Pygmy Sperm Whale Stranding In Galveston—Every News Story Gives You The Opportunity To Learn More And To Take Action

A Pygmy Sperm Whale washed up on the beach in Galveston early on Wednesday.

Above you see a Houston Chronicle picture of the incident.

From The Galveston County Daily News-—

“A vacationer from Dallas and his 11-year-old daughter discovered a pygmy sperm whale thrashing about in the surf Wednesday morning on the West End. The Marine Mammal Stranding Network came to Shores Drive and FM 3005 shortly after 9 a.m. and placed a stretcher under the whale and lifted it into a rescue truck. The animal was breathing and its eyes were open. It was taken to a holding tank at the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network.”

Here is the link to the Texas Marine Mammal Stranding Network.

Unfortunately, the whale has since been euthanized.

Here are facts about the Pygmy Sperm Whale from The American Cetacean Society.

Here is a Houston Chronicle story about different types of whales that live in the Gulf of Mexico.

An unusual number of dolphin calves have been found dead in the Gulf of Mexico in recent months.

The article I link to above does not assert that these dolphin deaths have been caused by the BP oil disaster.  It does say though that this is possible and tests are being done to determine the facts.

More concrete is the fact that large parts of the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico are covered with oil.

From The Huffington Post–

“Oil from the BP spill remains stuck on the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, according to a top scientist’s video and slides that she says demonstrate the oil isn’t degrading as hoped and has decimated life on parts of the sea floor.That report is at odds with a recent report by the BP spill compensation czar that said nearly all will be well by 2012. At a science conference in Washington Saturday, marine scientist Samantha Joye of the University of Georgia aired early results of her December submarine dives around the BP spill site. She went to places she had visited in the summer and expected the oil and residue from oil-munching microbes would be gone by then. It wasn’t.”

Here is the web page for Dr. Samantha Joye. Dr. Joye led the study about the oil at the bottom of the gulf.

Here is the Gulf Spill Restoration website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

My friend Bob Cavnar has written about the oil at the bottom of the Gulf at The Daily Hurricane.

The impact of the BP spill may not be as bad as some first feared. But it appears to be bad enough.

The government, academic researchers, the press, and groups such as Greenpeace should keep monitoring conditions in the Gulf.

(Below–A picture of the oil-covered bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. It seems that sea worms of some kind do well in oil. Here is a previous post I’ve written here about sea worms.)

Every news story offers the chance to learn more than we know at the moment. It is up to each of us to learn about the world. When we learn more, then we are more likely to take action to improve the world.

A great book on marine mammals is the National Audubon Society’s Guide To Marine Mammals of the World. (Books remain the strongest source on many issues and subjects. Please consider getting off the computer and reading a book.)

From the Marine Mammal Stranding Network of Texas are facts about the 29 types of marine mammals that live in the Gulf of Mexico.

Here are some basic facts about the Gulf of Mexico. This site I link to here, Gulfbase.org, has far more than just basics if you would like to know more.

A useful book on the coast in and around Galveston is The Formation and Future of the Upper Texas Coast by John Anderson. This book, published by Texas A & M,  has scientific value while also being accessible.

I cannot stress this fact enough—It is up to the individual to learn about the world and to take action to improve the world.

You may well decide to take that action in concrt with others. But at core—You must decide yourself to be involved.

Tar Balls In Galveston—Let’s Keep The Beach Of Hope And Progress Clear Of Toxic People, Corporations & Ideas

The first tar balls that originated with the BP oil disaster have washed up on the shores of Galveston, Texas.

Those tar balls you see above are from Padre Island in Texas back in July of 2009.

Once you’ve seen one tar ball, you’ve seen them all.

Here is the link to the Houston Chronicle story about the tarballs in Galveston.

From the Chronicle—

“After workers cleaned the beach, the tar balls and oil were sent to labs to be analyzed. Officials confirmed that the oil was from the Deepwater Horizon spill. However, officials said the makeup of the oil was not consistent with having traveled 400 miles in the ocean. Investigators are looking into the possibility that the oil might have been carried on the side of a ship or in the bilge of a ship that had taken in water. More tar balls were found scattered along 1.5 miles on East Galveston Beach on Sunday. Officials have not confirmed the source of those tar balls, and are expecting test results on Tuesday.”

We all want to maintain a pristine beach of hope and constructive words and deeds—Both in our own lives and for the world as a whole.

At least this is what the people I wish to have in my life might well seek to accomplish.

And yet, the tar balls of anger, ignorance and greed keep washing up in our lives.

Even when we distance ourselves from the sources of pollution— while still meeting our obligations as active and involved citizens—then a ship comes and dumps the toxins right on our beach of hope.

No tar balls were expected in Galveston, yet some have now shown-up.

Toxic people, toxic corporations, and toxic ideas never let up in trying to tar the beach.

The good thing is that the cleanup crew of purpose and resilience will meet the challenge of the tarballs.

This clean-up crew consists of our own internal resources, the support of friends and family, and the knowledge that many people are good and caring. Also part of the clean-up team are the ideals that inform good people such as kindness, fair play for all, and a just distribution of the resources of the world.

Good people, good deeds and good ideas in combination give meaning and form to our lives and ideals.

We will clean the beach of hope as often as we must, and we will make progress no matter the extent of the pollution.

There Is No Oil This Fourth Of July Weekend In Galveston Or On The Texas Coast

There is no oil in Galveston or anywhere on the Texas Gulf Coast this Fourth of July Weekend.

I’m not saying this to discourage you from going to any other Gulf Coast beach. They don’t all have oil. I’m just saying that Galveston has no oil.

I’m a big fan of Galveston. There is a lot of history in Galveston and the people there are glad you have come to visit.

Be sure to tell the folks on the Texas coast that a Texas Liberal sent you.

The picture in this post is of Lake Michigan at Kenosha, Wisconsin. I was there last summer. Kenosha is worth a visit as well.

2010 BP Gulf Of Mexico Oil Spill Facts & History

(Blogger’s note—This is the second version of the Texas Liberal Gulf of Mexico facts and history post. There are links here to learn about the BP/Transocean disaster, to learn some background on past spills and about oil in general, and to learn about some of the areas impacted by the spill. The posts ends with an extensive collection of links to stories about the disaster I’ve collected since my first spill post began on April 30. If there is a link you feel I should add, please make a suggestion. Thanks for reading Texas Liberal.)

Today’s update—

(I’ll be on the road for a few days, but his post still has many links about the spill and the collection of articles I list is a good history of the events of the disaster.)

7/16/10–The leak is stopped, but there will still be some time before it is known if this will be the final fix.

7/16/10–Here is how the capping of the leak is seen in the U.K.

7/16/10—The test cap is working so far, but the government is not yet convinced. This is as of 6 PM central time.

Links—-

The Houston Chronicle has a web page with all the ongoing coverage of the spill.

Here is oil spill coverage from the great liberal magazine Mother Jones.

Here is the C-Span oil spill page with many video clips and links.

Here is the USA Today page on the spill.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has daily updates on the disaster.

The University of Georgia Department of Marine Sciences has a blog on the spill.

Here is the web home of the coordinated federal response to the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

When You Want Active Government & More Regulation To Combat A Corporate Disaster Oil Spill, You Are Agreeing With What Liberals Have Been Telling You For Years

If people want President Obama and the federal government to provide a more aggressive response to the Gulf Coast oil spill…

…And if people want more regulation of offshore drilling and more regulation of companies that pay shareholder dividends while they are polluting the oceans….

….Then let’s be clear about what people want.

What people are seeing in the case of the BP oil spill is the case for an active government that regulates corporations for the good of the public.

These are the points that liberals and progressive have been making for years.

Do you really think corporations will ever do the right thing unless they are forced?

Here is a link to President Obama’s five minute weekly speech for June 5. This week’s speech was made from Louisiana and is about the spill.

Obama Press Conference On BP Spill And Other Topics—Full Texas Liberal Coverage!

President Obama is holding a press conference today at 11:45 Central Time.  I’m going to watch that conference on C-Span.org and blog about it as it is taking place.

Above is the famous press conference where a man tossed a shoe at former President George W. Bush.

11:40—Watching the CNN coverage leading up the press conference.  Blah. Blah. Blah.

11:49—The press conference has begun.

11:52–The President is saying that the Federal Government has been been strongly involved in addressing the spill and that BP is under the direction of the government. This may be so, but why are we hearing this strong assertion of the government’s role 35 days into the crisis. Why does Mr. Obama seem to wait until political trouble has begun to say tough things?

11:56—Mr. Obama says that the Gulf Coast is still a good place to visit. He says that only a small number of beaches in Louisiana are impacted by oil. I’d encourage  you to visit Galveston, Texas on the Gulf Coast. It is a great place to take a walk and have dinner.

12:00—President Obama is making the case for regulation of the oil industry. By extension, he is making the case for government regulation in a number of regards. How can people look at this disaster and feel that private firms can be left to regulate themselves?

12:02–Mr. Obama says that this spill is a clear call for new sources of energy. But what about conservation? Don’t the people themselves bear some fault for our need for all this oil?

12:06—Just got up to get some macaroni salad for lunch. The macaroni salad package was open and I had to e-mail my wife to make sure that she was the one who had opened it rather than some crazy person at the supermarket.  She replied and said that she had indeed opened the package.

12:09—Question asking if all possible has really been done when many are saying this is not the case. The President says our response has not been perfect, but does reflect the fact that all that can be done in a realistic sense has been done. I suppose you could say that about just about anything in life.

12:15–Question is about calls that the government take command of the spill response from BP. By that logic, which I have no problem with, the government could take over a number things that the private sector can’t seem to get right. Health care would be a good start.

12:18–The Texas Observer has a great story about how the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is a friend of industry rather than a friend of the people of Texas. Some people in Texas live in a kind of oil slick of bad air each day. These folks need a disaster response plan as well.

12:22—The President is again saying that oil companies have not been well-regulated for offshore drilling. The next thing the President could better regulate is overfishing in the Gulf of Mexico that is being conducted by some of the very same people now upset that they can’t fish.

12:25–A question was asked if “heads should roll” over this spill. Below is Francisco de Goya‘s The French Penalty.

12:32–Helen Thomas wants to know when we are going to get out of Afghanistan. I was wondering a few days ago why opposition to our two wars seems to have become silent with Mr. Obama in office. It could have to do with the fact that the Iraq War is winding down. It could also be that some of the opposition was politically motivated and left-of-center political groups don’t want to criticize Mr. Obama. Helen Thomas is 89! Good for her.

12:38–Questions now about how Mr. Obama could have ever thought that the oil companies would do the right thing in the Gulf. Yeah–I agree. I don’t know how he could have thought that at anytime before or after the spill.

12:41—The President just referred  to Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina by his first name. I bet the Tea Party in South Carolina already has a press release up calling Senator Graham a socialist for being buddy-buddy with Mr. Obama.

12:46—Question about immigration and the Arizona immigration law. I think that the border of Texas with other states should be policed to make sure our ignorant textbooks don’t crossover to dumb down students in these other states.

12:50—The President says that the spill is what he thinks about when he goes to bed at night. He also says that he comes from Hawaii “where the ocean is sacred.”  Here is how the sacred ocean in Hawaii is being treated in regard to health of coral reefs in that state.

12:55—Over and out. Here is a NY Times report on the conference.

(Below–Gerald Ford holds a press conference in the Oval Office.  You see Helen Thomas dressed in black and taking notes, and a smirking Dick Cheney leaning on the President’s chair.)

There Is No Oil Or Any Tarballs In Galveston—Tourism Officials Have An Obligation To Be Candid

As I write this on the evening of Friday, May 14, there is no oil or any tarballs on the beaches of Galveston Island or at any Texas beaches that I am aware of.

Here is what the Galveston tourism folks have to say about this matter.

( Above–A ship in Galveston Bay. I took this picture from the Bolivar Ferry.)

I like Galveston and I often drive 50 miles south to Galveston to take a walk on the beach and have lunch.

Rick’s Blog, writing in the Pensacola, Florida area, has concerns that his community is not telling the full story on the oil spill.

Rick is correct to express this view. People will often say whatever is needed to make sure that business does not drop off.

If any oil or tarballs do come to come to Galveston or to other Texas beaches, I will post on the issue.

In the meantime, people should come to Galveston and enjoy the ocean and the history  to be found in Galveston.

Yet also, tourism officials in Galveston and at all points on the Gulf have the obligation to be candid about any oil or tarballs that may appear.

Here is information about visiting Pensacola.

The Gulf of Mexico Foundation advocates for the Gulf.

Here are some basic facts about the Gulf of Mexico.

Here is my post of facts about the spill.