Thursday, April 21, 2011

Earth Day 2011 (Music Video) *A billion acts of green for the astonishing beauty of Earth*

▲▲▲




Earth Day 2011 is April 22


Earth Day 2011 Video
Planet Earth...our home...
home to our feathered friends...
home to our fluffy friends...
home to our fishy friends...
home to all known plants in the Universe...
beautiful... isn't it?
We all want this to go on...don't we???
but are we trying???
face the facts...
are these us trying???
feel the damage...
Accept it...
and do something about it...
Switch off the lights when not required...
it helps to reduce energy consumption...
use recyclable products...
and make good use of the recycling bins...
even the smallest gestures help...


Earth Day 2011 Video Earth, Nature, and Pollution (Produced and Directed by Mohamed Ihsan and Vincent Khor Zheng)




Earth Day NetworkEarth Day Network's year-round mission is to broaden, diversify and activate the environmental movement worldwide, through a combination of education, public policy, and consumer campaigns.


April 22nd is Earth Day: This year, Earth Day's theme is themed after A Billion Acts of Green: our people-powered campaign to generate a billion acts of environmental service and advocacy before Rio +20.


Visit Osprey Port News Network!
Apple, Google, Baidu, China, technology, financial system, stocks, markets, economy, science, environment, future


Follow Mountain Seer (@MountainSeer) on Twitter!
News, observations, philosophy of the biosphere, environment, ecosystems


▲▲▲

Sunday, April 17, 2011

BP Gulf Oil Spill: One Year Later (Video) *Catastrophe & massacre continues*

▲▲▲


Deepwater Horizon offshore well fire in April 2010


BP Gulf Oil Spill 1-Year Anniversary On April 20, 2010 the Deepwater Horizon offshore rig exploded. The resulting massive oil leak was known as the BP Gulf Oil Spill. However, as Lori DeAngelis of Dolphin Queen Cruises noted earlier in 2011 and in a previous post [Dead Baby Dolphins at the Gulf of Mexico]:

"Obviously there has been a great effect to the dolphin community and to the waters of the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon Spill. Let's say Catastrophe, not Spill, because a Spill would have been able to be cleaned up, but this is beyond that now." (February 2011)

BP Gulf Oil Catastrophe and Massacre, More Than a Spill Therefore, this was not and is not the BP Gulf Oil Spill, but the BP Gulf Oil Catastrophe and Disaster. Further, this is the BP Gulf Oil Spill Massacre. Massacre as in all the death in the Gulf as a result. A BP Gulf Oil Spill Marine Life Massacre that is ongoing one year later and apparently for years to come. The carnage of this massacre continues washing up on the beaches at the Gulf of Mexico. That is only what can be seen on the shore and on the water. Below the water is more death and destruction, as verified by the United States Navy, reported in an earlier post in late 2010 [BP Gulf Oil Spill Impact: "Everything is Dead"].

Louisiana Marshes Are Dying In the video below, PBS returns to the Gulf of Mexico one year after the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and the BP Gulf Oil Catastrophe and Massacre began to see what the consequences have been. An estimated 200 million gallons of oil "gushed out of the Macondo well" subsequently. Scientists and residents have differing opinions on the resulting impact. One resident, Dave Cvitanovich an oysterman, said in May 2010 he was worried about the environmental damage. Now, a year later, "he's more worried now" and says the Louisiana marsh lands "are dying".  There is still oil in the marshes and the marsh grass is dead and dying, which then creates erosion. Marsh islands have disappeared in the past year.

BP: Remediation Efforts Are Effective Mike Utsler, the Chief Operating Officer of the BP Gulf Coast Restoration Organization, "insists the remediation being done is effective". He says the residual oil is being cleaned up to preserve and protect the marshes. From the Florida panhandle to the Louisiana coastline, Utsler says 95% of the residual oil has been cleaned up. "We will be there as long as it takes to complete that last 5%."

Has the BP Gulf Oil Spill Accelerated Louisiana Marsh Erosion? Maura Wood, Senior Outreach Coordinator of the National Wildlife Federation's Coastal Louisiana Campaign, says that any marshlands that received oil and the plants are not growing back "are very much at risk of being washed away".

Long-Term Effects of BP Gulf Oil Spill Ralph Portier, an environmental science professor at Louisiana State University, says it will be a few years before a final assessment can be made on the marshland impacts by the BP Gulf Oil Spill. Some effects will even take longer. "I think in the next 3-4 year we will have a pretty good handle on everything near shore and in our marshes. It's going to be the deep ocean stuff, what's really happening in these deep coral reefs offshore near the Mississippi canyon area, how they were affected. That story might take a decade to get an answer to."

Corexit Almost 2 million gallons of the oil solvent corexit were used as a dispersant during the event. The Environmental Protection Agency says the chemical has degraded to non-toxic levels. Is there a long-term effect of low levels of corexit sitting on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico? LSU professor Ralph Portier asks whether the corexit will enter the food chain.

U.S. Coast Guard: Oil Is Still Coming Ashore Rear Admiral Paul Zukunft says oil is still coming ashore, including tar balls, and "there are still teams out there recovering those".

Disturbing Aftermath Maura Wood of the NWF says there are some disturbing effects of the BP Gulf Oil Spill that are known a year later. In February 2011, 36 premature or still-born dolphins washed ashore, many times higher than normal. "You see baby dolphins washing up dead, you see numbers of sea turtles (dead), beyond the norm, you see endangered sea turtles, Kemp's Ridley sea turtles. You see coastal marshes that are not growing back - that are black and dead and still covered with oil."

Shrimper: A Lot of Oil Is Still Out There Acy Cooper, Vice President of the Louisiana Shrimp Association says the oil is still there. Even though the government says the oil has been dispersed and degraded, Cooper says "It's there. How are they going to clean it up because they don't know where it's at. They won't go out there and actually find it. When you tell them where it's at, you don't hear anything back." He is concerned with the future and of similar effects in Louisiana that happened in Alaska with the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which affected fisheries for years afterwards. In Alaska, "it took 2-3 years before they knew the effects and that is what we are concerned about."

A Year After BP Oil Spill Began, No Easy Answers on Gulf Coast's Future An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico killed 11 workers and triggered a massive oil spill before the leaking well was plugged. Tom Bearden returned to the Gulf to assess the environmental damage and found significant reports of erosion.



An oil slick can be seen on the water as fireboats try to extinguish the blaze on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig April 21, 2010
(Photo: Michael DeMocker/The Times-Picayune)


Greenpeace: Redesign BP's Logo


Visit Osprey Port News Network!
Apple, Google, Baidu, China, technology, financial system, stocks, markets, economy, science, environment, future


Follow Mountain Seer (@MountainSeer) on Twitter!
News, observations, philosophy of the biosphere, environment, ecosystems


▲▲▲

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Billion-Bug Highway (Video) *Enormous herd of insects ride the winds above!*

▲▲▲


Migrating Monarch Butterflies in North America


Many in North America know of the spring and autumn migration of birds and even monarch butterflies. Birds migrate worldwide. In the insect world, it is not just some butterflies that migrate in different areas of the Earth, it is hundreds, if not thousands, of species of insects that migrate for a variety of reasons. As the weather warms in spring and into summer, a billion-bug highway begins above you as an enormous herd of insects ride the wind.

Up to 3,000 feet altitude, and even much higher, are flies, wasps, beetles, mites, spiders, aphids, termites, midges, butterflies, moths, et. al. which are all riding the wind currents. Lady bugs, a beetle, can be found at 6,000 feet and male gypsy moths are at 10,000 feet! At upwards of 14,000 feet are spiders, floating along on silk threads. The highest altitude ever recorded for an insect was a single termite flying at 19,000 feet altitude!

It is not just the altitudes attained that is surprising about these insects. It is the sheer numbers of insects up in the air which are amazing. A calculation performed by UK scientists utilizing radar estimated that in a .6 (6/10) square mile column of air, there were 3 billion insects passing through this column of air during a typical spring or summer month.

What are these insects doing? Why are all of these insects riding the air currents? They are searching for food, habitat, and mates. Some are migrating as birds do, to warmer climates and breeding grounds as the seasons change.

Travel the Invisible Highway Step outside on a clear day this summer and look up. What do you see? Blue. And maybe a plane or a bird up there, but otherwise ... nothing. Or so you think. It turns out that right above you, totally invisible, is an enormous herd of animal life. There are so many creatures up there, they are so busy, so athletic, so tiny, that we had to fly up and give you a peek.



Globe Skimmer or Wandering Glider (Pantala flavescens) is common around the world
Some of these dragonflies migrate across the ocean from India to the Maldive Islands


Visit Osprey Port News Network!
Apple, Google, Baidu, China, technology, financial system, stocks, markets, economy, science, environment, future


Follow Mountain Seer (@MountainSeer) on Twitter!
News, observations, philosophy of the biosphere, environment, ecosystems


▲▲▲

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Spring Bird Migration in High Gear! (Radar Map) *April is migration peak*

▲▲▲


American Redstart (male)
I knew this species was migrating through an area where I conducted bird species surveys in northeastern Oklahoma. Finally, after 3 years, I saw one in a Spring Migration "fallout". I had seen a female during the prior Autumn Migration.


Spring Bird Migration in High Gear!

A wondrous event is occurring every night on Earth and right above you! Unseen and silent, the spring bird migration is in high gear! Millions of birds will leave, are leaving, and/or have left the Caribbean, Central America, and South America to begin the annual journey northwards to nesting grounds throughout North America. These are the songbirds and summer residents in your backyard and hometown you see arrive each year.

The birds normally leave within an hour after dark, weather permitting, and continue flying northwards. Depending on where the journey started, the migration time and distance for species can be from a few weeks to a few months, from hundreds of miles to thousands of miles. Most birds migrate at night and stop during the day to rest and feed.

Spring Bird Migration 2011

Below is snapshot of the National Weather Service national radar mosaic at 9:08 p.m. CDT on Saturday, April 2, 2011. The blue and green circles around radar sites are "bird rings". Studying birds via radar is called radar ornithology. These bird rings can be seen below on the Gulf coast and inland in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Nebraska, and central to eastern South Dakota. The bird rings are millions of birds flying northwards, many ultimately to the Boreal forest in Canada and to Alaska. The Boreal forest of Canada is critical habitat for North American birds.

The Central Flyway, the migration path through the middle of the United States, is very evident on the map below. Rain is occurring in western South Dakota and North Dakota, which has cut off the overnight migration in these areas. Birds "drop down", wait for the weather to clear, and continue the northward migration the next permissible night. These are called "fallouts" by birders and some avidly seek these areas during the day to observe an abundance of species in a relatively small area.

The almost continuous blue along the Gulf Coast are birds making landfall from flying across the Gulf of Mexico plus birds leaving the coastline, after rest, to continue their journey northwards. Some stop very soon upon reaching land, exhausted. These birds then rise up in a night or two to continue the journey, now overland, northwards to their breeding grounds.

There is not much evidence of birds from Savannah, Georgia northwards along the east coast of the United States. The Spring Migration is underway but most of the birds fly parallel to the coast over the Atlantic Ocean. More evidence of migration will be seen in later weeks.



National Weather Service
National Radar Mosaic (for images as presented above)


The Yellow-throated Warbler is an early arrival of the Spring Migration, in March, to northeastern Oklahoma to begin nesting


Cornell Lab of Ornithology


eNature.com


Clemson University Radar Ornithology Lab


Visit Osprey Port News Network!
Apple, Google, Baidu, China, technology, financial system, stocks, markets, economy, science, environment, future


Follow Mountain Seer (@MountainSeer) on Twitter!
News, observations, philosophy of the biosphere, environment, ecosystems


▲▲▲

Friday, April 1, 2011

GoDaddy CEO Kills Elephant in Africa! (Video) Bob Parsons Named "Scummiest CEO"

▲▲▲



Which One Is The Problem?


GoDaddy CEO Shoots Elephant in Africa!

GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons has created a controversy by shooting a "problem" bull elephant in Labola, Zimbabwe on March 8, 2011. The uproar started when Parsons posted a video (below) which included the actual killing of the elephant. The video begins with Bob Parsons explaining for the past 2 years, he spends 10 days in Zimbabwe hunting problem elephants. His effort of "properly dealing with elephants", that is shooting the elephants, "saves crops, feeds villagers, and helps maintain elephant herds". He states the video shows "one typical day and night".

GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons and his "team" are "flagged down by a desperate farmer afraid of losing everything". Parsons states, "This is a prime example of the damage these elephants have been causing in the sorghum field" as he waves his hand. "Just hammered!", Parsons exclaims. Music then begins and "Damage is extensive. Unless elephant are stopped entire crop may be lost. When crops are lost subsistence farmers risk starvation. Sunset is at 6:45 p.m. The team is in for a long wait sitting quietly in the dark."

Well, okay! Bob Parsons has investigated the crime scene and the criminals are identified. Wild elephants! The team sets up at dark to wait for the return of these destructive animals. "At least three bull elephants return to field just before 10 pm". Unfortunately for Parsons and his team, the conditions are not optimal for killing elephants, "It's black dark. No moon. Limited startlight. Team members can barely see each other." Apparently persistence and determination are necessary to kill elephants at night and Parsons' and his team have these qualities.

Parsons continues, "Team moves slowly into field using sound and vague dark shapes against horizon to locate elephants. No visibility makes navigating thru tall and twisted sorghum plants very slow going. An hour passes as team slowly makes it's way into position." The music begins towards a crescendo! [Muffled whispers in background] "Once in position team spreads out in horizontal line and walks slowly towards the elephants." [More muffled whispers in background]

Parsons warns us, "Bulls are aggressive at night. [But not as murderous as Parsons and team?] Two hear the team and quickly turn and move on them. But Parsons and his team are ready, "Team waits until elephants are close then turns on lights duct taped to their rifles and opens fire." [Elephant trumpets! Lights come on! Rifle fires, KABOOM! Smoke from rifle! Another rifle shot! KABOOM!] Parsons continues, "The plan works. Only one bull is killed. The rest stamped out of the field unhurt. [Bob Parsons is kind-hearted, of course, according to Bob Parsons]

"Early the next morning hungry villagers butcher the elephant. As more and more villagers arrive in hopes of getting something to eat. Some walk as far as 20 miles." [To feast on Great White Hunter Parsons' overnight kill?] A large crowd gathers around the elephant carcass and the butchering begins. "Even though the elephant was huge, there is not enought meat for everyone." [Parsons and his team don't mess around, they shoot huge elephants!]

Now we come to the GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons Happy Ending: "Bulls do not return to field. Crops are saved. Many hungry villagers eat." [It's a festive occasion thanks to Bob Parsons, Elephant Shooter!] In conclusion, Bob Parsons and team have attributed many achievements to themselves by "properly dealing with elephants" by shooting them:
Saves crops
Feeds villagers
● Helps maintain elephant herds



Bob Parsons, GoDaddy CEO
Finalist for "Most Delusional Worldview" Trophy sponsored by Mountain Seer and Neo Solomon
Category: Vainglorious Murder of Elephant


PETA: GoDaddy CEO Named "Scummiest" Bob Parsons, CEO of Go Daddy, is so heinous that we created an award just for him: the Scummiest CEO of the Year Award. Parsons recently boasted on his blog that he traveled to Zimbabwe to shoot elephants and posted a graphic video of the slaughter. He tried to justify the killing by pointing out that elephants sometimes eat farmers' crops, saying, "It's one of the most beneficial and rewarding things I do." We don't see how it could be "beneficial" or "rewarding" to mow down animals who are among the most intelligent and social on Earth. Elephants reason, use tools, and have exceptional memories. They are the only species besides humans, great apes, and dolphins who have been shown to be "self aware" (meaning that they can recognize themselves in a mirror). Elephants form deep bonds and comfort and protect each other. Their mourning rituals over the death of a family member rival any that we humans have developed. How many elephants are mourning the family member whom Parsons killed for fun? And it certainly was for fun, since there are many humane ways to keep elephants away from crops, like chili-infused string, cowbells, and spotlights. PETA is canceling our account with Go Daddy and taking our domain-name business elsewhere—and we're asking everyone to do the same. Please email Bob Parsons and tell him you will not use Go Daddy's services until he agrees to stop shooting animals.


Hunting Problem Elephant (GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons) Each year I go to Zimbabwe and hunt problem elephant. It's one of the most beneficial and rewarding things I do. This video shows a typical day of this year's trip. I just returned home today March 14, 2011.

Per GoDaddy CEO Bob Parsons: "Viewer Discretion Advised - Contains Scenes of Graphic Violence"
[Bob Parsons takes care of business and it requires graphic violence! Be Advised!]



Elelphant Facts - Defenders of Wildlife

Visit Osprey Port News Network!
Apple, Google, Baidu, China, technology, financial system, stocks, markets, economy, science, environment, future


Follow Mountain Seer (@MountainSeer) on Twitter!
News, observations, philosophy of the biosphere, environment, ecosystems


▲▲▲

Seeking Alpha