Monday various

  • There’s no lack of unpleasant news still spilling out of the Gulf and the colossal fuck-up that is BP’s effort (or lack thereof) down there. From these New York Times photos (“Putting a Face on the Gulf Oil Leak”) to this Google Maps application (“Visualizing the BP Oil Spill Disaster”) [via] to just about every evening’s news broadcast, it can be incredibly disheartening when faced with the overwhelming scope of the disaster, and the apparent ineptitude of the people in charge of cleaning it up. That’s why Cherie Priest’s list of Things you can do about the oil spill — from volunteering to donations to consuming less petroleum overall — is so important, a welcome reminder that there is something we can do.
  • Meanwhile, in other environmental catastrophes…don’t call it a sinkhole [via]:

    Instead, Bonis prefers the term “piping feature” — a decidedly less sexy label for the 100-foot deep, 66-foot wide circular chasm. But it’s an important distinction, he maintains, because “sinkholes” refer to areas where bedrock is solid but has been eaten away by groundwater, forming a geological Swiss cheese whose contours are nearly impossible to predict.

    The situation beneath the [Guatemala’s] capital is far different, and more dangerous.

  • As if that wasn’t bad enough, now it turns out children’s books are incredibly eco-unfriendly [via]
  • But at least they’re recycling in Hollywood. And no, I don’t mean the endless parade of reboots, like this wholly misguided Alias one. (Even though I’ll be the first to admit the Rambaldi stuff is what eventually did the show in.) I mean this: Every actor reads the same newspaper. [via]
  • And finally, if things get too screwed up here on Earth, maybe we can go stay with our neighbors on Saturn’s moon Titan. [via] Presumably they’re hanging out with Winston Niles Rumfoord…though, frankly, I think they get the better company on Jupiter’s moons.

3 thoughts on “Monday various”

  1. Volunteering isn’t as easy as one might think, thanks to the miles and endless miles of governmental and agency red tape. You can’t just pick up an oiled animal, you have to call and report it. And the crews might not be able to get to it because the boats are all taken by Jindal and various other political figures who are out getting their pictures taken with oiled animals in the background. And out of state volunteers who have gone through the haz mat training are being turned away, because someone decided we just want local people helping out. And if an oiled pelican comes to the zoo with other injuries, the vets aren’t allowed to touch it, not even to give it any emergency treatment – they have to ship it off to a designated center. If it should bleed to death on the way, well, so be it.

    Unless you’re here living it, you have no idea how truly, grossly, and ineptly managed this whole clusterfuck really is.

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