Photo journalism shows oiled Gulf wildlife

A bird covered in oil along the coast of Louisiana *source: AP

The Huffington Post put together a slideshow of gulf wildlife suffering due to the oil spill. The pictures range from dolphins, to pelicans, to crabs. Some dead, some still holding onto life. The slideshow has over one hundred photos and includes a few AP videos.

Gary Tuchman, CNN, did a package on the birds affected by the oil spill. He took viewers inside a bird rehabilitation center and showed the state of the birds coming in, as well as the cleaning and healing processes. Wonderful footage and a heart grabbing job done by Tuchman.

Now to the online video. The Miami Herald did a cool video to accompany their written reporting. They profiled a bird rescue center in Louisiana and did a fabulous job.

BP displays heartlessness towards volunteer fisherman

As Rush Limbaugh suggests that the oil spill in the gulf of Mexico has been set up by environmentalists in order to push climate legislation, BP oil comes under fire for dirty practices and a history of lies.

The BP oil rig burns down releasing tons of oil *source: Associated Press

CNN reported tonight that BP, the oil company at fault for the huge oil spill plaguing the gulf of Mexico, distributed waivers to volunteer fisherman that said the company would not be at fault if they were injured while trying to alleviate the 200,000 gallons of oil that is gushing into the gulf every day.

These fisherman have volunteered their time–for no compensation–in order to fix a problem that BP is fully responsible for.

When this document was exposed, BP denied that their top officials okayed the distribution of it, despite the fact that the agreement was clearly prepared by BP lawyers.

satellite image of the spill, showing threatened environmental reserves nearby and simply, the mass of it. *source: this dish is veg

On Good Morning America Monday, the CEO claims his company is not responsible for this accident but they will take responsibility for cleaning it up.

Furthermore, although President Obama said the oil company will pay for 100 percent of the damage, a federal law caps the amount the company will have to pay at $75 million.

The oil slick is currently estimated to cover 2,000 square miles of ocean, and as the government declares it a national emergency coastal communities brace for a huge financial and environmental hit.

Many are saying this is the beginning of the end for the oil giant, whose shady behavior has been been covered up for decades. But an AP article released Monday said although the company’s stock has lost $32 billion since the spill, they will recover from this. Now the question is: will their immoral actions sink them, or will the money save them?

Happy Earth Day Everyone!

Ride your bike or walk, turn off your lights when you leave a room, turn down the air-conditioning (or better yet, off and open a window!), and think wisely about your water usage. Also don’t forget to get outside and breathe in your mother earth and be grateful for her immense beauty!

…But make it not only today, but everyday!

USA Today reports on America’s contaminated beef

Beef being sold in supermarkets across the US is full of metals, chemicals and antibiotics and a recent audit revealed that government agencies are failing to set tough enough standards or test beef properly in order to put a stop to this.

beef being sold in US markets is often above safe levels of chemical and antibiotic contamination *source: Flickr user faded photographs

Peter Eisler of USA Today picked up the audit by the USDA and reported on it in Monday’s newspaper. By Tuesday Eisler was appearing on CNN discussing the issue and local papers everywhere had followed the lead.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) was set up by the USDA to control the toxic beef being sold to consumers, but the audit uncovered that the testing program was not doing its job.

The audit claims the FSIS wouldn’t recall meat even when test results showed toxin levels above set standards.

Also at fault is the EPA and FDA because they have not set thresholds for certain dangerous contaminents (e.g., copper or dioxin) so even when the FSIS found sickening levels of heavy metals or toxins, they could not always stop the meat from going to market.

The audit calls the health risks related to eating such beef a “growing concern”.

American raised and slaughtered beef cannot even be sold in most other countries because the standards are so low, yet the USDA does not seem to budge on their standards. Instead they implement programs that sound constructive but that really have no power to stop bad meat from going to market even when they do perform their job correctly.

The common scene at industrial cattle farms *source: Flickr user socially responsible agricultural project

Eisler gives a startling example of a shipment of beef that was rejected by Mexico because the levels of copper were too high for their standards, but because the US has no such standards, the FSIS had no power to stop the beef from being sold in the US.

Europe is openly noted for rejecting American raised beef and poultry as it is seen as unfit for people to consume.

Eisler should be applauded not only for good reporting and more specifically keeping an eye out for stories in government documents, but for bringing an often ignored but real issue to mainstream media and the homes of people everywhere.

Owner of West Virginia coal mine an anti-environmentalist?

The CEO of the energy company that owns the Upper Big Branch mine is apparantly an open global warming skeptic and opponent of environmental protection laws.

Not only is coal mining polluting the air and water of Appalachia and this guy doesn’t seem to care (I know, duh, no surprise there), but at least 25 workers have died in vain because he felt it was easier to ignore safety issues in the mine.

When Anderson Cooper invited reporter Joe Johns on his show tonight to share what he had learned about Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship, it was told that he is an open global warming skeptic and has stood up against environmental restrictions in many federal cases.

Clearly this is a man with special interests in mind, and I don’t think anyone expected a coal energy owner to be in favor of new laws being presented to the senate that would cut back on coal energy and set up a plan for carbon independence.

However, this Massey mine has been cited for over 600 safety and environmental citations in the last year alone. Citations that Blankenship is known to contest quite often.

Don’t believe in global warming. Fine. But when lives and our fragile environment are put at risk despite the ability to make the situation better, that’s unacceptable.

Understand clean energy legislation in minutes

A bit confused about what “cap-and-trade” really means? that’s ok!…this sophisticated short video makes it easily understood in a matter of minutes!  Environmentalist and economist Nat Keohane explains why a cap on carbon emissions will save our planet and why it is so crucial that the senate passes this bill.

Watch it!…it is an amazing video that provides a lot of clarity!

http://ga3.org/campaign/cew_facts/forward

Will Jamie Oliver wake America up from its processed food coma?

Tonight ABC premiered a new show that hopefully will knock some sense into the fattest country in the world.

Naked Chef and "Food Revolution" leader Jamie Oliver

Jamie Oliver, made famous in the United States for his cooking show Naked Chef, started a campaign in the U.K. to oust processed food and encourage healthy eating in English school children. The program was called “Feed Me Better” and resulted in the government promising to work on the issue.

Oliver has become extremely involved in the movement to encourage children to eat healthy, and teach families how to cook non-processed real food.

Now, with the help of television producers, he’s bringing his movement to the home of the Big Mac and pre-packaged frozen dinner.

“Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” follows the famous chef and self-proclaimed “shit-disturbor” to the unhealthiest city in America: Huntington, West Virginia.

In the first episode, it was not only shocking to see what children in the local elementary school were fed for lunch (frozen processed “chicken nuggets”, mashed potatoes made from powder, bread rolls, and a choice of chocolate or strawberry milk), but disturbing to see the resistance the school employees, children, and town had to eating healthy and change in general.

Sign Jamie's petition for a healthy America

One of the best things to come out of tonights highly publicized show was the light shed on the USDA food standards for school children. As Oliver said, “Basically Americas food standards for school kids are bogus.”

Not to mention, when Oliver brought a variety of vegetables to a first grade classroom, none of the children could label them–not even a potato.

Hopefully this show will bring attention to an epidemic that continues to take innocent lives across the country, and encourage people to stop eating crap.

To sign Jamie Oliver’s petition for a reformed school kitchen click here.

Eco-friendly spring cleaning

With spring comes spring cleaning. This year, plenty of green bloggers are offering ideas for store bought and homemade cleaning products that get the job done and leave you feeling guilt-free.

Many companies have come out with products boasting “green” or “eco” in their names, but don’t be fooled, look at the ingredients and nothing about those products sounds natural.

be weary of cleaning products claiming to be "green" or "eco"

Flushing toxic chemicals down the drain harm streams, oceans, and the wildlife that lives in them. Not to mention, it can’t be good for you to inhale and absorb all those chemicals into your system. So this year, test out cleaning with products found in your own home, or check out your local health food store for completely organic products (i.e. Seventh Generation).

Here are some sites with some great ideas, just click on them to go to the article:

good.is lists very easy home made cleaning products for every cleaning job! (this was an awesome, short, easy article and it inspired this post!)

Inhabitot is a website for “green-crazy” parents and it also gives you recipes for natural home cleaning products

care2 tells you why you should stop using toxic cleaning products and go all natural

Anderson Cooper puts slaughterhouse conditions on blast

CNN anchor Anderson Cooper **source: http://www.cnn.com/CNN/anchors_reporters/cooper.anderson.html

I try not to preach, instead, I just pray that the horrors of factory farming will one day splash across the headlines and drown the public with the disturbing truth, pressuring our government to make real changes.

Thursday on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360, special report “Who’s Keeping Our Food Safe?” looked into the dangerous conditions of slaughterhouses and the risk involved in eating meat.

Cooper warned the audience that the footage could kill an appetite but he said that it was a story that needed to be reported.

“it’s important to know, and it’s important to keep them honest,” said Cooper

The special report was inspired by a whistle-blowing Department of Agriculture veterinarian who said officials at the agency refused to act on reports of illegal and unsafe slaughterhouse practices.

Dr. Wyatt, tried three times to report a Vermont slaughterhouse that was slaughtering sick and downed cows, a huge food safety risk.

When he would complain to the agency and request the plant be shut down, they told him it was too much trouble and forced him to resign.

chicken factory farm **source: flickr user socially responsible agricultural project

Cooper interviewed Robert Kenner, Director of the Oscar nominated documentary Food, Inc., for his take on these revelations.

Kenner gave advice as to how people can get over the notion that organic and local foods are too expensive. He said that change in eating habits comes with a consciousness of the dangerous and unhealthy farming practices in our country and that everyone needs to just eat less meat. And ultimately, he stressed the need to pressure government into stronger regulations and a revamp of the system.

CNN even included a wonderfully produced graphic on their website showing the globalization of our food production by mapping all the ingredients in a single taco. Seeing it on a map was a great addition to a well rounded story.

In true American media fashion, the least gory clips were shown which was disappointing but understood for censorship reasons.

Bravo to CNN for finally covering this ongoing global issue, but I’d like to challenge the media to cover more of this scandal. Not only is our environment harmed by these practices, but human health is put at serious risk.

There are plenty of organizations, authors and lobbyists out there talking about this issue, but until the main stream media makes a big deal over it, these life threatening practices may never change.

(for more information on factory farming check out www.farmforward.com)

Obama pushes for Home Star Program

In order to be the leaders in the global economy, we must be the leaders in clean energy.

He said it in the State of the Union address, and today in Savannah, GA. he proved he’s sticking to his word.

At Savannah Technical College, the President’s speech was focused on job creation being the key to re-powering the economy. But it wasn’t just any job creation, it was the creation of renewable energy jobs.

With 40 percent of the nations energy being used at home, his focus today was not on building renewable energy plants and creating jobs, it was on a program his administration has dubbed Home Star (the name deriving from the ‘energy star’ label found on energy efficient appliances).

Home Star will encourage people to update to energy efficient standards in their homes by offering instant rebates up to $3,000.

This not only provides work to contractors who will have to come install new windows or insulation, for instance, but it also provides plenty of work to the companies that manufacture these energy efficient products…most of which Obama said are made in the US.

Launching the Home Star program will cost the government money, yes, but he stressed that not only will it create jobs and save the consumer money in the long run, but it also puts the country one step closer to becoming dependent from fossil fuels and reducing its carbon output.