The Oil: taints your seafood buffet

I'm not sure if everyone knows this, but for the most part, I get my information about the world via my awesome Yahoo front page. No...they didn't give me money--I wish! But I'm sort of a cluttered (but organized!) person that enjoys having many things around me. I like that Yahoo front page gives me a little bit of everything including politics, cute animal videos, celeb gossip, sex blogs...and updated on what matters.

Like this darn BP oil spill...just when you think you've heard enough and that we've all escaped the dirty waters unscathed (save for those who actually live in it)...now there's news that the sneaky oil drops might've already climbed up the food chain!

In this article on one of my ridiculously long and informative list of yahoo front-scroll-bar-stories...the blue crab has apparently been hit by the BP crisis---in a big way! If you count reproductive viability a "big" way---which I do.

The wild blue crab's larvae (or "eggs" which hold teeny-tiny crabs) are found tainted with a familiar orange oily hue on the exterior. Scientists are concerned because if these droplets get inside the larvae, it could affect the health of the new babies and the reductive viability of the future generation...thus impacting the whole species in a BIG way in the years to come.

Only a handful of these 3 million or so eggs actually grow to adulthood as it is...and now their chances are lowering again.

And let's not forget about all the other creatures that depend on the blue crab for food! HOPE YOU HATE SEAFOOD.

Although crab extinction is sort of a stretch as of now, the though is still scary, and it SHOULD BE scary. It may be hard to fathom how a tiny blue crab affects OUR health, but they do and they will. So reserve your oil...ride a bike, walk the dog, play some soccer...and pray for the crabbies.

The Paul: Magical Octo for World Cup

So the world cup just ended in South Africa and SPAIN WON!! Normally I'm actually not a huge soccer watcher (besides that movie She's The Man with Amanda Bynes back in high school...anyone? tampon up the nose...anyone?? just kidding) but when those around me are gleaming and sweating with intensity, energy, and concentration, you really have to join the hype to feel its awesome-ness. AND I DID!! I watched a few games and then parts of other games and besides from feeling really tired for those guys running back and forth on the huge field--I rather enjoyed myself!

But here's my animal related scoop. I know that you know I'm going to talk about Paul the amazing ESP, magical octopus from Germany that can tell the future, but I'm going to tell it anyone...one for the books! (And for those anti-soccer people, they should still know about paul's amazing-ness)
So who is Paul anyway??
Paul is this cool octopus originally from England, but transfered to a Sea Life Centre in Oberhausen, Germany. He correctly predicted the winners to all 7 of Germany's World Cup games as well as the winner (aka Spain) in the final.

How's it done??
Paul was presented with two boxes that had the flag of each of the opponents on either box and both boxes had Paul's dinner in it...and whichever box Paul eats from is deemed the winner.

Is this shady....???
Yes...maybe....only a tiny bit...but no one's quite sure yet. So octopuses are colorblind, therefore the exact colors of each flag shouldn't matter to him much. However, they can detect brightness and some flags can be brighter than others so that might have something to do with it, or perhaps the mussel/oyster inside one box was a bit better smelling or juicy or larger than the other.

Point is...we should take this whole thing with a grain of salt. BUT it's still pretty cool. When Paul predicted Germany's loss to Spain, his own countrymen sent death threats to have him turned sushi!! (how rude!) but he's safe again after predicting Germany's win for 3rd place, so no worries! As of now, Paul is officially retired apparently and will be making no further predictions---sadness, I wanted to win the lotto or something! (now he gets to sit in a tank completely decked out in soccer gear AND a World Cup replica, can you believe it?!)
Anyway...read here for when Germany hated him and read here for news on his retirement OR just type "paul the octopus" and you'll get a zillion listings!

The Oil: Man's Stupidity

I forgot my user name and password (again) but then rediscovered it (again!)

So I found this really great photo article on the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. It's now been an on going spilling and cleaning process for over a month, but the damage can't seem to be repaired. The Deepwater Horizon oil rig killed 11 people and continues to expand and pollute all nearby waters and wildlife. Scientists now fear that it may catch the ocean's current and spread even further than before. Here is the link to the article for more images. These are a few of the amazing and chilling pictures:


This next one is far more sad than anything else because it's before these animals even have a chance. The eggs are clearly covered in what appears to be oil. It's incredibly sad to think that the first glimpse of the world that these chicks will see is a polluted world.




5 ways you can help!!!

1. Report Injured Wildlife

oiled wildlife: 1-866-557-1401 (Leave a message; they will be checked hourly.)

2. Volunteer

Tristate Bird Rescue & Research is coordinating on-the-ground volunteer efforts. Several other groups are helping to organize volunteers to help cleanse birds and otherwise protect both wildlife and human populations along the Gulf Coast. Our favorite (since we just handed its president John Flicker a 2010 Heart of Green Award) is The National Audubon Society, which is helping connect volunteers with the best government or non-profit agency doing work related to the oil spill response. (But there are many many many others.) The government also has a volunteer hotline at 1-866-448-5816.

3. Donate

While BP has pledged to pay all legitimate claims made in relation to the oil spill, the groups working in the area need immediate support (and there's no guarantee BP will pay every claim victims feel is worthy, especially since U.S. law caps some expenses at $75 million). Here's a list of some of the groups working on the oil spill that get three- and four-star ratings from charitynavigator.com.

• National Audubon Society, is working to aid birds and habitat affected by the spill.
• National Wildlife Federation, is responding to the spill.
• Greater New Orleans Foundation, is assisting locally.
• Matter of Trust is accepting donations of hair, fur and nylons, which are used to aid in the oil response.

4. Write to Elected Leaders

There's nothing like a crisis to focus political will on environmental issues. At issue currently is a proposed expansion of offshore oil drilling in U.S. waters. President Obama made good on a campaign process and proposed the expansion, which is also believed to be a central compromise in the Senate energy bill developed by Senators Kerry, Graham and Lieberman. The BP oil spill shows how dire the consequences can be from a spill, and Obama has temporarily halted new offshore oil exploration. If you think offshore oil drilling is a bad idea, it's a good time to tell leaders what you think.

5. Boycott BP

While no major national organization is calling for it, there's at least one Facebook page suggesting that people boycott of BP, the oil company responsible not only for the Deepwater Horizon Gulf oil spill, but also, in the last decade, a Texas refinery explosion and an Alaskan oil spill. Its safety procedures have been criticized, as has its response to this disaster and its lobbying efforts against stronger offshore oil safety and environmental rules. You'd have to boycott not only BP gas stations but also Arco gas stations, Castrol auto oils and lubricants, am/pm convenience stores and Wild Bean Cafes, Aral gas stations (in Germany), as well as countless products that BP oil is likely used to make, from plastics to pharmaceuticals.

To Read more: http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/gulf-oil-spill-2010-0503?src=rss#ixzz0otp2JPGs

The Bloody: Medical Leeches

While doing community service the other night I managed to "snip" (if snip is even the right word) my left index finer--good thing I'm a righty! At which point the nail began to fill up with blood internally and the finger is all swollen...and now I have a cute little semi-creepy teddy bear band-aid to cover up the atrocity so as to not gross anyone out :\ it hurts.

So here's my inspiration that deals with blood---LEECHES!

Back in the day people used to think that if you were ill for a period of time it may be because you had bad blood flowing in your veins! So people would seek "doctors" who make an incision somewhere on your arm and allow you to bleed out a little bit. The normal body knows that bleeding a lot is bad so its natural instinct is to stop bleeding...here's where leeches come in!

Leeches may be placed on such open cuts to help you bleed out....OR in today's world, during various types of surgery (plastic surgery/reconstructive surgery). The leeches act as a natural anticoagulant which will keep you bleeding--up to 48 hrs after the leech has been removed actually!. This allows for dramatic decrease in post surgery swelling and congestion and also promotes healthy blood circulation to the wounded area.

you'd think that a process like this might hurt, but the leech actually produces its own anesthetic in its saliva so its quite painless. weird.

Here's a pretty cool site that offers info, advice, and leeches for sale!!

The Deadly Manipulator: Parasitoid Wasp

Today is special. Today I walked into an anatomy lab for the sheer fascination I have with the deceased human body and general anatomy itself...and with me was one of the best people I know, who happened to be deathly disturbed/afraid of the deceased human body. My bad!!

So for this entry, I am inspired by the anatomy and weird-ness that is the parasitoid wasp. why so cool you ask??? well, first of all...not only do the various species of parasitoid wasps have the ability to "control" the mind of their future prey, they also plant their larvae inside the poor chump, thus creating a live, ticking time-bomb of sorts. Let's pick an example---Hymenoepimecis argyraphaga (OR just some specific species of wasp that is dangerous)

These wasps are creepy the adult wasps have the ability to first paralyze the spiders so that they can lay their egg on the abdomen of the spider. Then as the egg "hatches" the baby spiders suck on the spider's blood until it is ready to cacoon.

They then chemically manipulate spiders into spinning a web that the spider has never made before and sit motionlessly in the middle of the web. The larva molts and kills the spider (via poison) who sits helplessly in the middle of a foreign web it spun itself...and is sucks it dry. Afterwards the larva pupates in the cacoon and emerges an adult and finds another spide to start the whole cycle again!!

Here's the wikipedia page which holds a bit more info.

creepy little buggers eh?? kinda glad I'm human...

The Beginning: Friendships

For my first entry of 2010, I'd like to touch on friendships. There are millions of stories where predator and prey become friends, companions, and guides for each other. So why is it so hard for people? Why is there conflict and distrust? If instincts could be trusted and actually applied, we'd be golden! But of course...then we must add higher brain power, cognitive thought and free will. Which leaves humans with more choices and decisions than most animals face in a lifetime and where does it really get us?? Are we better off with this brand or that brand? with this color or that color? What have we forgotten along the way? simplicity at its best, because when we don't try or expect it, wonderful things are allowed to happen on their own. naturally.


We've seen photos of mother lions caring for piglets, deer and bunnies never leaving each others' side---take it from those who know how to trust instincts and simply give back and pay it forward.

So for 2010...when I will be at the fork of life, one of my strongest resolutions is be true and good to those who are good to me and pay it forward. Because there's not enough time to be anything else.

YAY! I remembered my password!

I have no time for a real entry, but I remembered my password, so this is cause for celebration because I can post random animal things again!!

I guess first and formost I'd like the few people who read this to sign a petition that advocates for animal welfare. They only have a goal of 1,000 which is so SMALL and I can't believe they have not reached their goal yet because there are so many who claim to care abnout household pets. So it might be hard to get the world to go fur-less or all become a vegetarian (heck, I'm not even a vegetarian!) but I think animal welfare is the MOST important thing. Because if we are going to use an animal or take a life for our benefit, I feel we at least have the duty to give them the respect and honor and proper euthenasia methods available.

Whether or not you believe that animals have a conscious or feelings or can feel pain, this should be irrelevant because we, as humans...have ALL of those...and because we do, we should know better. We should know how to treat living things right.

So if the video is too sad/graphic/sensitive, I don't ask that you watch it, because it was really hard for me to watch it...but I ask that you recognize the cause that you would be benefitting by signing the petition and I ask that you be more aware of what you buy...be a conscious shopper, don't let commercials and advertisements and sales run to your head! Be smart. Be kind.

CLICK HERE, OR COPY AND PASTE THIS: http://www.change.org/actions/view/message_to_china_pass_animal_welfare_law_for_western_acceptance