Posts Tagged ‘ Gulf of Mexico ’

DC Gulf Coast Benefit – Adams Morgan, Saturday August 7 from 3-8pm

Wednesday, August 4th, 2010

This Saturday there’s a chance to show support for the Gulf of Mexico in DC.  Come to Adams Morgan from 3-8pm, eat and drink at one of the participating establishments, and show your support!  For details about this event visit http://dcsmashed.org/gulf/DC_Gulf_Coast_Benefit.html.

As we know, the BP oil drilling disaster continues to impact Gulf Coast communities and our environment profoundly.  Coastal communities need your help and support to manage the clean-up efforts, make communties whole, and overcome this disaster.

Come out this Saturday to Adams Morgan to support the Gulf Restoration Network’s effort to protect and restore the natural resources and communities of the Gulf Region for future generations.   Come out to Adams Morgan between 3-8pm this Saturday August 7th and visit one of the participating establishments to take advantage of specials offered.  A portion of the day’s proceeds will be donated by each establishment. Join the 3pm second line and march up 18th street to show your support.  Meet friends, listen to music, eat and drink and make merry wherever you like, all the while supporting the Gulf region.

So come with your friends, enjoy, and show your support.  Our Gulf communities will appreciate your contribution!

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Gulf Restoration Network – Showing Your Support for the Gulf of Mexico

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

KissMyCountry continues to support the Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) through our USA, Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas t-shirts and our blog posts.  In addition to their central mission to collect information about the health of the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Restoration Network is adding to their outreach in response to their increased need for support.  These initiatives – most linking with other Gulf-based organizations – are ways to show your support for efforts there and continue to remain informed.

Blog posts, Interviews and Press Releases
Take time each day to look at the GRN’s informative and compelling blog posts, interviews and press releases.  Their Trajectory Map updates the scope of the oil spill daily, and commentary by GRN staff members such as Aaron Viles and Ellis Pickett showcase problems, issues and individual experiences in the wake of this disaster.  Their focus is on getting information to you and they do.  They are a great source of information and action.

Gulf Future – Joining With Others to Support Coastal Communities in the Gulf
Gulf Future is an effort to increase public support for coastal communities.  Wear a non-petroleum wristband or attend a benefit concert this summer.   For the people affected, knowing that others care is an enormous source of strength.  A coalition of the Gulf Restoration Network and the Gulf Coast Fund, Gulf Future asks us to be visible about our support and concern.  The commitment is small – a $10 donation for a bracelet or the cost of a concert ticket.  However the collective response speaks volumes about the amount of support from around our country.

A Goal to Host 200 Screenings of ‘Defend the Gulf’ on August 29
The greatest challenge of the BP oil spill is that it happened just as Gulf residents had fully recovered from the aftermath of Katrina.  August 29 is the 5th anniversary of Katrina’s landfall in the Gulf of Mexico and to mark the day the GRN is asking people to host a screening of the ‘Defend the Gulf’ series in their homes, churches or community centers to raise awareness about current needs.  Invite friends and family and the GRN will provide hosts with a DVD, information, and Louisiana goodies.  Their goal is 200 screenings around the country – double the number held last year.

The GRN T-Shirt Quilt
The GRN is making a quilt using each of the t-shirts whose sale is helping to raise money for the GRN as another way to show how many truly care.  KissMyCountry was proud to donate one of our USA t-shirts for this quilt.  We’re guessing this will be displayed in New Orleans or DC or auctioned off.  It’s a work in progress and a great way to show the unified support for the GRN.   We’ll keep you posted.

To stay in touch and show your support, we suggest you follow the GRN’s blogs and updates – and consider wearing a bracelet, attending a concert or hosting a screening.  Thank you for staying informed!

 

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Gulf Restoration Network – Saving the Gulf of Mexico

Monday, June 7th, 2010

“Thanks for your concern about the Gulf of Mexico and the impact of BP’s oil drilling disaster.  The Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) would greatly appreciate being a recipient of your fundraising efforts”.  – Briana Kerstein, Special Projects Coordinator, Gulf Restoration Network

KissMyCountry is proud to announce our support of the Gulf Restoration Network with our Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi and Texas t-shirts.   Our support represents our goal to connect with environmental non profits in all 50 states and donate a portion of each t-shirt sold to a state-based group.  KissMyCountry is about saving the places we love and it feels great to show our love for the Gulf of Mexico and the Gulf Restoration Network through our t-shirts.  Enjoy learning more about the work of this dedicated group, thank you for showing your support and thank you for telling your friends!

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Monitoring and Advocating for a Healthy Gulf for Fifteen Years
The Gulf Restoration Network (GRN) is a 15-year old environmental non-profit and the only environmental organization working Gulf-wide in Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi, Texas and Florida.  Cyn Sarthou is Executive Director.  The GRN is committed to uniting and empowering people to protect and restore the natural resources of the Gulf Region for future generations.  Staff is based throughout the Gulf Region to monitor environmental conditions in the air, water and on the ground.  Campaigns focus on fishing, healthy waters, species at risk and sustainable practices to save the Gulf and wetlands.  Check out their web site for information, videos, volunteer opportunities and how to donate.

Reporting on the BP Oil Spill from Day One
The GRN was the first group to fly over the Gulf of Mexico after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, and has been providing independent monitoring and advocacy focused on holding BP accountable and ensuring an effective and transparent response to the crisis.   Of great interest is the reporting by staff biologists on the impact of the BP oil spill on birds, animals and marine life in the Gulf Region such as Ellis Pickett on sea turtles and Aaron Viles on sperm whales.  News and commentary about the BP Oil spill are added daily to their site.

Stay Informed, Take Action, and Be Ready for the Long Haul
We’ll all be living with the BP oil spill for a long time – so get ready for the long haul – and thank you for supporting the Gulf Restoration Network if you love the Gulf Region or know someone who does.  Sta informed and take action.  We’re glad the GRN is in place and we know their job just got much larger.  We know we can count on them to keep us informed, and we want the GRN to know they can count on our support through our blog and our t-shirts.  We appreciate the work you do.

KissMyCountry will donate $2.50 to the Gulf Restoration network for each Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi or Texas purchased via our website and through wholesale customers.  Our Florida t-shirt supports the Loggerhead Marine Life Center in Juno Beach, Florida.  T-shirts are available in organic cotton or v-neck and are created ‘on demand’.  We thank you for showing your love for the Gulf Region!

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BP and the US Government – Getting Along Like Oil and Water

Monday, May 24th, 2010

We’re starting to realize we’re really in trouble here.  This is not going to be the usual ‘oh no, let’s get that fixed and now we just have the hearings to worry about’ scenario.  It’s a Pandora’s Box, a genie out of the bottle – a fix that still needs more fixing, news that the Gulf Stream could become the Oil Stream, and a US government that’s decided to play ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ big time.  A liability cap that goes from $75 million to $10 billion (or maybe $80 billion?) and an MMS that might dissolve and turn into two agencies and a revenue collection group.  Poof.  This just turned from a sprint into a marathon, BP, with no end in sight.  Forget the Exxon Valdez, think Bikini Islands.

BP, in case you didn’t notice you are on your own.  We’re in the middle of the blame game right now with plenty to go around.  Politicians are using words like ‘cover up’ and ‘un-American’.  Nobody is going to own up to any part of this, nobody wants to appear sympathetic in any way.  Your private business friends?  Gone.  Deepwater Horizon’s in major protection mode, other oil companies are touting the super safe procedures they use (yeah sure), and we’re all wondering whether we’ll ever be able to go to a beach on the East Coast or the Gulf of Mexico again.  So, not a good time. 

Truthfully, we’re all partly to blame.  We didn’t cause this, companies failed us and our government failed us, but we’re a part of the chain.  These companies took a risk and they’re paying the price, but they aren’t extracting oil in deepwater just for the challenge.  They’ve got customers, and their customers have customers, and eventually we’re the customer.  This is a hard wake up call, but with a clear message nonetheless. We don’t have another planet to move to. We’ve got to fix this as best we can, and we’ve got to encourage a different way to live.  We’ve got to seek and support solutions that are sustainable, renewable and safe.  And that save the places we love, not destroy them or put them at risk.

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Brazil and Norway Know Oil, Why Don’t We?

Saturday, May 1st, 2010

U.S. regulators don’t mandate use of the remote-control device on offshore rigs, and the Deepwater Horizon, hired by oil giant BP PLC, didn’t have one. With the remote control, a crew can attempt to trigger an underwater valve that shuts down the well even if the oil rig itself is damaged or evacuated…Nevertheless, regulators in two major oil-producing countries, Norway and Brazil, in effect require them. Norway has had acoustic triggers on almost every offshore rig since 1993. “Leaking Oil Well Lacked Safeguard Device”, April 28, 2010, Wall Street Journal

Okay, let me get this straight because I really want to understand what I’m hearing.  There was a way to prevent this, a technology exists, and other countries use it?  Oh, okay, it makes things more expensive, that makes a lot of sense.  So, out of everything – the oil rig, the people’s lives, their families, the local crab and shrimp fishermen, the Gulf of Mexico and New Orleans this is where you just have to cut corners?  Did you factor in the cost of the Coast Guard and the Navy to stop everything for weeks and help you out?  Oh, well yes, there will be a charge for that.  Trust me.

Cost is always relative, so thank you Brazil for including preventing accidents like this in your priorities.  Others may call you an emerging market, but on saving the planet you’ve arrived and you’re setting an example.  And Norway, we didn’t forget you – energy is one of your country’s largest industries, so somehow this wasn’t too expensive  for you.   Maybe you’d be willing to show us how you do it, if anyone’s willing to listen.

Years ago I visited Santa Barbara, and walked along their beach.  It was a beautiful day, clear sky, cool air, sun, and I walked along thinking how great it was to be in such a perfect spot.  Then I looked down at the sand.  There were small black splotches, and I saw that some of the black splotches were on the bottom of my feet.  What’s that, I asked?  Oil, my companion answered.  Oil?  In this beautiful place, on this beautiful day?  Everytime I think of going to Santa Barbara I think, no, not so much.  I haven’t been back.

In the midst of so many solutions and so many possiblities – electric cars, biofuels, wind and solar energy – this is a jolt that reminds us why we need alternatives so badly.   I don’t want to say hurry up to the scientists and engineers – I know you’re working hard.  But we need you, and we’re waiting.  We’re ready.  We’re done.  We’re there.

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