Tag Archives: Gulf of Mexico

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Help bluefin tuna before they go extinct

11/10/2010 Nativegrl77

Bluefin tuna are often called the cheetahs of the oceans. That’s because they can reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour. They can reach lengths of 10 feet and weigh up to 1,500 pounds. But, as magnificent as they are—the bluefin tuna may not survive much longer.

Rampant overfishing has pushed the bluefin tuna to the brink of extinction. Their populations are so low that they’re now considered a delicacy. An individual bluefin tuna can be worth over $100,000 and found at high-end sushi restaurants.

To make matters worse, fishermen in the Mediterranean Sea target Atlantic bluefin during their peak-breeding season. The overfished bluefin aren’t even given a chance to recover their populations. Large fleets of fishing vessels race to encircle whole schools with dangerous nets known as “purse seines.”

The second place that bluefin tuna breed is in the Gulf of Mexico. And, this year, the bluefin tuna have a new threat to contend with—the largest oil spill in U.S. history. The Deepwater Horizon oil disaster resulted in the release of more than 200 million gallons of oil and 1.8 million gallons of toxic dispersants. All of this pollution occurred during the peak of bluefin spawning season.

Clearly, the bluefin tuna need our help.

Please take action and urge the Obama Administration to call on the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas to protect spawning bluefin in the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea now!

Sincerely,

Phil Kline
Oceans Campaigner

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Protect the Arctic Refuge as a new National Monument

11/09/2010 Nativegrl77

If last week’s election results are any indicator, we’re about to see some big changes in Congress — and not for the better. Ask Obama to protect the critical Arctic Refuge as a National Monument before new oil-hungry Reps can attack it with drills.

Don Hazen
Executive Editor, AlterNet.org

Dear friend of Alaska wilderness,

Congress has some crazy ideas for the Arctic Refuge, but we’re keeping it wild!

Tell President Obama to declare the Arctic Refuge a National Monument!

Election night confirmed it: The U.S. Congress is about to change dramatically.

To the new extremists in power, the tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is long forgotten. Don’t think for an instant that “Drill, baby, drill” isn’t on the tip of their tongues – or at the top of their agendas. The attacks on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge will begin immediately. They will be brutal and constant.

But what if I told you that we could protect the Arctic Refuge before Congress ever bangs a gavel next year?

Click here now: Tell President Obama to protect the Arctic Refuge as a new National Monument!

Congress sure has some crazy ideas for the Refuge, but we’re keeping it wild! Today, we’re launching a massive online effort called “Keeping It Wild!” to convince President Obama to declare the Arctic Refuge our newest National Monument. It’s both a stepping stone to future protections and a maneuver to help shield the Refuge from congressional attacks.

The Arctic is one of our last refuges for wildlife – invaluable, iconic and alive! Big mammals still roam this land and millions of the world’s birds feed and nest on the plains. They come here each year, seeking refuge from a world of encroaching hazards to receive their most sacred needs: sustenance and safe harbor for bearing their young. For 50 years, this cycle has remained unhindered by human development, so life in the Arctic Refuge has continued to thrive. As Americans, we have a moral and civic duty to ensure that this cycle is not broken – not on our watch.

The time for action is now: with Congress poised to change significantly and the Refuge’s 50th anniversary only weeks away, President Obama can make a real statement that America will not submit its greatest treasures to the follies of the past or the whims of the present.

Tell the President: Protect the Arctic Refuge as a National Monument!

Alaska Wilderness League is the first line of defense for the Arctic Refuge. We’re keeping it wild – but we can’t do it alone.

Thank you for all that you do,

Cindy Shogan
Executive Director
Alaska Wilderness League

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Stop Liberty,BP’s Next Big Drilling Disaster

09/27/2010 Nativegrl77

Urge Interior Secretary Salazar to stop BP‘s next drilling disaster before it even happens!

Right now the only thing standing between BP and its next big drilling disaster is the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar. BP built a gravel drilling island three miles off Alaska’s north coast and classified the Liberty drilling project as “onshore,” thereby dodging the recent moratorium on offshore drilling in the arctic waters off Alaska. BP calls Liberty one of its “biggest challenges to date,” and if it moves forward, the company will push the limits of drilling in Alaska’s Arctic, just as it pushed the limits of deepwater drilling in the Gulf with the Deepwater Horizon.

What BP is proposing is crazy. The company’s current plan calls for a well to be drilled that extends two miles below the seabed and then six to eight miles sideways to get at the oil they believe lies below federal waters in Alaska’s Beaufort Sea. It’s a disaster waiting to happen in a place where it’s simply impossible to respond to and clean up a large oil spill.

Allowing the company responsible for the worst oil spill in US history to attempt such a risky drilling project in the ice-infested waters of Alaska is the true definition of insanity repeating the same mistakes yet expecting different results. Take action now and ask Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to stop BP from moving forward with Liberty.

It took BP more than three months to end the gusher in the Gulf, and the region will be feeling the effects of the nearly 5 million barrels of oil that were spilled for decades to come. Alaska’s arctic marine environment is even more fragile than the Gulf of Mexico, and moreover, BP lacks adequate response assets in this remote part of the state where darkness, intense cold and storms, and solid or broken sea ice are the norm for much of the year. It’s no wonder the US Coast Guard called an oil spill in Arctic waters a “nightmare scenario.”

BP’s own analysis says there’s an eight percent chance of a large oil spill at Liberty. Would you get onto a plane if the pilot told you there was an eight percent chance of it crashing? Didn’t think so.

BP has already built Liberty Island and has received all of its permits except for one the federal government’s final sign off on BP’s “application for a permit to drill.” Secretary Salazar can deny this final permit, urge him to stop BP’s next big drilling disaster now.

Sincerely,

Melanie Duchin
Arctic Program Director