from farmed animals to contribute more to greenhouse emissions than any other industry, including transportation.

“The CAFO Hothouse: Climate Change, Industrial Agriculture and the Law,” by David N. Cassuto, is the ASI’s most recent policy paper. It was written to offer activists, writers, students, legislators and consumers a concise overview of this extremely serious issue and instigate a reform of agricultural policy in this country.

Just like the growing consumption of oil and gas, the world’s increasing appetite for meat is resulting in environmental changes of huge proportions. In his paper, Professor Cassuto reports that “Worldwide, demand for animal products is growing by 3 percent per year in developing countries…[and] is expected to increase an additional 35 percent by 2015 and to double by 2050.” He notes that 5,000 pigs on a single farm product as much raw sewage as a town of 20,000 people; however, few government regulations cover factory farms, and the meat, egg and dairy industries are not held accountable for this pollution.

To learn more about this important issue, click here to order your own copy of “The CAFO Hothouse” today!

HAS Fellowship News Reaches Australia

The University of Melbourne, home to one of this year’s Human-Animal Studies Summer Fellowship scholars, recently reported on the ASI program in its Voice publication.

Siobhan O’Sullivan, Ph.D., of the university’s School of Social and Political Sciences is at Clark University now with her HAS colleagues. The UM calls the ASI “American’s premier animal studies think tank” and notes that Dr. Sullivan recently received a grant to establish a Web site that will link other HAS scholars throughout Australia, New Zealand and the neighboring South Pacific islands. Click here to read the full article.

(Note: The article erroneously lists the “Humane Society of America” as a fellowship sponsor.)

Also, click here to see the Fellowship’s final week schedule of speakers.

Does BSL Curb Dog Bites?

Apparently not, according to a survey taken by the Toronto Humane Society five years after Ontario voted to severely restrict dogs labeled as pit bulls. Learn more about the results in our Research Nutshell.

Kim Stallwood Chats in the Zone

European Director Kim Stallwood was featured in a live chat on the Animal Rights Zone Web site on June 19; click here to read the archived discussion!

Please Help Us Move Forward

We share your frustration and concern over events in the world that seem to overwhelm our desire to move forward rather than backward when it comes to saving animals. There is no lack of bad news, but there is also no lack of resolve for turning things around. For the sake of the animals – and the world we share with them – we cannot give up, we can only move forward.

Your support of our academic and policy programs helps change things for the better. We value your membership, participation and determination, and commit to doing all we can for a better tomorrow.

For the animals,

Ken Shapiro
Executive Director

Click here to support the Animals and Society Institute

Animals and Society Institute | 2512 Carpenter Road, Suite 201-A2 Ann Arbor, MI 48108-1188 USA
(734) 677-9240 | (734) 677-9242 (fax) | info@animalsandsociety.org | Privacy Policy | Home | MyASI | Site Map

© Copyright 2010 Animals and Society Institute. 2512 Carpenter Road Suite 201-A2 Ann Arbor MI 48108-1188 USA. All Rights Reserved.
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Cathy Liss, President – eAlert [at] awionline.org
Date: Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 12:26 PM
Subject: URGENT AWI eALERT: Worst environmental catastrophe in US history could foreshadow more to come – Please ask President Obama to permanently ban all new offshore drilling

To view this eAlert online, please visit www.awionline.org/ht/display/ContentDetails/i/21971/pid/11187

June 22, 2010

Worst environmental catastrophe in US history could foreshadow more to come – Please ask President Obama to permanently ban all new offshore drilling

Dear Humanitarian:

The massive and continuing torrent of oil from the April 20th explosion on and subsequent sinking of BP’s Deepwater Horizon ultra-deepwater drilling rig is the worst environmental disaster in US history. The unfolding devastation will forever alter the entire ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico and beyond. Over 100 million gallons of oil are estimated to have been released into the Gulf already, nine times more oil than was released by the catastrophic wreck of the Exxon Valdez. Recent estimates indicate that, two months after the initial explosion, 2.5 million gallons continue to spew into the fragile and once ecologically rich Gulf ecosystem every day! In other words, BP is releasing the equivalent of a new Exxon Valdez every four and a half days.

A rescue worker lifts an oil-covered turtle out of a hand net.
——————————

Oiled and dead birds, sea turtles, dolphins and fish are showing up in increasing quantities, and many more dead animals are likely to be lost at sea never to be accounted for. Oil is approaching sensitive breeding areas for birds on marshes and beaches, and scientists are predicting a near total breeding failure for those birds this year.

More sea turtles, fish and marine mammals are likely to suffer as the toxic plume, currently measuring 20 miles long and five miles wide, disperses through the water column. The already tenuous future of threatened and endangered sperm whales, manatees, sea turtles, and brown pelicans is particularly worrisome. At least twenty national wildlife refuges and forty endangered species will be impacted as oil moves through the powerful waters of the Gulf Stream. We will not truly understand the full effects of this unprecedented and still escalating disaster for many years to come.

The effects on wildlife of the experimental dispersants used by BP to break up the oil are largely unknown and may, in fact, do more harm than good, by spreading chemicals throughout the food chain, as well as spreading the oil further. BP has applied over a million gallons of the toxic chemical to break down the oil and disperse it at sea, protecting shorelines while sacrificing countless animals in the water column and those on the sea floor.

The damage predictions are devastating, and efforts thus far to stop the flow of oil, largely unsuccessful. Crews have been using a variety of methods to keep oil from reaching beaches, wetlands and estuaries, but cleanup efforts have been erratic and insufficient, resulting from BP’s gross lack of emergency preparedness and intentional trivialization of the risks. There have even been reports of BP workers blocking efforts to rescue endangered sea turtles and burning the animals alive[1] [2]. The lack of government oversight and the failure to follow even loose regulatory measures are painfully apparent.

The industry-friendly Minerals Management Service has allowed, essentially, oil companies to self-regulate for years, encouraging dangerous drilling operations to move forward without environmental safeguards.

On May 27, President Obama announced a 6-month “moratorium” on new offshore drilling permits. However, most of the existing 3,500 drilling rigs and platforms in U.S. coastal waters (79 of them deepwater wells), including some particularly dangerous projects, are allowed to continue, like ticking time bombs. The BP Atlantis, for example, one of the largest oil platforms in the world and also in the Gulf, is documented to have serious safety problems, yet remains in operation [3] [4]. Were something to go awry on the Atlantis, the Deepwater Horizon disaster would pale in comparison.

Although the scale of the disaster is overwhelming and the situation seems hopeless, there is something vitally important you can do:

Write to the President

This catastrophe illustrates the need for drilling operations to be strongly regulated and vigorously enforced. Please write a letter to President Obama and request that his Administration:

* immediately and permanently ban all future offshore drilling projects;
* immediately shut down BP Atlantis and other such unsafe drilling projects until proven safe;
* conduct a review (including their impacts to wildlife) of all deepwater platforms currently under construction and in operation and set a rigorous timeframe for resolving issues;
* halt the use of chemical dispersants until their impacts on the environment are fully understood and determined not to pose a significant threat;
* require all oil drilling to comply with environmental laws;
* ensure that wildlife rescue efforts proceed uninterrupted and investigate claims that BP is blocking rescue efforts; and
* develop strong recovery actions for threatened and endangered species.

If you prefer, you can email President Obama through AWI’s Compassion Index by clicking here.

Volunteer

To report an oiled shoreline or request volunteer information, please call the Deepwater Horizon Response Volunteer Request Line at 1-866-448-5816. To report wildlife in distress, call the Wildlife Distress Hotline at 866-557-1401.

For state specific volunteer opportunities, visit:

Louisiana: www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/

Mississippi: www.volunteermississippi.org/1800Vol/OpenIndexAction.doc

Florida: www.volunteerfloridadisaster.org/

Alabama: www.servealabama.gov/2010/default.aspx

For more information and for other volunteer opportunities, especially for those individuals with wildlife recovery and spill response experience, visit www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.

Please share our “Dear Humanitarian” eAlert with family, friends and co-workers. As always, we are grateful for your help.

Sincerely,

Cathy Liss
President

[1] Los Angeles Times, “Death by fire in the gulf”, articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/17/nation/la-na-oil-spill-burnbox-20100617 (June 17, 2010)

[2] Sea Turtle Restoration Project, “BP Blocks Attempt to Save Endangered Sea Turtles from Oil Spill”, seaturtles.org/article.php?id=1660 (June 16, 2010)

[3] Food and Water Watch, “Spill the Truth”, www.spillthetruth.org/ (June 21, 2010)

[4] Washington Post, “BP Atlantis rig plans never received proper approvals, former contractor says” www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/17/AR2010061703872.html (June 17, 2010)
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Mon, Jun 21, 2010 at 7:48 PM
Subject: 957 Birds Dead – Boat Needed To Find Oiled Animals

6/21/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE
WE ARE SEARCHING FOR A BOAT…
For Our All Eyes On The Gulf Expedition In Oil Spill States

The truth about the BP oil spill lies in Gulf waters. We are grateful to locals who ferry Kinship Circle/WA2S.org teams in their boats from Florida to Louisiana. But, to follow oiled wildlife leads, we NEED OUR OWN BOAT:

DO YOU HAVE (OR KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS):

* A boat at least 30 feet long
* A boat with a cabin to sleep 4-6 people

ANYONE WITH A BOAT, OR LEADS TO A BOAT, CONTACT:
Michelle Way, michelle.way [at] wa2s.org
World Animal Awareness Society, www.WA2S.org

OR DONATE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

Oiled birds like this pelican, transform from reddish brown to their natural white and tan shades via a series of gentle cleanings. As part of our training, AEOTG team members visit Fort Jackson Rescue Center where the IBRRC Bird Cleaning Operation is underway.
——————————

957 Dead Birds…And Counting
6/21/10: USFWS STATS FOR BP OIL-AFFECTED ANIMALS

* DEAD BIRDS: 957 * oiled but alive: 724 * cleaned/released: 97
* DEAD MAMMALS: 47 * oiled but alive: 4 * cleaned/released: 1
* DEAD SEA TURTLES: 387 * oiled but alive: 117 * cleaned/released: 3

BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig now spews an estimated 100,000 barrels, or 4.2 million gallons daily, into Gulf waters. Kinship Circle — in partnership with World Animal Awareness Society for the All Eyes On The Gulf (AEOTG) expedition — is armed with camera lenses and notepads in oil-affected states. Our disaster responders act as “spotters” to alert Unified Command to suffering animals and facilitate their capture and care.

As we watch the tragedy unfold…in LA, AL, FL, MS…we realize how much YOU, the public, are not being told. For birds, turtles, dolphins, whales, fishes and other mammals — the disaster has barely begun.

LT: Birds are frightened and disoriented when they arrive at Fort Jackson Rescue Center.
RT: 6/13/10, Long Beach, Mississippi: Kinship Circle Team #1 photographs dead fish floating in oily waters.
——————————

LT: Kinship Circle’s Rachel Laskowski undergoes documentary film training in Louisiana with Tom McPhee, executive director of World Animal Awareness Society.
RT: Kinship Circle’s Rachel and Sister Michael Marie phone in from the water while recording oil affected wildlife.
——————————

SEE OUR GOOGLE MAP WITH VIDEOS. CLICK ON “EVENTS” BUTTON: www.wa2s.org

DONATE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: BP Gulf Oil Spill

FUNDING IS NEEDED FOR:

* RV/motor home for mobile command center
* 30-ft boat with cabin for daily water excursions
* Vehicle rental + gas for volunteer squads covering 5 states
* Hazmat/Tyvek suits, respirators, rubber boots
* Deployment of volunteer teams through August (or longer)
* Public messaging and media outreach
* Computers/communications overhead and equipment
* AND MORE…

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Sat, Jun 12, 2010 at 7:00 PM
Subject: Kinship Circle Deploys To Gulf Oil Spill!

6/12/10 – KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID
With All Eyes On The Gulf Oil Spill – Kinship Circle Is There

KINSHIP CIRCLE DEPLOYS TO THE GULF OIL SPILL

June 12, 2010 — Venice, Louisiana: Kinship Circle has gone where few other animal organizations have been: Into the trenches of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf. We are there right now, in an investigative capacity to document oil-affected animals and alert Unified Command where they are. Animal rescue groups — other than specialized organizations authorized under Unified Command — currently do not have access into restricted zones. But select press and documentarians do.

KINSHIP CIRCLE AND AEOTG GULF TEAM #1, from lt to rt:
(back row) Documentary filmmaker Tom McPhee and his son Kevin;
(front row) Kinship Circle IC Bonnie Morrison, Tania Velasco and Rachel Laskowski; Plaquemines Parish coastal director P.J. Hahn; Kinship Circle’s Cheri Deatsch and Sister Michael Marie; AEOTG’s Jon Shurtz
All photos © WA2S.org / Kinship Circle, Gulf Coast 2010

Kinship Circle was asked to “embed” with acclaimed documentary filmmaker Tom McPhee for his All Eyes On The Gulf (AEOTG) expedition. Our disaster responders are on the ground to focus camera lenses and notepads on contaminated parts of Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas. AEOTG is a scientific tour to collect visual records. It’s also a window to the truth. As part of AEOTG’s crew of filmmakers and photojournalists, Kinship Circle may deploy teams through August, as funds permit.

Tom McPhee’s organization, World Animal Awareness Society, is approved under Unified Command (BP, Coast Guard, fed/state officials) to access affected areas. All team members wear photo ID badges.

Brown Pelicans await cleaning in a holding pen at IBRRC (International Bird Rescue and Rehabilitation Center), where Kinship Circle and WA2S team members trained.
Photo © WA2S.org / Kinship Circle

WHERE ARE THE ANIMALS?

On 6/10/10 U.S. Fish and Wildlife reported that more than 400 oiled birds were taken to Fort Jackson Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Buras, Louisiana in a span of several days — over five times as many than in the last six weeks combined. Where are the photos and clips? According to CNN, BP is attempting to block reporters from photographing animals altogether.

Plaquemines Parish coastal zone director P.J. Hahn lifts an oil-covered pelican at Queen Bess Island in Barataria Bay 6/5/10.
AP/Gerald Herbert

A FILMMAKER’S VISION

Tom McPhee’s All Eyes On The Gulf is a portal to the “human/animal intersection” in this disaster. Team members undergo two-day training before they journey to oil damaged regions across five states. Volunteers gather visual evidence from ground, water and air levels. They act as “spotters” to supply Unified Area Command with location coordinates for suffering animals and facilitate their capture and care. Detailed data collection procedures are used and volunteers are prepped for encounters oil distressed animals.

A rescued and rehabilitated Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle is released off the Bolivar Peninsula in Texas. The species is threatened by the oil slick because it only nests in the western Gulf of Mexico. msnbc.msn.com

Help Save Lives By Supporting All Eyes On The Gulf

As evidenced by Kinship Circle’s aid in Chile’s 8.8 quake and tsunami — disaster response is expensive. We’re rarely involved in two catastrophic missions at the same time. But as animals are treated for wounds and disease in Chile…victims of BP’s oil spill await aid in the U.S.

Photo © WA2S.org / Kinship Circle

OIL SPILL RESPONSE FUNDING IS NEEDED FOR:

* RV/motor home for an All Eyes On The Gulf mobile command center
* Hazmat/Tyvek suits, respirators, rubber boots
* Deployment of volunteer teams through August (or longer)
* Public messaging and media outreach
* Computers/communications overhead and equipment
* Fuel, food, lodging, tents
* AND MORE…

DONATE NOW:

www.kinshipcircle.org/donation

SELECT: BP Gulf Oil Spill

OR MAIL A CHECK TO:
Kinship Circle
7380 Kingsbury Blvd / St. Louis, MO 63130
ATN: BP Gulf Oil Spill

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid

Kinship Circle Animal Disaster Aid is a nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers, supplies and resources for animal victims through its network of trained responders in the U.S. and Canada. Kinship Circle works in agreement with government agencies or other NGOs to deploy teams of trained and credentialed animal responders for assessment, search and rescue, and emergency sheltering aid. We also report disaster news to inform the public about ways they can support animal aid efforts.

LEARN MORE ABOUT KINSHIP CIRCLE

KINSHIP CIRCLE: www.KinshipCircle.org
ANIMAL DISASTER VICTIMS: www.kinshipcircle.org/disasters
ACTION ALERT CENTER: www.kinshipcircle.org/letter_library
CHILE DISASTER AID: www.kinshipcircle.org/chile

World Animal Awareness Society

Core mission: To focus a lens on human-animal interactions and to share this information with the world. World Animal Awareness Society is documenting the Gulf oil spill for historical, educational and research purposes. Visual data will be archived indefinitely and distributed via WA2S.org.

LEARN MORE ABOUT ALL EYES ON THE GULF

WORLD ANIMAL AWARENESS SOCIETY: www.wa2s.iorg
SEE GOOGLE MAP WITH VIDEOS OF WHERE WE ARE. CLICK ON “EVENTS” BUTTON

PRESS RELEASE: prlog.org/10732195

WA2S FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/pages/World-Animal-Awareness-Society-WA2SOrg/251128676541?ref=ts

——————————

JOIN KINSHIP CIRCLE: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
* Animal rescue coordination/news in disasters

UNSUBSCRIBE
* Select a Kinship Circle ALERT received in your mailbox
* Hit “FORWARD” + Send to: info [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Type UNSUBSCRIBE in your subject line and hit send
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: AAVS
Date: Fri, May 14, 2010 at 11:15 AM
Subject: Helping Wildlife Impacted by the Oil Spill

The American Anti-Vivisection Society: Helping Wildlife Impacted by the Oil Spill

Because AAVS’s mission includes all animals, our thoughts have turned to the wildlife whose lives and habitats have been seriously harmed by the enormous oil spill off the U.S. Gulf Coast. The numbers of affected populations—including birds, marine mammals, sea turtles, and fish—are likely to be staggering and may grow worse even after the spill has been contained. The heroic work to save them is only just beginning and will require a sustained effort over months, maybe even years. Helping the victims of a destructive event like this requires specialized training and there are only two organizations in the country with the training and experience to professionally manage a major oil spill response. One, Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research, is located in Delaware, not far from AAVS’s office.

Snowy Egret treated by Tri-State in 2008

“As a wildlife capture and transport volunteer, I work with rehab clinics in my local area, and visit others while shuttling patients to and from sites. Tri-State provides superior treatment and care for birds of all species—you’d be hard-pressed to find a more dedicated, caring, and knowledgeable staff of specialists anywhere.” – Chris Derer, AAVS Director of Development

British Petroleum (BP), the company responsible for this environmental catastrophe, has committed to covering the costs associated with managing and cleaning up the spill, including wildlife rescue. However, it’s important to remember that organizations like Tri-State can only continue to be prepared for crises of this nature because of support from caring people like us. We applaud their expertise and dedication, and know that they’ll appreciate donations that help them continue saving wildlife from perilous, manmade disasters.

For the animals,

Sue A. Leary, President
American Anti-Vivisection Society

Tri-State Bird Rescue & Research has been rescuing and treating oiled, injured, and orphaned wildlife since 1976. Specializing in oil spill response, Tri-State staff is on call 24-hours-a-day to address the wildlife impact of these environmental threats. They also provide training to other emergency response professionals.

Donate Now
100% of contributions received by May 21 will benefit Tri-State Bird Rescue

Join Us:
Facebook | Twitter | Myspace

© Copyright 2010 American Anti-Vivisection Society (AAVS) | All Rights Reserved

The American Anti-Vivisection Society, 801 Old York Road, Suite 204 Jenkintown, PA 19046
aavs [at] aavs.org | 215-887-0816 | www.aavs.org
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: DawnWatch – news [at] dawnwatch.com
Date: Sun, May 9, 2010 at 8:41 PM
Subject: DawnWatch: BP oil disaster — coverage highlights. Please ask the media for more. 5/9/10

The biggest news for animals over the last week has been the BP oil catastrophe in the gulf. Millions of animals, including 5,000 dolphins, endangered tortoises, pelicans, and countless fish live in that gulf and are dying slow and agonizing deaths from ingesting and inhaling the oil that our species has been vomiting into their home at a rate of 200,000 gallons per day. I find myself thinking of Avatar, where humans were invading Pandora after having totally trashed Earth. Think of what the Gulf of Mexico was like just weeks ago, and what it is like now: it seems that we really are going to completely trash our planet if we don’t change our ways, and change fast.

I happened to see a screening of the movie “Fuel” last week. Winner of the 2008 Best Documentary award at the Sundance Film Festival, it is now more timely than ever. It focuses on what our dependence on oil is doing to us and the earth, and it gives clean energy solutions. Please check out the trailer at www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPrH5za6BlE and get a copy of the DVD when it come out on June 22.

The BP explosion came just weeks after President Obama announced plans for more offshore drilling along our coastlines, an announcement that broke the hearts of environmentalists who had thought they had elected a president with similar values. While it is hard, as an animal holocaust is underway in the gulf, to even think of a silver lining, it seemed at first that at least this blanket of oil over the gulf would bury those plans. Yet as oil poured into the gulf Obama said, “Let me be clear. I continue to believe that domestic oil production is an important part of our overall strategy for energy security.”

The moratorium the administration has announced on new offshore drilling is for three weeks — until the cause of the BP explosion is determined. It doesn’t take into account that the next accident that wipes out a different ocean might have a different cause.

I urge you to please sign the Environment America petition asking Obama to reverse course on offshore drilling. The petition is at: tinyurl.com/24sqvf6

I have been scouring the media for animal news from the gulf. There isn’t much. CNN’s Brooke Baldwin has been on the scene at the gulf. I happened to tune in the first day she took a boat out to the spill. The boat pulled up alongside a sea turtle who we saw coming up trying to get air in the midst of the oil. At least 30 sea turtles have washed up dead so far.

The Fox News website has a slideshow headed, “Animal Victims of the Gulf Spill,” including some of the turtles, at www.foxnews.com/slideshow/scitech/2010/05/03/oil-spill-animals-rescue/#slide=1
(My thanks to Richard Hernandez for that link.)

The Center for Biological Diversity has been following events and posting relevant press. It is a good place to keep track of what’s going on. You’ll find their posts at tinyurl.com/38hqun5 (I thank Candaca Rocha for that link.)

I was shocked by the May 5 Washington Post story, by Juliet Eilperin, headed “U.S. exempted BP’s Gulf of Mexico drilling from environmental impact study.”

It tells us,

“The Interior Department exempted BP’s calamitous Gulf of Mexico drilling operation from a detailed environmental impact analysis last year.” It discusses the “decision by the department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) to give BP’s lease at Deepwater Horizon a ‘categorical exclusion’ from the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).”

That story is on line at: tinyurl.com/34hsldq

Media interviews with representatives from the Center for Biological Diversity about that exemption, and the lobby money behind it, are well worth watching. Two of the most compelling have been on media outlets on the opposite end of the political spectrum, reminding us that environmentalism, like animal protection, need not be a partisan issue.

The Fox News White House correspondent, Major Garret, gave us a short and hard-hitting report about the exemption, which you can watch on line at: tinyurl.com/26s9voc

If you are a Fox News viewer, please let the network know how much you appreciated the report and that you want to see more on the BP oil spill crisis. Fox News takes comments via email at yourcomments [at] foxnews.com

Democracy Now brought us similar though more in depth coverage on May 7. You can watch it on line at: tinyurl.com/3ajgzc2

You can also email it to your friends, by clicking on the “email” link on that page.

Democracy Now’s Amy Goodman also did a radio blog on this issue, headed “BP: Billionaire Polluter.” It is well worth hearing or reading on line at: www.democracynow.org/blog/2010/5/5/bp_billionaire_polluter

Please thank Democracy Now for its coverage of the disaster and ask them to keep on the story. Democracy Now takes comments at www.democracynow.org/contact?to=8

CNN’s Jane Velez Mitchell, always superb on animal and environmental issues, did an “Issues” segment in which she called for a move to electric cars.

You can watch the brief segment on line at: tinyurl.com/265fqdd

Please recommend it to your friends (by hitting the “recommend” button) and please thank Jane for her continued commitment to animal and environmental issues — her producers need to hear how much their viewers appreciate her stance. Jane takes comments at www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.html?106

The Center for Biological Diversity is calling for the resignation of big oil buddy, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, in light of the Gulf calamity. You can read more about Salazar at: tinyurl.com/25fll2e

Animal advocates need to learn more about Salazar. His department is also responsible for the recent delisting of Grey Wolves as an endangered species. Further, the “All-Creatures” animal advocacy site has a petition to have him removed as Interior Secretary due to his support for the ranching community and participation in the mustang round-ups and decimation of America’s wild horse population. You’ll find that petition on line at: www.all-creatures.org/alert/alert-20100421.html

Despite the animal annihilation underway in the Gulf, I have found relatively little information on animal news lists about the issue. I was therefore struck by Joshua Green’s superb blog on the website for The Atlantic, headed “No Energy,” in which he discusses what seems to be a lack of appropriate outrage. He shares the Obama quote that I shared above, Obama’s commitment to more drilling, and he writes:

“In the wake of the Gulf oil spill, the benefits of clean sources of energy are clearer than ever. What’s so infuriating about the Washington response so far is that there’s no indication the disaster has prompted Obama or anyone else to reconsider his position. In the past, major disasters shifted the terms of debate. This time, nobody is budging. …. Washington eventually responds to public outrage. (Just ask Goldman Sachs.) But for now, energy can join the long list of issues on which Washington leadership has vanished.”

The full column is on line at www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2010/05/no-energy/56285/

You can comment right below it or thank him for it by email at joshuagreen [at] theatlantic.com

I hope when the animal advocacy community watches some of the interviews above, about the deals made with BP, and thinks about the millions of animals dying slowly in the gulf, we will see some of that outrage to which the White House responds. The media has a huge impact on public thinking so please encourage the media to stay on this story.

CNN takes feedback for general news at www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?39

Let them know we want interviews with environmentalists such as the representatives of the Center Biological Diversity.

Please send letters to the editor to your local papers, and contact your favorite shows, asking for coverage to keep what is going on in the gulf top of mind for the public. The animals and the Earth need your voice.

Yours and the animals’,
Karen Dawn

(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts only if you do so unedited — leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line.)

Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to learn about Karen Dawn’s book, “Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals,” which was chosen last year by the Washington Post as one of the “Best Books of The Year!”

To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php
 
 
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle – info [at] kinshipcircle.org
Date: Wed, May 5, 2010 at 1:08 PM
Subject: Kill Baby Kill ­ BP Oil Spill Closes In On Gulf Coast

KINSHIP CIRCLE ANIMAL DISASTER AID NETWORK
5/5/10: Kill Baby Kill – BP Oil Spill Closes In On Gulf Coast

Members of Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research and International Bird Research Center hydrate a Northern Gannet bird, who was covered in oil.

IN THIS ALERT:

1. Kill Baby Kill: Some BP Bullet Points
2. Present Animal Response In Gulf Oil Spill
3. Tubul’s Story: Help Us Save More Like Him [Note: Please see Earthquake in Chile: Some 700,000 Animals May Be Affected for this portion of the alert.]

=====================

1. Kill Baby Kill: Some BP Bullet Points

A dead fish is seen on the beach in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Getty Image

BP OIL SPILL IN GULF / DISASTER OVERVIEW

– 5/5/10: Unified command activated for West Coast of Florida: Reps from BP, U.S. Coast Guard and Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) are meeting to plan multi-agency response. They’ve also met with over 30 NGO environmental groups: Tampa Bay Watch, Save our Seabirds, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, Sierra Club, etc. — in preparation for the worst case.

– 5/4/10: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the oil slick seems to move toward Alabama and Florida coasts, as well as the Chandeleur Islands off Louisiana’s southern tip. www.noaawatch.gov

– 5/4/10: U.S. Air Force prepares C-130s for spill response. Members of the 910th Airlift Wing are in Mississippi to help with oil spill clean up.

– 5/4/10: BP spokesperson Bill Salvin reports that three four-story, 70-ton “containment domes” will be lowered over leaks — to trap oil and help pump it to the surface. Other attempts such as a shutoff valve and floating booms have mostly failed — in part due to rough winds and seas.

– 5/3/10: Oil spews at a rate of roughly 5000 barrels (210,000 gallons) per day from three sections of piping. Birds and other animals are vulnerable because they are in reproducing cycles. Young animals may become oiled and parents may plunge into dark waters in search of food. There could be lasting repercussions for fragile wetlands along the Mississippi River.

– 4/22/10: BP’s oil rig collapses into the gulf, after an explosion on 4/20/10. Oil seeps out and BP, while aligned with government agencies and private contractors, cannot stop the flow of crude from the well.

– 4/20/10: A BP (British Petroleum) oil rig explodes. BP, operator of Deepwater Horizon oil rig situated 5,000 feet below the surface in Gulf waters, accepts responsibility for the disaster.

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2. Present Animal Response In Gulf Oil Spill

A dead sea turtle on a Pass Christian, MS beach. At least 20 sea turtles were found dead along a 30-mile stretch from Biloxi to Bay St. Louis.

Many endangered turtles dying on Texas Gulf Coast. Salt Lake Tribune

Kinship Circle

We are watching the animal response to the BP oil spill. Presently, U.S. government, oil companies, and specialized oil decontamination/wildlife agencies are deployed. Some NGOs have volunteers on standby, but no one should self deploy to this high-security zone without invitation from the unified command (governing agency). KINSHIP CIRCLE IS NOT RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS AT THIS TIME.

A least tern checks her eggs on a Gulfport, Mississippi beach. Environmentalists fear that the oil slick will destroy this generation of birds that nest along the Gulf coast beaches during migration. AP

A dead pelican is seen on Chandeleur Island, Louisiana (5/3). Louisiana’s state bird, the brown pelican, could come to symbolize the affects of the damage done by the oil spill. Their nesting season, which has just begun, lies in the direct path of the spill. Getty Image

Coalition To Restore Coastal Louisiana

www.crcl.org/coalitionprograms/oilspillrecovery.html

REGISTER TO VOLUNTEER: www.thedatabank.com/dpg/316/personalopt1.asp?formid=oilspill
CRCL is joining with our partners at the local, state and federal level to begin registering volunteers to assist with spill recovery efforts.

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
6160 Perkins Road, Suite# 225 / Baton Rouge, La 70808
office: 225-767-4181; toll-free: 888-522-6278; fax: 225-768-8193
email: coalition [at] crcl.org

If you encounter oiled wildlife, call: 1-800-557-1401
Do not touch or disturb oiled wildlife, for your safety and theirs.

We do not know the extent of impact to birds, wildlife, and habitat at this time. National Wildlife Federation, National Audubon Society, Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program and the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana are building a standby volunteer list.

Volunteer Louisiana (Statewide Hub)

www.louisianaserve.org/1800Vol/Homepage/viewEventDetails.do?eventId=30619

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
Volunteers not yet needed. Sign up to be updated as needs arise:

www.1-800-volunteer.org:80/1800Vol/Homepage/viewEventDetails.do?eventId=30619

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Volunteer Louisiana (Statewide Hub)
jpace [at] crt.state.la.us
Louisiana Serve Commission
263 Third Street, Ste. 610 / Baton Rouge, LA 70801
225-342-2038 * www.crt.state.la.us/laserve

The Independent: Wildlife rescue teams ready for US oil spill victims. photo: Creative Commons

International Bird Rescue Research Center (BRRC)

www.ibrrc.org/gulf-spill-2010.html#volunteer

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
No call for volunteers.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
Northern California (Main office)
San Francisco Oiled Wildlife Care & Education Center (SFBOCEC)
4369 Cordelia Road / Fairfield, CA 94534
707-207-0380; no_cal_center [at] ibrrc.org

Bird rescue specialists from International Bird Rescue Research Center (IBRRC) are on site in Louisiana and Alabama preparing rescue centers to clean seabirds caught in the Gulf coast oil spill. IBBRC is working in partnership with Tri-state Bird Rescue & Research to prep rehab facilities in Fort Jackson, Louisiana and Theodore, Alabama.

Tri-State Bird Rescue And Research

www.tristatebird.org/

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
Tri-State has been asked to oversee wildlife rehabilitation response along the gulf coast and is working closely with many collaborating organizations. All response efforts are coordinated by the Unified Command on-site.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
110 Possum Hollow Road / Newark, Delaware, 19711
302-737-9543; web form: www.tristatebird.org/contact

A dolphin swims through polluted waters of Drum Bay, Louisiana. There are as many as 5,000 dolphins between Mississippi and Louisiana coasts and the oil rig, many of whom are in their reproductive season. Getty Images www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/birds-oil-coated-gulf-spill_n_558665.html

Deepwater Horizon Incident Joint Information Center

www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

VOLUNTEER STATUS:
Report oiled shoreline or request volunteer information: 866-448-5816

CONTACT INFORMATION:
985-902-5231; deepwaterhorizonresponse [at] hotmail.com
Submit alternative response technology, services or products: 281-366-5511
Submit your vessel as a vessel of opportunity skimming system: 281-366-5511
Report oiled wildlife: 866-557-1401

Nine staging areas have been set up to protect vital shoreline in all potentially affected Gulf Coast states (Biloxi, MS, Pensacola, FL, Pascagoula, MS, Dauphin Island, AL, Port Sulphur, LA, Shell Beach, LA, Slidell, LA, Port Fourchon, LA, Venice, LA).

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FOR BREAKING NEWS & ACTION: subscribe [at] kinshipcircle.org
* Action campaigns on animal cruelty issues worldwide
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———- Forwarded message ———-
From: People Protecting Animals & Their Habitats – PATH Inc.
Date: Tue, May 4, 2010 at 9:13 AM
Subject: Supplies/Donations Needed for Oil Spill Rescue

Bulletin from the cause: People Protecting Animals & Their Habitats – PATH Inc.
Go to Cause
Posted By: Kelly Overton
To: Members in People Protecting Animals & Their Habitats – PATH Inc.

Supplies/Donations Needed for Oil Spill Rescue

PATH needs the following items for oil spill assistance/rescue:

volunteers to collect supplies & donations in their communities
heating pads
electrical extension cords
pliers
nets w/ handle
netting
water picks
feeding syringes
sunscreen (not tested on animals)
wading boots
hotel/airline points/miles
financial support – donations

In NYC supplies/donations can be dropped off at:

Moo Shoes
78 Orchard Street
New York, NY 10002
(Lower East Side b/t Grand/Broome)

Checks can be mailed to (all donations are tax-deductible):

PATH
151 First Avenue, Suite 161
New York, NY 10003

www.ppath.org
Call to Action
Fundraising Project: People Protecting Animals and Their Habitats, Inc.
Donate

You are receiving this email because you are a member of the cause People Protecting Animals & Their Habitats – PATH Inc..

Causes Privacy Policy | Causes Address: PO Box 492, Berkeley, CA 94708 United States

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts dawnwatch kinship circle disaster relief disaster response man-made disaster bp british petroleum oil oil drilling offshore oil drilling oil spill gulf gulf coast wildlife free-living animals animal rescue environment energy climate change pollution hair donate donate your hair hair donation flickr photos videos science

My cynical, misanthropic, impatient, stick-in-the-mud thoughts on Earth Day: “Meat’s Not Green. Save the Planet – GoVeganNow.com”

Graphic shamelessly appropriated and repurposed from PETA2.
(Hey, what’s good for the goose…)

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Tagged: earth day holidays observances green meat vegan go vegan meat’s not green peta2

When I opened this email from 350.org, I couldn’t help but snicker – after which, I inevitably felt a little guilty. (Hey, I’ve got lady bits; I’ve been indoctrinated into a sea of guilt, whether deserved or not.) Then, still feeling a pang of guilt, I snickered some more. You see, their hearts are (kinda sorta) in the right place; their tummies, not so much.

Apologies again for bombarding you with email, but we’re in the final stretch here at Copenhagen and I hope you can join us in doing two unusual things.

“Unsual”? Well, I’m up for most anything. Do tell!

They’re unusual things for us to ask, but this is an unusual moment. In a certain sense the Copenhagen conference is going better than we dared hope. The small nations of the world have really been quite remarkable this week–their calls for strong climate action have completely changed the tone of these negotiations. They have stood up to immense pressure from the big powers, and they continue to rally behind the banner that all of you have raised for them. These nations are still trying to insert “350 language” into the treaty text, at least as a symbolic aspiration for the future. This would be a remarkable acknowledgment of physical reality, and give us a good base to keep moving on.

But not all is well in Copenhagen. We’re not going to get the agreement that we need (current negotiations put us on track to hit a devastating 770ppm by century’s end) and this movement will need to fight on in the years ahead.

But right now, while the Copenhagen climate talks are still unfolding, we need one final push.

Yes, yes!? Quit with the teasing and spill the organic, fair trade, sustainably harvested beans already!

So, the two unusual requests:

1) Make a phone call.

We don’t usually ask you to make calls, but today we’re going to. At this link you’ll find a list of every head of state and his or her phone number. You’ll note that the countries are listed in either green or red type. If your nation is in green, it means they’re fighting the good fight for 350. We need you to leave them a message that either expresses your pride and gratitude for their commitment to keeping 350 in the treaty text, or your earnest wish that they’ll listen to the science and consider standing with the bloc of more than 100 nations standing for bold scientific targets.

Please click here to make the call–you’ll find everything you need: the appropriate phone numbers, a short script of what to say, and a sense of how your country’s leadership is standing on this issue.

Eh. I receive requests to call my reps every day – nay, every hour. As far as calls to action go, this one’s rather boring and mundane. Next!

2) Think about fasting for 24 hours on Thursday–part of a genuinely worldwide effort.

A hunger strike is not one of our usual tools either, but somehow it feels appropriate at what’s a very solemn moment. Some of our allies around the world have been going without food for more than a month, and they’ve asked others to join this fast for 24 hours–starting any time on Thursday. We know it’s late notice, especially for those of you in the eastern parts of the world–but everything just came together to pull it off. Many here in Copenhagen are doing so–including thousands of youth, members of the 350.org team, Vandana Shiva, and many more–and we wanted you to have the opportunity too.

As global warming kicks in, more and more people will starve–earlier this week, at the conference’s main religious service, there were shriveled ears of corn from drought-stricken parts of Africa on the altar. Most of us can’t know the true terror of hunger, because we know we’ll eat again soon, but we can join in what organizers are calling a Hunger Strike for Survival.

If you’re interested in joining in, please sign-up here. It’s true that we can’t promise fasting will have any practical effect, but it feels right to us right now.

Oh, my. How do I say this without sounding like a total asshole? While I agree that fasts can sometimes prove a potent form of protest – and I respect the fortitude and passion of the activists who have been fasting for days or even weeks on behalf of environmental justice – this is, will all due respect, bullshit. By fasting for 24 hours, I won’t do anything other than make myself miserable for a day. Seriously: I work at home, rarely eat out, and have enough staples to last through the winter stashed away in my pantry. No one will will miss my blip in consumption. (No one but me, that is.)

And, yes, I realize that the fast is largely symbolic, as most of the participants are scattered around the globe, thus hunger striking in their respective, isolated corners of the world. Even as a symbolic gesture, however, a 24-hour fast is rather empty – empty, that is, unless one drastically changes her patterns of consumption the other 8,736 hours of the year. You see, my regular dietary routine has a far greater potential to slow (and even halt) climate change, as well as deforestation, air and water pollution, habitat loss, world hunger, etc., etc., etc., than any amount of carbon caps possibly could.

If 350′s target audience was to forgo the 24-hour fast and instead pledge to eat vegan – not symbolically, for a day; not meatless on Mondays; not even for the entire month of December – but today, tomorrow, and every day thereafter for the rest of their earth-bound lives, well, now there’s a social movement with teeth! Not to mention, heart enough for everyone.

Consider, for example, that vegan diets, on average, emit 0.14 tons of CO2 per year, compared to 2.19 tons from omnivorous diets – and that these numbers will only become more disparate as western countries export their unsustainable ways to developing nations. Animal exploitation is not sustainable. Or, um, moral.

But, bah, I’ve said all of this before. Rather than repeat myself, I will instead direct y’all to the cantankerous pieces I wrote about animal agriculture and climate change for October’s Blog Action Day for Climate Change and the International Day of Climate Action (also from 350.org). Also check out Will Eating Less Meat Help Stop Climate Change? YES., by Michael Weber of FARM.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ll go stuff myself full of homemade butterscotch ice cream. Vegan, of course.

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Photo via Flickr user sea turtle.

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare 350.org 350 climate change global warming events hunger strike fast copenhagen meat food animal agriculture empty gestures flickr photos weak dairy eggs vegan veganism vegetarian vegetarianism poverty hunger

There are several “actionable items” – not quite action alerts, but rather opportunities for participation, if that makes sense – I’ve been meaning to share, but just haven’t had the time to blog about in depth. Rather than neglect these projects altogether, here’s a handy-dandy roundup. Please scan through each item and help out where you can; these virtual volunteer opportunities are perfect for activists who have more extra time than they do money!

1. Science

It really chaps my rotund hide when speciesists claim that animal advocates are “anti-science.” Being all diverse and stuff, I’m sure the animal rights and welfare movements are home to a fair share of science-averse humans, but for the most part, we’re hardly anti-science. On the contrary: many of us harness the power of scientific research to demonstrate that veganism is a healthier alternative to “meat” and dairy consumption; that nonhuman animals can experience complex thoughts and emotions; that our exploitation of nonhumans animals is both unnecessary and harmful; etc., etc., etc. (you get the idea). On the whole, I don’t think we’re any more anti-science than our omni counterparts.

Personally, I love science; once upon a time, I wanted to be a clinical psychologist, specializing in anthrozoology and world vegan (then vegetarian, but wev) domination. I still peruse research articles and scientific journals (of a social nature) on occasion, just for the fun of it. No, it’s not science per se that I take issue with. Rather, I object to the imprisonment, torture, killing and exploitation of sentient, non-consenting animals, usually for redundant and frivolous research.

So I’ve become increasingly interested in “vegan” science, particularly in supporting such endeavors whenever possible. For example, I would love to donate my body to science when I die. The thought of spending my “afterlife” rotting away on a body farm somewhere brings a smile to my face; doubly so if my remains can save a nonhuman animal from being birthed, tortured and killed in the name of science. Oooh, Dr. Brennan, pick me, pick me!

Anyhow, when I saw an ad for research volunteers in the latest issue of Best Friends magazine, I immediately fired off an email to Dr. Frank McMillan to see how I might help. He pointed me to five open surveys, all of which are related to studies he’s conducting at Best Friends (as described here):

Dr. Franklin McMillan has been the director of well-being studies at Best Friends since October 2007. As director of well-being studies, Dr. Frank assesses and studies the mental health and emotional well-being of animals who have endured hardship, adversity and psychological trauma. Through these studies, he hopes to learn what the effects of trauma are – the psychological injuries and scars – and how best to treat them in order to restore to these animals a life of enjoyment rather than one of fear and emotional distress.

He is currently conducting such studies on cats from the Great Kitty Rescue in Pahrump, Nevada – an institutionalized hoarding situation – and the fighting dogs taken from the estate of former NFL quarterback Michael Vick.

The ad in Best Friends (September/October 2009, p. 66) offers additional details on the research:

Best Friends needs your help in our mental health studies of traumatized animals.

First, be assured that all the studies we conduct here at Best Friends involve observational methods that do not harm animals.

Many of our studies require a large number of animals for the study to be valid. For this, we rely on volunteer participation by individuals with certain types of animals. All studies involve nothing more than filling out an online questionnaire about your pet.

If you are a guardian to a cat or a dog, you’re eligible to participate in at least one (if not several) of the following surveys:

Dogs: Suspicion of Abuse Survey – for guardians who suspect that one or more of their dog-kids were abused, mistreated or neglected (the definition of abuse is left open for interpretation).

Dogs: Canine Fear Survey – for all dog guardians.

Dogs: Physical-Emotional Interaction Assessment for Dogs – a mind/body study that’s open to all canine guardians.

Cats: Physical-Emotional Interaction Assessment for Cats – a mind/body study that’s open to all feline guardians.

Dogs: Best Friends Canine Attachment Survey – A bonding/attachment study for dog guardians.

If you are a guardian to multiple cats and/or dogs, you can fill out one survey for each of the eligible animals. That is to say, if you have three dog-kids and suspect that two were abused, fill out two separate “Suspicion of Abuse” surveys, one for each dog.

Since I live with five dogs and a cat, I completed a grand total of 18 surveys over several weeks. Each survey takes about 15 minutes to complete, depending on how much you elaborate on the open-ended questions.

Additionally, Mia Cobb of Monash University in Australia is looking for people aged 18 years and older to complete an online questionnaire about

your attitudes towards the welfare of dogs and kennel facilities, as well as a few general questions about yourself.

The questionnaire is not restricted to Australian participants and you do not need to have had any direct experience with a kennel facility to take part. You don’t even need to ‘like’ dogs.

Public opinion is often a driving force in the provision of care for animals housed in captivity. Therefore, a survey is important to accurately establish the views of the general public as well as dog trainers and primary care givers (such as kennel attendant staff) who are generally directly responsible for decisions regarding the care provided to dogs housed in kennel facilities.

You can access the “Attitudes regarding the welfare of dogs housed in kennel facilities questionnaire” at Monash University here.

Finally, speaking of surveys, Breeze Harper of Sistah Vegan and Vegans of Color concluded her “Vegans by Race/Ethnicity in the USA” poll and has made the results available as an ebook, available for purchase and download on Lulu. Also of interest is her Masters thesis, “Cyber-Territories of Whiteness, Sistah Vegan Consciousness.”

2. Poetry

Author/activist Mickey Z. is soliciting poetry for his latest project, The Big Book of Revolutionary Poetry:

From: “Mickey Z.” mzx2 [at] earthlink.net
Date: Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:25:50 -0400
Subject: Call for poems

Calling all feminists, wizards, Queer theorists, ex-Black Panthers, Christians, Green activists, avant-gardists, Kabbalists, vegans, Hawaiian nationalists, kickboxers, Punks, Hip Hop evangelists, New New Leftists, pink-haired emo warriors, organic gardeners — submit your work for “The Big Book of Revolutionary Poetry,” edited by Sparrow and Mickey Z. Send up to 3 poems to: sparrow44 [at] juno.com or info [at] mickeyz.net

Also, please forward this announcement far and wide, post it on your website or blog or Facebook page, and tweet it if you must. Thanks…

P.S. Please don’t reply to find out what we mean by “revolutionary.” As they say, if you have to ask…

Creative vegan feminist types, I’m looking at you!

3. Change (.org)

Change.org recently launched a new feature on its website. Heavy on audience participation, Changemakers invites readers to nominate and vote for activists, advocates, agitators – you know, changemakers – in 23 categories, including animal rights. Because the feature is user-driven with little quality control (that, and there’s no dedicated animal welfare category to highlight the distinction), some of the nominations are, shall we say, puzzling. (Since when is Leonardo DiCaprio an animal rights activist?) Rather than shun Changemakers, though, this is precisely why actual vegans and animal rights advocates should get involved and make their voices heard, particularly as Change.org will invite Changemakers

to periodically write on an issue they’re passionate about and have their content featured on Change.org and pushed throughout our network of 500,000 activists, 4000 organizational partners, and 20,000 affiliated bloggers.

Each user has ten votes that she can spread across all 23 categories, so vote wisely. I’m not 100% sure what the nomination policy is – how many activists one user can nominate, whether the nomination automatically counts as a vote, whether that vote is unchangeable, etc. – so please contact Change.org directly with any questions you may have.

So far I’ve only voted for Gene Bauer, but plan to nominate between three and six women as soon as I have a free moment. Care to guess who my choices are?

Stephanie recently blogged about Changemakers, so see her post (or Change.org‘s FAQ) for more details.

4. Heroism, CNN

Last but not least, CNN Heroes is open for audience voting. Now in its third year, CNN invites viewers to nominate their own personal Heroes for the contest. From there, a panel of judges selects ten finalists, and then through online voting, viewers choose a winner, who wins a grand prize of $100,000. All ten finalists are featured on CNN throughout the final phase of the contest – October through November – and all nominees are profiled on CNN’s website.

Obviously, CNN Heroes is a great opportunity to put animal advocacy issues front and center. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to see an animal advocate make the final cut – and this year is no different. Again, the only way we can remedy the situation is by getting involved: if you know an animal advocate, please think about nominating her in 2010. Judging from when last I posted about Heroes, nominations open rather early in the year – as in, January or February. I can’t seem to find the nomination form online (probably it’s no longer available), but as I recall, it was somewhat comprehensive, and included questions personal enough to imply that one must be familiar (i.e., in the real world sense) with one’s nominee. In other words, now’s the time to start thinking about next year’s nominations.

I’ll post a notice when the 2010 nominations open up, but for now, hop on over to CNN and vote for a Hero.

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Hard-at-work doggy via Flickr user stretchdog.

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Tagged: animals animal rights animal welfare action alerts science poetry research cnn heroes cnn change.org changemakers survey dog canine cat feline pet companion animal animal companion best friends vegan veganism animal advocacy activists activism flickr photos humane research cruelty-free research vegan science ethology animal behavior animal rescue

Close on the heels of last week’s Blog Action Day for Climate Change comes today’s International Day of Climate Action. With a focus on the number 350 – “as in parts per million, the level scientists have identified as the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere” – the campaign’s goal is laudable:

350.org is an international campaign dedicated to building a movement to unite the world around solutions to the climate crisis–the solutions that science and justice demand.

Our mission is to inspire the world to rise to the challenge of the climate crisis—to create a new sense of urgency and of possibility for our planet.

Our focus is on the number 350–as in parts per million, the level scientists have identified as the safe upper limit for CO2 in our atmosphere. But 350 is more than a number–it’s a symbol of where we need to head as a planet.

To tackle climate change we need to move quickly, and we need to act in unison—and 2009 will be an absolutely crucial year. This December, world leaders will meet in Copenhagen, Denmark to craft a new global treaty on cutting emissions. The problem is, the treaty currently on the table doesn’t meet the severity of the climate crisis—it doesn’t pass the 350 test.

In order to unite the public, media, and our political leaders behind the 350 goal, we’re harnessing the power of the internet to coordinate a planetary day of action on October 24, 2009. We hope to have actions at hundreds of iconic places around the world – from the Taj Mahal to the Great Barrier Reef to your community – and clear message to world leaders: the solutions to climate change must be equitable, they must be grounded in science, and they must meet the scale of the crisis.

If an international grassroots movement holds our leaders accountable to the latest climate science, we can start the global transformation we so desperately need.

Certainly, we need bold, cooperative, global action to combat climate change – and we need it now. Yet, 350′s campaign materials do not so much as mention vegetarianism, let alone veganism – this despite the fact that animal agriculture is a major contributor to greenhouse gases, including methane and nitrous oxide (which have a global warming potential 23 and 296 times greater than C02, respectively). Given the world’s burgeoning human population and rise in “meat” and dairy consumption, we cannot stop and reverse climate change – not to mention, air and water pollution, deforestation, habitat loss, species extinction, world hunger and poverty – without transitioning to a vegan diet. Our exploitation of nonhuman animals echoes in our exploration of the earth, and of one another.

While I’m happy to see that many of the planned actions include vegan meals, this isn’t enough: the International Day of Climate Action must include veganism as its centerpiece. Talk about C02 and Copenhagen, yes, but don’t stop there: speak also of veganism and the politics of what’s on your plate. Anything less is dishonest, regressive, hypocritical. Suicide and murder, both.

I get that “350″ is a cute, catchy, universally-understood campaign gimmick – so why not make next year’s theme 365? As in, GO VEGAN!: not just meatless on Mondays, or meat- and dairy-free on on November 1st, but vegan 365 days of the year. That’s real, meaningful change, and with minimal effort, too. Omnivores, vegetarians and vegans: we all already shop, cook and eat. To do so in a compassionate, (truly) green manner requires little to no extra action, especially in the long run – and living vegan will only become easier as demand and support for veganism increase.

Thus, while I briefly considered trucking down to the nearest International Day of Climate Action event today, I decided instead to treat today like any other, living as green a life as possible. (Wasting a few gallons of gas to attend a non-vegan rally? Not so green. Although I do applaud the vegans who made a showing, such as Liberation BC – we need to be more involved, not less.) I save my recyclables and drive them down to the recycling center when I’ve a van full; I compost all organic matter, save for dog feces, which is a perpetual thorn in my side; I harass organizations, for-profit and non-, until they remove me from their junk mailing lists; I wash my laundry in cold water; I use and reuse cloth rags when cleaning the house; I telecommute; I plan all my shopping at once, to minimize drive time and gas usage; I buy items in bulk, to reduce needless packaging; I drink filtered water from a travel mug; I buy energy-efficient appliances; I grow my own fruits and veggies, and share the extras; I rarely let food go to waste, and never intentionally; I winterize my home; I vote green, and when my candidates inevitably lose, I petition the winners about a wide variety of progressive causes. Etc., etc., etc.

Most importantly – dare I say more important than all of these combined – my husband, my five (rescued, spayed and neutered) dog-kids and myself all consume a vegan diet. This is what I did today on behalf of the earth and its trillions of inhabitants; it’s what I did yesterday, and the day before that – and, Dog willing, it’s what I’ll do tomorrow, next week, next year, and every day thereafter, for the rest of my life. I hope you’ll join me.

Since this is also the 24th day of VeganMoFo, my post would not be complete without some lovely vegan food photos. Lest you assume that a life of veganism is a life of deprivation, here’s what I ate yesterday.

For breakfast, a bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon and sugar and dried cherries, blueberries and cranberries. Also: a fruit juice smoothie to wash it down.

Lunch was a baked sweet potato, garnished with a pat of vegan margarine and a little cinnamon and sugar:

At dinnertime, Shane and I teamed up to make linguine with homemade sundried tomato pesto; recipe courtesy Holy Cow!:

We finished off the day with some freshly baked vegan chocolate chip cookies (recipe here). I also had a cup of green tea, to stave off the autumn chill.

I’m a grazer, so throughout the day I also snacked on fresh oranges, bananas and carrots, veggie chips and mixed nuts.

My dog-kids also subsist on a vegan diet (well, save for the animal-based glucosamine/chondroitin I give seniors Ralphie and Kaylee twice a day; there’s not yet a vegan substitute for chondroitin, I’m afraid) – which is a much more sensible solution than killing dogs and cats in order to make way for cows and pigs, which will then also be killed, for no reason other than that humans enjoy the taste of once-living flesh (as was proposed in a recently published book on “sustainable living” – oh, the irony!).

Yesterday, they had V-Dog kibble for breakfast, and then V-Dog kibble mixed with some leftover homemade food for lunch and dinner:

I never blogged the recipe because I more or less threw the dish together, but it’s pressed tofu, sunflower seeds, soy nuts and mixed veggies in an dressing of olive oil, white vinegar, water and lime juice, along with some spices (basil, perhaps?). Easy to make, and the dogs loved it. As did their bovine and porcine kin, I’m sure.

Truly, veganism’s not that inconvenient of a truth to swallow. In fact, it’s downright liberating: No one is free while others are oppressed.

For further reading, please see Veganism is the solution., my submission for Blog Action Day, as well as those from Stephanie and Deb.

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