"Did you plug the hole yet, Daddy?"
-- Malia Obama
In this issue:
1) Take Action:Protect the Loggerhead Turtle
2) Take Action: Break Free from Oil Addiction!
3) Finance: Massey, BP Paying for Disasters
4) Update: BP Disaster
1) Take Action: Protect the Loggerhead Turtle
Oil continues to wash up on American shores in the Gulf of Mexico, further degrading habitat and adding significant threats to numerous species already imperiled, including the Loggerhead Turtle. Loggerheads already face threats across their entire global range, to both their marine environment and the beaches where they lay their eggs. Because of this, the U.S. populations of Loggerheads in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans now have threatened species status, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service have jointly proposed updgrading their status to endangered.
Please take action and support this proposed listing. The heightened protection offered by endangered species status will better ensure survival of the Loggerhead Turtle during this critical crisis when they need all the help they can get.
Protect the Loggerhead Turtle!
2) Take Action: Break Free from Oil Addiction!
This Memorial Day weekend the Sierra Club and the American Security Project released a joint report showing how America’s addiction to oil threatens our national security, our economy and our environment. "Ending Our Dependence on Oil" highlights the connections between national security and energy and lays out solutions for mitigating the threats posed by continued oil dependence.
Read the report and then tell President Obama it's time to end our dependence on oil by transforming our transportation sector and creating a clean energy economy!
Tell President Obama it's time to end our dependence on oil!
3) Finance: Massey, BP Paying for Disasters
In a sign of growing awareness among investors of the financial risks of ignoring safety and environmental concerns, shares of Massey and BP have tumbled since the Upper Big Branch mining disaster and the start of the worsening oil spill. Members of Massey's board of directors narrowly escaped ousting at the company’s annual shareholder meeting.
And as the shareholder meeting season continues companies can expect to hear more from investors who want more information on the risks posed by environmental factors and new regulations, and more action by the companies to address those risks.
4) Update: BP Disaster
As efforts to stop the flow of oil from the BP Disaster continue forecasters are predicting that oil could reach the coasts of Mississippi and Alabama some time this week. Already communities in Louisiana are feeling the impact from the worst oil spill in US history. In response the President has halted drilling plans in the Arctic and off the coast of Virginia, but has not yet called for a halt to all new drilling.
The first meeting of President Obama's oil spill commission is set to take place today as the members begin investigating the BP Disaster.
Stay updated on the BP Oil Disaster here.