Smoggy Skies With A Chance of Suffocation

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Obama’s ratings sink to new lows

I know, I know; Jobs. It's about jobs.

I know I'm being silly... I'm just wondering what's going to happen when we can't breathe.

I'm thinking that might make work rather difficult.

If you haven't already done so, please tell Barack that he should quit blowing smog:

Through the Environmental Defense Action Fund: Tell President Obama You Are Disappointed with His Decision to Withdraw Science-Based Health Standards for Smog

And through the Sierra Club: Tell Obama to Protect Clean Air

Related post: Big, Scary, Mean Smoke Monster

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We Should Be In Awe...

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And respecting and revering them.

Not MURDERING THEM.

YOU have a voice. Use it.

Silence is compliance.

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Approaching Smackdown

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Thunderstorm Cumulonimbus Clouds

(Just try and say that fast three times. I can't even say it once. Cumuulonimmmss.... Cumu-lonbus. Coomoniibbsss. That "i" is totally fucking me up. And the "m" isn't helping much either.

Let's break it down.

Cum-on-lonely-bus clouds.

There. I knew we could get it.

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(source of photo)

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Some Sunday Worship

in

Whales Have Accents and Regional Dialects: Biologists Interpret the Language of Sperm Whales

ScienceDaily (May 12, 2011) — "Dalhousie Ph.D. student Shane Gero has recently returned from a seven-week visit to Dominica. He has been traveling to the Caribbean island since 2005 to study families of sperm whales, usually spending two to four months of each year working on the Dominica Sperm Whale Project. One of the goals of this project is to record and compare whale calls over time, examining the various phrases and dialects of sperm whale communities.

When they dive together, sperm whales make patterns of clicks to each other known as "codas." Recent findings suggest that not only do different codas mean different things, but that whales can also tell which member of their community is speaking based on the sound properties of the codas. Just as we can tell our friends apart by the sounds of their voices and the way they pronounce their words, different sperm whales make the same pattern of clicks, but with different accents.

Caribbean and Pacific whales have different repertoires of codas, like a regional dialect, but the "Five Regular" call -- a pattern of five evenly spaced clicks -- is thought to have the universal function of individual identity because it is used by sperm whales worldwide.

These discoveries were recently published in the journal Animal Behaviour, in an article authored by University of St. Andrews PhD student Ricardo Antunes, Dal alumnus Tyler Schulz, Mr. Gero, Dal professor Dr. Hal Whitehead, and St. Andrews faculty members Dr. Jonathan Gordon and Dr. Luke Rendell.

Mr. Gero and Dr. Whitehead explain that the sperm whale's biggest threat is human pollution. Not only do humans introduce toxins into the ocean, but they also generate harmful sound pollution. Increased shipping traffic, underwater explosions caused by searching for oil, and military sonar all contribute to ocean noise that masks communication between whales. "No one wants to live in a rock concert," says Mr. Gero, adding that noise pollution is especially troublesome in the ocean because "it is a totally different sensory world." The sperm whales can dive to depths of over 1000 metres and depend on sound for communication and navigation in the pitch black of the deep water."

This is fricking awesome... And really, when we actually "think" about it, we shouldn't be surprised.

The below video is really quite cool. If you can get over the guy being a Kindergarten teacher (because I want to slap the Legos clean out of him), it's cool.

Even MORE pertinent and immediate reason to not allow bullshit like the following.

A Debate: Should the U.S. Approve TransCanada’s Massive Keystone XL Tar Sands Oil Pipeline? Thousands of environmental activists from across the continent plan to gather in Washington, D.C., tomorrow to launch a two-week protest against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline that would carry tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to U.S. oil refineries in the Gulf of Mexico. The massive pipeline would cross the Yellowstone River, as well as the Ogallala Aquifer, the largest freshwater aquifer in the United States.

And if that shit isn't bad enough, we have California's new environmental curriculum including a section on "The Advantages of Plastic Shopping Bags". Why, you ask? Because lobbyists for the American Chemistry Council — the same front-group that spent millions to defeat the statewide bag ban last year — convinced school officials to include it. You can find out more and sign a petition against this delusional bullshit here.

We're poisoning our world and ourselves.

And we need to stop.

Now.

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*** Urge President Obama to Impose Sanctions for Whaling

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Shitting on Heaven

in

You may have seen the below pics of a dude snorkeling near a Whale Shark off Mexico. I hate how fucking stupid the writer was saying, "A diver is almost swallowed by a giant whale shark!" No, he wasn't, asshole. They eat plankton. That thing didn't want to swallow him just as much as he didn't want to be swallowed. Like that's just a giant vacuum cleaner. We act like other creatures are so fucking stupid that they don't know what they're doing. So far, the only ones I've seen that don't know what they're doing is us.

So, besides the retarded captions that went along with these incredible pics, the photos in and of themselves are beautiful. And the captions should've been deleted. But, then again, we wouldn't have found out how stupid that writer was.

Uh oh! Be careful, assholes... He has NO IDEA you're even there. He's probably going to swallow all y'all and yer all gonna come flyin' out his hole.

Seeing how literally unbelievable this creature is... (After all, it's not computer generated. It's actually A-L-I-V-E.) It reminds me that no matter how hard we try, we will NEVER match what nature, the universe, creation and evolution, whatever you want to call it, and whatever "IT" is, we will NEVER create something as magnificent and truly miraculous as where we actually live.

We LIVE here, bishes. Among gods and goddesses of all sorts and shapes and colors and sizes... We're alloted a short amount of time, to live in a paradise. It really is all around us. Every day. Every single day.

And I really wish we'd start acting like it.

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Get involved. How you live matters.

*** URGENT: Help Stop Mother of All Anti-Environmental Bills!

*** Stop the Extinction Rider in Its Tracks! The terrible Interior Appropriations Bill is headed to the floor of the House of Representatives. Among many other anti-conservation provisions, the Extinction Rider contained in this bill would prevent new protections under the Endangered Species Act for animals at risk of extinction.

(source of photos)

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Saving Valentina (And Saving Ourselves, Really...)

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Michael Fishbach narrates his encounter with a humpback whale entangled in a fishing net. Gershon Cohen and he have founded The Great Whale Conservancy to help and protect whales. If you're so inclined, you may visit the link or gwc's facebook page, and join them in helping to save these magnificent beings.

"Mommy, I know what she's doing! She's showing us that she's all free!"

This kills me... Just kills me.

And then, are we SO FUCKING STUPID that we have to have bullshit like the below as headlines?

Is Ocean Garbage Killing Whales?

No, no... Not at all. They love it. They make "art" from it.

Nothing like encouraging ignorance, a-hole.

So, thankfully, the most popular comments on such an inanely named piece were actually quite astute.

Dan said, "The biggest offenders are ocean liners and cruise ships releasing their garbage holds in the oceans. There is literally a highway of garbage that floats for hundreds of miles along these current streams. You can almost walk on it and satellite photos prove it. Also the litter we throw out our car windows eventually winds up in our rivers and into our oceans. Vote Green."

VOTE GREEN, indeed. I'm all about The Green Party. Everyone else can suck it. And does.

And don't tell me my vote will be wasted. It's already been wasted.

Gb replied, "Ocean Garbage Lethal to Marine Life" No kidding!? And rain is wet. Tell us who is doing the dumping and who is paying to clean it up.

And don't forget that root of the problem is GLOBAL OVERPOPULATION - or is that too politically incorrect to discuss?"

Gb. Gb!! Nnooo, you dint. Dang. You done did.

And Sally gave sound advice, "We need to go back to using glass and return for deposit like it use to be."

I agree, Sally. I agree. And it wasn't even that long ago that we did just that.

And Sad Clown wanted to make sure we knew exactly who did this, "Ocean garbage isn't killing whales. HUMAN garbage in the ocean is killing whales. Let's be clear about where the garbage came from."

Sad Clown, I know what you're saying, and you're certainly correct. But, really, do you think we thought a crazy school of tuna were fucking stuff up? Or like some Marlins' tampons were doing all the damage?

And Whosit gets passionate and goes off on a bit of a tangent, "There is too much debris in the ocean. I don't understand why anyone would throw garbage in our oceans. Also, there is too much gum being spit out on our sidewalks. All those little round black globs on the sidewalks is "GUM". There is more of it all the time. Only a pig would spit out their gum on a sidewalk! Get a clue! It has to be sand blasted off to remove it. Be a decent person and put your gum in the garbage!!!!!"

YEAH, FUCKERS!! PUT YOUR GUM IN THE GARBAGE!! Or better yet, don't chew it in the first place. No one is going to tell you this, but after a certain age, let's say 21, you look neurotic and stupid chewing on something that you never swallow. If you need to do it to get over smoking, fine. But, if you need to do it forever, get therapy. And save the rest of us from you chewing like a cow. THEY even swallow what they chew. (I think someone else may have gone off on a tangent...)

And "Whosit"? I don't think many people are literally throwing garbage in the ocean. Well, wait a minute. I guess they are. In mass amounts.

Whypolitics.com said, "Huge mounds of trash floating in our oceans? This is disgusting, and for what? So some CEO of some company can afford an extra Porsche, or a politician gets an extra kick back and new summer home?

I am not for regulations that restrict freedoms unnecessarily, but I am all for regulations that protect might rights and freedoms, like being able to enjoy clean natural resources!"

Exactly. The CEOs are the ones who think regulations are a bad thing. And they've led the sheep going to slaughter, to agree.

Mercury said, "Most species understand that you dont %%$%# where you eat... Apparently, humanites intelligence isnt as far advanced as we would like to think."

Mr. Freddie Mercury, apparently you're correct. And just for the record, I really try not to %%$%# where I eat. I get indigestion from all those symbols. And sometimes they're not fun coming out...

(Okay, so they can't ALL be funny, people! Such a tough crowd...)

And Todd said, "Everything humans use should be recycled, EVERYTHING! If it can't be recycled it shouldn't be allowed to be made!"

Now, Todd, THAT'S a novel idea. Imagine...

And OohAah said, "The problem of sea trash and its devastating effects on the ocean environment has been know for years... decades, even. But, as usual, nothing is done until the devastation is of such magnitude that it has become extremely difficult, if not impossible, to rectify. We humans are slowly killing ourselves."

"OohAah"... You couldn't be more correct... HhooHummUugh.

And "Yahoo" said, "Ingestion of plastic bags is known as one of the biggest killers of sea-turtles who ingest the bags mistaking them for their favorite prey food, which is jellyfish. The bags constipate and kill them. Also beach development is killing off sea-turtles as they run out of wild beach areas to lay eggs......and of course lost fishing nets also kill-off sea turtles. Fishing nets should be required by law to have GPS locating chips in them for retrieval."

Thank you, Miss Yahoo, I like when people don't just bitch and actually have some ideas as well. So, tell me more about these locating "chips". Are they fresh baked? And what about salsa? Don't you think salsa would be healthier for the fish?

(Okay, Okay! Not funny again!! I've got to try, people!)

Two Hands said, "Industry has the power to stop this plastic pollution at the source by introducing litter free sytems and product designs.. for example how many Coke bottles would end up as litter if Coke used refillable bottle systems with a 50 cent bottle refund in place?"

"Two Hands" are totally better than one. Now, get over here!

Bru Diggity said, "This is just a small sample of what's to come with plastic-based refuse pollution. PLEASE recycle your plastic. I take mine to the neighboring municipality. Think globally, act locally."

Bru Diggity? I like the way you work it. I got my mind made up.

And "Choice" ironically said, "Man"...a virus on the Face of the Earth."

And while that sobering statement might very well be true, so is the ironic part... "Choice". We still have that. And that's what it boils down to, right?

Choice.

10 Things You Can Do to Save the Ocean

Don't be an accomplice and do something.

How you live matters.

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Related Posts: *** Blubber *** Saving Whales is Hot *** The Blue Whale and Donatella Versace's Vagina

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Some Sunday Worship

in

Umm... Besides this being excruciatingly cute, I hadn't ever heard of an "Okapi"... Had you?? That sounds like something a Bulgarian baby would do in their pants. Or a baby Irish policeman. But, I don't think babies are allowed to serve on Ireland's police force. I heard that they're unpredictable and will shoot without provocation.

*** Okapi

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Terje Sorgjerd (And The Planet We Live On) is a Total Badass

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The Arctic Light from TSO Photography on Vimeo.

This was filmed between April 29th and May 10th 2011 in the Arctic, on the archipelago Lofoten in Norway. (source)

Thank you, Terje! It's brilliant. And inspiring. And just plain beautiful... I'm pretty sure it blew my man panties off. Or as my friend Randy refers to them (NO SNICKERING FROM YOU BRITS! Alright, you can snicker...), my "manties". So, yeah... It blew my manties off. Thanks for that, Terje.

Oh. And dude? My brain kind of backfires when I try to say your name out loud. So, if it's alright with you, I'm just going to call you "Terry Soldier" and after I have a few drinks (or five), I bet it comes out right. Deal? Cool. Sorry, bro, it's the best I can do right now.

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Out Of Tune

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The world is too much with us; late and soon,Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers: Little we see in Nature that is ours; We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon; The winds that will be howling at all hours, Are up-gather'd now like sleeping flowers; For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not. - Great God! I'd rather be A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn; So might I, standing on this pleasant lea, Have glimpses that would make me less forlorn; Have sight of Proteus rising from the sea; Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn.

~ William Wordsworth (April 7, 1770 – April 23, 1850)

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Still Standing

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So, this is our patio at night: Photo courtesy of Monsieur William Bezek. As are the patio lights strung from the garage to the house. Thanks, Bub! They're amazing, bishes... Except here they kind of look like glowing horns coming out of the garage's head. I mean, roof. Roof, I suppose.

So, the other day (it was daytime, not night time), I was thinking of all the things I have to do. I was thinking of all the things I keep putting off (because I'm superb at procrastinating) and how everything is going to catch up with me. That I really need to start somewhere to get a handle on my life. Well, I was on the verge of being overwhelmed standing on that patio when suddenly, all in one frame of view, all without turning my frenetic melon, I could see

a Monarch Butterfly

and

three Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterflies

and

a Goldfinch patiently waiting to balance precariously on a cone flower for something to eat.

I could see

a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird whirling around,

like a crazy wind-up toy...

quietly humming like a hover-craft having a sip from the Monarda.

I could see a chubby brown squirrel, sitting on his haunches.

And an Eastern Chipmunk

with his cheeks all stuffed with lunch.

It was really kind of a surreal moment. I felt like frickin' Snow White. Except there were no sex-starved dwarves trying to slip me a roofie and look up my skirt at my poonany. (I know... Some girls have all the luck.)

But, all of that in one view... In one simple and beautiful view... I suddenly felt profoundly grateful. I felt like I could breathe...

I wish that I could fully translate to you how peaceful it was. How it was as though time stopped for a moment. I was looking for a cool music video, or some vid with some great soothing sounds for you, something to inspire and relax you and to give you an idea of how it felt, but then I found this...

And if you're able to bring yourself to a full stop, it reminded me what beauty there is in quiet... That my thoughts won't always eat me alive. And to just, ... ... be. That there truly is magnificence in standing still.

(If you just can't bear to watch the whole thing, I just encourage you to at least watch the first minute - the way the feathers near her a-hole and her own poonany (as opposed to mine) ruffle with each flap of her wings, and really how incredibly remarkable she is... Then, if you head to 2:51, you'll see her pull back, and whirl away into space and time. It's fucking brilliant. Take the time and breathe deeply... You're worth it.)

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