Author Archives

eaglehttps://sunlightonthewater.wordpress.com
eagle's avatar

Dolphins dying in record numbers

by

Organic Consumers has this link up.  It leads to this link.

Here’s a much better report.

In the CNN piece, she mentions lesions in their respiratory systems…and my mind went to petroleum products as a cause.  Notice that the reporter briefly mentions pollution as a problem, and immediately goes to bacteria and elaborates on that without discussing what pollution does to marine animals.

So….I searched and found this on the effects of the BP oil spill on the dolphins.  (Apparently, BP didn’t get rid of ALL the evidence. /said with dripping sarcasm.)

Wow, look at this.  The picture is showing globs of oil still sticking to a grad student after he had showered.

And remember “corexit”–the controversial *cough* clean up chemical (because it makes perfect sense to use chemicals to clean up petroleum chemicals…natch.   /said with even more dripping sarcasm…)

Well…corexit is apparently still in the water, along with the globs of oil:

Tiny globs of it, mingled with the chemical dispersant that was supposed to break it up, have settled into the shallows, mingling with the shells, he said

~~~~~~~~~

Geologist  James Kirby states that he wouldn’t want his grandchildren playing in the surf, and says this:

“The dispersant accelerates the absorption by the skin.”

~~~~~~

The dispersant accelerates absorption by the skin...meaning it’s making the oil even more toxic.  Even worse is that corexit is interfering with bacteria that normally eat the oil after spills.  Holy crap.

As always, it is wise to know who is funding research, and am glad to hear that Kirby’s funding is from a group independent of BP.

Also on my mind for a cause is mercury–which could be combining with the toxic petroleum and corexit–

I found this paper that I haven’t seen before on the connection between mercury and dolphins beaching themselves.   This is important because it compares the dolphins that beached themselves with the same group.    They were also going to test mercury levels in fossil teeth…gotta love the Aussies.

I thought this paragraph was interesting:

Historical gold mining, which up until the 1930s used mercury in gold extraction, is the likely main source of the heavy metal in the waters, says Thompson. The mercury has gradually washed down the Yarra and other rivers, and accumulated in the sediments of the bay. Current dredging work could further increase mercury levels in the food chain, he adds. The mercury levels he measured were already higher than those found in dolphins in other populations in polluted waters around the world, from the Mediterranean to costal India.

~~~~~~~~

This is not something I have come across before–mercury being used in gold extraction.  Wonder how that has affected gold miners and water supplies in the U.S.?

Finally, I’ll leave you with this–Note the video clip of the trail of oil spilled that also follows the east coastline where the dolphins are beaching themselves:

 

The Moyers Program

by

Well, I was right about Bill Moyers’ program being eye opening….

African American folks who think Bill Clinton is pro-African American might want to pay close attention to who he associates with:  Haley Barbour was governor of Mississippi when Katrina hit.  I was still in the town I grew up in at the time and the local radio station was collecting donations for the victims of Katrina.  They made sure to note that the donations would be going to a certain town or county in Mississippi.  I asked a blogger that I knew to see what the demographics were–it was repub and white.  Yep.

Tony Rodham, Hillary Clinton’s brother…um-hmmm…Gulf Coast Funds Management...raised money from overseas.

You know, a representative (vice president, I believe) of an fighter jet manufacturer was on CSPAN talking about one of the bombers that costs us millions of dollars to build and maintain, and the VP stated during the conversation that these bombers weren’t only for the U.S. forces…but were also necessary for U.S. allies.  Read that again–we are spending millions of dollars for fighter jets so that other countries can benefit from American technology…as the American taxpayer foots the bill.

In other words, we order the plane to specs…plane is built…..taxpayers pay $$$$$ for the plane….company then sells the plane to other countries….courtesy of the American taxpayer.

At  about 16:00 in, it is noted that the joke is “we’re all Patriots…”   The contempt here being that they are not representing the American public, but the corporations who will pay and pay and pay…they don’t give a shit about the country….it’s all in how much money they can make….

Mark Leibovich’s statement on The White House Correspondents Dinner really causes one to pause–rewarding the media for being on television, basically.  The mix of nooz and glamour is stunning.  Although he mentions Tom Brokaw railing against it, he fails to mention that George Clooney, via his father, thanked Brokaw for speaking out.   And what is really bad is that none of the so-called “serious” news outlets mentioned Clooney or Brokaw’s sentiments….quite telling, isn’t it?

As Leibovich brings up the massive PR campaign of BP after the oil spill, my mind flashes to all the commercials aired nightly on the nooz–BP, Big Pharma, Big Energy…rinse, repeat.  And I think of all the major problems facing the nation right now and how this lack of true coverage of these important issues have left the American public without crucial information.  Our democracy is fragile and the Press is in the thick of it–and they don’t give a shit that they are aiding the demise of that democracy.  Hey, they’re on TV!!  They’re very important people!!  And this is why they attacked Edward Snowdon for doing what they should have been doing.

…and there are still those who blame the American public for not knowing what is going on in their government.  <sigh>

Go Virginia!

by

Virginia has had enough of dismissive politicians who circumvent the people whom they represent and they have filed suit against what is basically taxation without representation.

 

In other education news,  Diane reposts about the Gesell Institute’s take on Common Core…waay back in 2010.

From the statement:

We urge the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers to respect the individual developmental differences of children and revise the K-3 standards based on research and the advice of experts in the field of early childhood.

~~~~~~~~~~

In the comments, someone provided a link to Bill Moyers’ program on Glitz and Greed in D.C.  I haven’t viewed it yet, but knowing Bill Moyers, it will be eye-opening.

Segregation persists in Texas schools

by

Dr. Julian Vasquez Heilig has a post up on his findings of segregation in Texas schools.  He asserts that there is a third segregation–by language.  Non-English speaking children are in the low socioeconomic group and racially segregated schools.  Poverty is the number one reason children don’t do well in school–it’s hard to think when you’re hungry or your family may have to move that night to another area….and another school district.

And if you cannot understand English, it’s a given that you’re not going to learn.  It’s hard to learn anything when your teacher sounds like Charlie Brown’s.  All one has to do is listen to the spanish-speaking video to understand the problem.

Oh….the irony…

by

Let’s play “Spot the Irony”  today.    I’ll put up three stories in the news and you can guess at the irony….

First, in what is entirely too common, we have a woman in a military/police occupation being sexually harassed.  Why should she or the others who complained have to resign their positions?  What about the mounties who harassed her?  Meanwhile, there are stories over the net of gang rape and assaults against women**…the police, who are doing their own share of harassing are supposed to investigate these incidents in a fair and just way??

Secondly, women who are breastfeeding their infants are asked to use the bathroom to nurse their child.

Meanwhile….a Victoria’s Secret store opens in B.C.

See…nourishing your child is something to be ashamed of while sexy lingerie that promotes boobies are perfectly fine….just as long as you don’t pop one out.

Oh…the irony…

~~~~~~~~~~~

**I am in awe of her courage–as one commenter put it:  a warrior woman!  Not only that, but the two bears showing up and not harming her also leaves me in awe.

This is why I love teachers

by

Diane Ravitch has this up on the last day of a First Grade teacher.

As I said in the comments section:

This is why a child sitting in front of a computer to “learn” is a fallacy. A stone cold computer could never teach the powerful lesson this wonderful teacher taught. A stone cold computer would not allow the kids to “make a mess” and express their creative talents as well as analytical skills.

God Bless and please write that book someone else suggested.