Pensacola Beach was shut down this morning.
I have nothing else to say about that.
But I will say that there's a Tropical Depression in the Caribbean right now. It should be heading for Texas. Although that's days out so we don't really know for sure.
I'm depressed now. Please no oilcanes.
26 June 2010
23 June 2010
Shrimp
Today I had lunch with my boyfriend and my friend Jane. We went to Chili's and, as I'm stretched for cash Brian and I split something. He really wanted the fajita trio- which has steak, chicken and shrimp in it. When our food came and we began making our fajitas, Jane (who knows that I am vegetarian by the way) noticed that I was putting only the grilled peppers and onions in my tortilla with the salsa and lettuce and cheese and she said
"You don't eat shrimp?"
"No"
"So you feel bad for the shrimp?"
Now Jane is a sweet person who has cats the she loves and other vegetarian friends who I would assume also don't eat fish, but I guess maybe they do. Well here was my reply
"Yes, I do. I mean especially all those poor gulf shrimp being smothered with oil right now and the shrimp from other areas being killed beyond regular means to freeze and ship to our area."
Personally I don't think the other shrimp should be killed either, but I'm not stupid, I know there's a demand for them and they're going to be killed, but I'm doing my own part to protest it by not buying it/eating it. (And I realize that there's hypocrisy in this since we ordered the fajita trio in the first place, but I didn't pay for it and in life and love there are times when compromises are made- at least I made a difference by telling Jane something new).
Anyway, the point of the story is that we SHOULD care about shrimp. We should care about sea creatures just as we do land animals. We shouldn't value one form of animal life over another. Funny enough when I came home this afternoon, I began reading a new book on vegetarianism, Diet for a New America by John Robbins. In the first chapter, Robbins details different stories of the selfless love of different types of animals, from land and sea helping humans in danger. It didn't matter if they were the pets who intimately knew the human or animals who knew none intimately, they came to the rescue of humans.
When I think about it, I really don't know why they would. We treat most of them with so little respect. We throw them off their land, destroy their homes, kill them, eat them, enslave their children for a destiny of another dinner plate, and yet sometimes, they help us when we're in need. Don't you think we should return the favor?
Here's a story of a brave pet pig from Diet for a New America:
"[A] mother and son had gone swimming in a Houston lake. The boy inadvertently strayed too far from shore, panicked, and began to sink. The boy's pet pig, Priscilla, evidently felt his distress because she rushed into the water and began to swim towards him. While Anthony's anguished mother watched helplessly, the boy managed to stay afloat until the pig reached him. Then he caught hold of her leash. Anthony's mother watched awe-struck as Priscilla the pig proceeded to tow her son safely to shore."
There are so many more in the book- dogs and dolphins, sea turtles and canaries who risked (or gave in one case) their lives to save humans. And I feel that it is so sweet and selfless and kind that they would do that for such violent creatures as us.
And although, yes, shrimp are small and can't tow me to safety or float me to safety, they are living, breathing, pain-feeling animals. And although they aren't in a feedlot contained to a ridiculously small space all of their lives, they are being suffocated to death in masses on a regular basis purely for our palate's pleasure. So yes, I care about shrimp and feel bad for them because of our treatment of them.
"You don't eat shrimp?"
"No"
"So you feel bad for the shrimp?"
Now Jane is a sweet person who has cats the she loves and other vegetarian friends who I would assume also don't eat fish, but I guess maybe they do. Well here was my reply
"Yes, I do. I mean especially all those poor gulf shrimp being smothered with oil right now and the shrimp from other areas being killed beyond regular means to freeze and ship to our area."
Personally I don't think the other shrimp should be killed either, but I'm not stupid, I know there's a demand for them and they're going to be killed, but I'm doing my own part to protest it by not buying it/eating it. (And I realize that there's hypocrisy in this since we ordered the fajita trio in the first place, but I didn't pay for it and in life and love there are times when compromises are made- at least I made a difference by telling Jane something new).
Anyway, the point of the story is that we SHOULD care about shrimp. We should care about sea creatures just as we do land animals. We shouldn't value one form of animal life over another. Funny enough when I came home this afternoon, I began reading a new book on vegetarianism, Diet for a New America by John Robbins. In the first chapter, Robbins details different stories of the selfless love of different types of animals, from land and sea helping humans in danger. It didn't matter if they were the pets who intimately knew the human or animals who knew none intimately, they came to the rescue of humans.
When I think about it, I really don't know why they would. We treat most of them with so little respect. We throw them off their land, destroy their homes, kill them, eat them, enslave their children for a destiny of another dinner plate, and yet sometimes, they help us when we're in need. Don't you think we should return the favor?
Here's a story of a brave pet pig from Diet for a New America:
"[A] mother and son had gone swimming in a Houston lake. The boy inadvertently strayed too far from shore, panicked, and began to sink. The boy's pet pig, Priscilla, evidently felt his distress because she rushed into the water and began to swim towards him. While Anthony's anguished mother watched helplessly, the boy managed to stay afloat until the pig reached him. Then he caught hold of her leash. Anthony's mother watched awe-struck as Priscilla the pig proceeded to tow her son safely to shore."
There are so many more in the book- dogs and dolphins, sea turtles and canaries who risked (or gave in one case) their lives to save humans. And I feel that it is so sweet and selfless and kind that they would do that for such violent creatures as us.
And although, yes, shrimp are small and can't tow me to safety or float me to safety, they are living, breathing, pain-feeling animals. And although they aren't in a feedlot contained to a ridiculously small space all of their lives, they are being suffocated to death in masses on a regular basis purely for our palate's pleasure. So yes, I care about shrimp and feel bad for them because of our treatment of them.
22 June 2010
Second Post = Food Post
With picture ^^
Welcome to the college gourmet- Vegan, Italian-Style Ramen noodles.
Ingredients:
2 packages ramen, no MSG chicken flavored packets here- toss them aside
1/4 lb asparagus, bottom part removed, sliced into 1" pieces
1/3 bunch of parsley (bunch as sold in stores), chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, diced
1/4 onion, diced
olive oil to desired saucy-ness
Directions:
Pasta: Boil water. When it's boiling, add ramen. Cook for 3 minutes. Drain.
Asparagus: Steam. I did this in a microwave container for this purpose, small amount of water boils below, tray holds asparagus above. It was in the microwave for 2 minutes. Otherwise, boil water with metal strainer bowl on top. Add asparagus for 1-2 minutes, until heated through and nice and green.
The rest of the dish: Heat some olive oil in a skillet, add onion. When onion smells sweet and is tender, add garlic and parsley. When it smells amazing (about 1 minute), add the asparagus and ramen. Toss. Enjoy. :)
Serves 3 servings slightly larger than the one pictured above (I took a couple bites and Brian gave me the idea to photograph our lovely dinner).
Welcome to the college gourmet- Vegan, Italian-Style Ramen noodles.
Ingredients:
2 packages ramen, no MSG chicken flavored packets here- toss them aside
1/4 lb asparagus, bottom part removed, sliced into 1" pieces
1/3 bunch of parsley (bunch as sold in stores), chopped
1 clove fresh garlic, diced
1/4 onion, diced
olive oil to desired saucy-ness
Directions:
Pasta: Boil water. When it's boiling, add ramen. Cook for 3 minutes. Drain.
Asparagus: Steam. I did this in a microwave container for this purpose, small amount of water boils below, tray holds asparagus above. It was in the microwave for 2 minutes. Otherwise, boil water with metal strainer bowl on top. Add asparagus for 1-2 minutes, until heated through and nice and green.
The rest of the dish: Heat some olive oil in a skillet, add onion. When onion smells sweet and is tender, add garlic and parsley. When it smells amazing (about 1 minute), add the asparagus and ramen. Toss. Enjoy. :)
Serves 3 servings slightly larger than the one pictured above (I took a couple bites and Brian gave me the idea to photograph our lovely dinner).
Double Post Monday!
First post (Warning: it's a long one)-
Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth From The Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat by Howard F Lyman with Glen Merzer
Review: First I'd like to say that this is quite literally a REview. I finished the book today and enjoyed it's summation so much that I decided to go back through the book and highlight thing/phrases that I found important. It all started this morning- I had 2 chapters to go. And then my power went out (for the 3rd time this month btw- can you believe that?). So I sat by an open window (well open blinds...window closed so as no rain came in) and read....and I was hooked and inspired.
To be honest I hadn't been hooked from the beginning of the book. It started a little oddly, with a different narrative voice than I'm used to for nonfiction. Lyman has a storytelling way of writing. It was an adjustment at first since I expect facts to be in statements and boring reports, not stories, but it ultimately won me over. Around the time that he stopped talking about he and Oprah's lawsuit experience with the Texas cattle industry and he started talking about the facts of the cleanliness or lack thereof of the meat industry I became interested (and sickened at what I used to eat and still cook for mon amour).
In the third chapter he began talking about what got me into the movement- the effects of animal farming on nature. I was happy to be reading something (slightly) less sickening and surprised at the amount of destruction that I didn't know occurred to the land by chemical and animal farming. I knew the pesticides and fecal matter polluted waterways, I knew food growing and animal transport and butchering emitted greenhouse gases. I did not know that the chemical fertilizers destroyed the soil and the trees that grew near farms. I did not know that the fecal matter polluted waters get into the oceans and infect fish with disgusting bacteria. I did not know that the animal consumption of the pesticides is stored into the animals' fat and that our consumption of this fatty meat (and milk) gives people 95% of their exposure to pesticides- not our apples. I was astounded at how much I didn't know.
But then the book goes on. In chapter four he tells his personal tale about his journey into vegetarianism. And though the previous chapter was needed to lead up to it, I feel like this more emotionally charged tale should have come first in the book, not his Oprah experience (although I guess it might not have been published/bought otherwise...Oprah does seem to rule the US in her own way). You see this cattle rancher no longer eats meat because of one life changing experience- he had a spinal tumor that should have rendered him disabled, but didn't. After he had this tumor removed (and survived with legs functioning) he went through a series of epiphanies, including that organic family farming was better than feedlot/chemical operation, he decided that his treatment of the Earth and the animals effected the way he treated humans- his wife, his kids, and of course himself. He became vegetarian for health and compassion. He has gone from farmer to Washington representative (rep for a farmer union though, not as a legislative authority).
Chapter 5 goes into a different direction which is the main title- mad cow disease. It is a rather disconcerting chapter on how unsafe we Americans are from mad cow disease, even today and how little the government cares. Apparently mad cow disease travels by blood- so when you eat a rare steak of an effected cow you're exposed. If that cow gave birth before you ate it- it was exposed. If it's other remains were put in your cat's or dog's food...it is also exposed. I had NO idea. And also scary is the root of mad cow disease- cannibalism.
Chapter 6 discusses more about the government and food industry relations which are upsetting too. Another good resource for this if you interested is the documentary The Future of Food. It's available to stream for free online at hulu.com.
Chapter 7 discusses the environmental issues with feedlot and free range cows. There are also a lot of things I learned from this chapter. Did you know that cattle grazing destroys the topsoil which (along with those chemicals) increases our rate of destruction of land- particularly out west? Our water too.
Chapter 8 talks about weight loss and proper nutrition. It discusses how misinformed we are about nutrition and the effects it takes on our health. Now while I'm not looking to loose weight- I really enjoyed this chapter, and particularly LOVED his discussion at t he end of the chapter. He makes a great analogy of eating meat to smoking: It's a step to decrease from smoking 2 packs a day to 1, but it doesn't significantly decrease your risk of lung cancer. Same with meat, eating less meat a week than you used to is nice, but it won't significantly decrease your chance of diabetes or heart attack or stroke or colon cancer (or breast cancer which I didn't know) like quitting will. He also gave some great arguments that we can use for non-vegetarians who ask us questions, including an awesome response for the infamous "but humans are made to eat meat, we're carnivorous" comment.
Finally, chapter 9 summed it all up with his assessment of a return visit to his native Montana and his philosophical wondering of what matters for us to leave behind when we die.
In the end, it was an awesome, informative, inspiring, philosophical true story. It reads like a novel (albeit slightly disorganized), but gives nonfiction truth. It was an adjustment for me to read a narrative like his, but the initial dislike grew to a love. It's kind of like (actually very much like) when your grandfather tells you a story. He's old, so he tells it kind of slow and gets distracted from the main point frequently, but when you have finally heard all of it, you realize you actually learned something meaningful, something that only those who have seen a lot can tell you with their years of wisdom on you. Putting it that way makes me miss my dad and my grandpa actually (happy belated fathers day!).
Mad Cowboy: Plain Truth From The Cattle Rancher Who Won't Eat Meat by Howard F Lyman with Glen Merzer
Review: First I'd like to say that this is quite literally a REview. I finished the book today and enjoyed it's summation so much that I decided to go back through the book and highlight thing/phrases that I found important. It all started this morning- I had 2 chapters to go. And then my power went out (for the 3rd time this month btw- can you believe that?). So I sat by an open window (well open blinds...window closed so as no rain came in) and read....and I was hooked and inspired.
To be honest I hadn't been hooked from the beginning of the book. It started a little oddly, with a different narrative voice than I'm used to for nonfiction. Lyman has a storytelling way of writing. It was an adjustment at first since I expect facts to be in statements and boring reports, not stories, but it ultimately won me over. Around the time that he stopped talking about he and Oprah's lawsuit experience with the Texas cattle industry and he started talking about the facts of the cleanliness or lack thereof of the meat industry I became interested (and sickened at what I used to eat and still cook for mon amour).
In the third chapter he began talking about what got me into the movement- the effects of animal farming on nature. I was happy to be reading something (slightly) less sickening and surprised at the amount of destruction that I didn't know occurred to the land by chemical and animal farming. I knew the pesticides and fecal matter polluted waterways, I knew food growing and animal transport and butchering emitted greenhouse gases. I did not know that the chemical fertilizers destroyed the soil and the trees that grew near farms. I did not know that the fecal matter polluted waters get into the oceans and infect fish with disgusting bacteria. I did not know that the animal consumption of the pesticides is stored into the animals' fat and that our consumption of this fatty meat (and milk) gives people 95% of their exposure to pesticides- not our apples. I was astounded at how much I didn't know.
But then the book goes on. In chapter four he tells his personal tale about his journey into vegetarianism. And though the previous chapter was needed to lead up to it, I feel like this more emotionally charged tale should have come first in the book, not his Oprah experience (although I guess it might not have been published/bought otherwise...Oprah does seem to rule the US in her own way). You see this cattle rancher no longer eats meat because of one life changing experience- he had a spinal tumor that should have rendered him disabled, but didn't. After he had this tumor removed (and survived with legs functioning) he went through a series of epiphanies, including that organic family farming was better than feedlot/chemical operation, he decided that his treatment of the Earth and the animals effected the way he treated humans- his wife, his kids, and of course himself. He became vegetarian for health and compassion. He has gone from farmer to Washington representative (rep for a farmer union though, not as a legislative authority).
Chapter 5 goes into a different direction which is the main title- mad cow disease. It is a rather disconcerting chapter on how unsafe we Americans are from mad cow disease, even today and how little the government cares. Apparently mad cow disease travels by blood- so when you eat a rare steak of an effected cow you're exposed. If that cow gave birth before you ate it- it was exposed. If it's other remains were put in your cat's or dog's food...it is also exposed. I had NO idea. And also scary is the root of mad cow disease- cannibalism.
Chapter 6 discusses more about the government and food industry relations which are upsetting too. Another good resource for this if you interested is the documentary The Future of Food. It's available to stream for free online at hulu.com.
Chapter 7 discusses the environmental issues with feedlot and free range cows. There are also a lot of things I learned from this chapter. Did you know that cattle grazing destroys the topsoil which (along with those chemicals) increases our rate of destruction of land- particularly out west? Our water too.
Chapter 8 talks about weight loss and proper nutrition. It discusses how misinformed we are about nutrition and the effects it takes on our health. Now while I'm not looking to loose weight- I really enjoyed this chapter, and particularly LOVED his discussion at t he end of the chapter. He makes a great analogy of eating meat to smoking: It's a step to decrease from smoking 2 packs a day to 1, but it doesn't significantly decrease your risk of lung cancer. Same with meat, eating less meat a week than you used to is nice, but it won't significantly decrease your chance of diabetes or heart attack or stroke or colon cancer (or breast cancer which I didn't know) like quitting will. He also gave some great arguments that we can use for non-vegetarians who ask us questions, including an awesome response for the infamous "but humans are made to eat meat, we're carnivorous" comment.
Finally, chapter 9 summed it all up with his assessment of a return visit to his native Montana and his philosophical wondering of what matters for us to leave behind when we die.
In the end, it was an awesome, informative, inspiring, philosophical true story. It reads like a novel (albeit slightly disorganized), but gives nonfiction truth. It was an adjustment for me to read a narrative like his, but the initial dislike grew to a love. It's kind of like (actually very much like) when your grandfather tells you a story. He's old, so he tells it kind of slow and gets distracted from the main point frequently, but when you have finally heard all of it, you realize you actually learned something meaningful, something that only those who have seen a lot can tell you with their years of wisdom on you. Putting it that way makes me miss my dad and my grandpa actually (happy belated fathers day!).
16 June 2010
Unfocused College Student
Ok so I SHOULD be working on my homework...it's due Friday, so I have a little bit...but I want to have actually done some of it (or rather some more of it) when I work with friends from the class tomorrow. However, me studying in front of the computer is a bad idea- I tend to play with my computer or browse the interwebs. So today I've been studying in the living room. Having the house to myself, I decided I could watch some more girly shows- like HGTV design sows that Brian would never watch with me and well...you guessed it- I became unfocused.
Well HGTV is awesome and all, but then this episode of a design show came on where they were designing a nursery (not exactly relevant to me)...so I did some channel surfing. While channel surfing, I came across an episode of Top Chef on Bravo where Natalie Portman was on and they had to make a vegetarian meal for her as their challenge!!! It was great! It's not often that you find cooking contests for vegetarians on tv. Plus, I love Natalie Portman! She's just amazing. (I mean just watch Garden State or listen to her Lonely Island song- just awesome!)
Well HGTV is awesome and all, but then this episode of a design show came on where they were designing a nursery (not exactly relevant to me)...so I did some channel surfing. While channel surfing, I came across an episode of Top Chef on Bravo where Natalie Portman was on and they had to make a vegetarian meal for her as their challenge!!! It was great! It's not often that you find cooking contests for vegetarians on tv. Plus, I love Natalie Portman! She's just amazing. (I mean just watch Garden State or listen to her Lonely Island song- just awesome!)
Disappointed with Obama Address, Infatuated With Potato Soup
Tonight at 8 PM EDT Obama gave an address about the Oil Spill which should be available on Hulu and YouTube by tomorrow. While I was impressed by his tour of our area (earlier I saw him at Pensacola's NAS giving a speech as well) and his prompt return to Washington, DC, I was not impressed by what he had to say. I know that he as a politician is not going to have a scientific strategy for how we should stop the leak and clean the ocean and land, but I was hopeful he would decide to take things into the governments hand and get more military involvement in the cleanup (after all, isn't that what the national guard is for? to protect our shores, land, and our people?) and maybe even in research for how to solve the issues at hand. But, no. He gave an eloquent speech saying absolutely nothing about what his administration was going to do other than to not "give up hope". Seriously? Because that speech kind of took away a lot of my hopes...
On a much happier note, I had a delicious cheesey potato soup and got inspired for a recipe for some vegan mashed potatoes that I might try if I ever run out of the powdered stuff.
The soup recipe can be found here online:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,161,148173-227198,00.html
(and by the way the non-vegetarian boyfriend loved it and I also ate this soup on St. Patty's Day with my friend Jane who loved it as well) We garnished it with fresh basil leaves because my plant is getting weighed down by itself in its tiny pot. It was a tasty choice. We also served it with garlic toast- which was delicious as well.
As for the vegan mashed potatoes...
Basically, I'd take the recipe from the link above, using vegetable broth/stock (I actually used 1.5 c water + a veggie bouillon cube which is a slightly cheaper way) and do everything until the part where it says to blend 1/2 the soup. Instead, I'd just blend all of it. I tasted the mixture when trying to get scraps of it off my food processor into the pot and it was delicious. I'm not totally sure if the food to liquid ratio would be quite right for mashed potatoes, but the taste is amazing. Garlic + thyme = best seasonings ever for potatoes. :)
On a much happier note, I had a delicious cheesey potato soup and got inspired for a recipe for some vegan mashed potatoes that I might try if I ever run out of the powdered stuff.
The soup recipe can be found here online:
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,161,148173-227198,00.html
(and by the way the non-vegetarian boyfriend loved it and I also ate this soup on St. Patty's Day with my friend Jane who loved it as well) We garnished it with fresh basil leaves because my plant is getting weighed down by itself in its tiny pot. It was a tasty choice. We also served it with garlic toast- which was delicious as well.
As for the vegan mashed potatoes...
Basically, I'd take the recipe from the link above, using vegetable broth/stock (I actually used 1.5 c water + a veggie bouillon cube which is a slightly cheaper way) and do everything until the part where it says to blend 1/2 the soup. Instead, I'd just blend all of it. I tasted the mixture when trying to get scraps of it off my food processor into the pot and it was delicious. I'm not totally sure if the food to liquid ratio would be quite right for mashed potatoes, but the taste is amazing. Garlic + thyme = best seasonings ever for potatoes. :)
12 June 2010
Fancy Breakfast For Dinner
Eggs Benedict! (Sans Canadian bacon of course).
Ingredients:
1 English muffin, split
1 packet McCormick's Hollandaise sauce mix
1/2 stick butter
1 cup water
2 eggs
dash Paprika or Chili Pepper for garnish
Cooking:
Timing is the biggest issue with this dish. Start the sauce first! Follow the directions on the sauce packet. While the butter is melting, start boiling some water to poach the eggs in. Once the sauce mixture is boiling, when you reduce heat and simmer it for a minute throw your eggs in the boiling water and start toasting your English muffins. Splash some water on top of the yolk so a thin layer of opaque white covers them and keeps them warm, but not cooking them solid. Once the white layer over the eggs appears and the whites are cooked, the eggs are ready.
Assembly:
Two methods-
1) Sauce lovers- Put English muffins on plate. Top with a spoonful of the sauce, then egg, then more sauce and garnish if desired.
2)Sauce conscious eaters- Top English muffin with egg, then sauce, then garnish.
Ingredients:
1 English muffin, split
1 packet McCormick's Hollandaise sauce mix
1/2 stick butter
1 cup water
2 eggs
dash Paprika or Chili Pepper for garnish
Cooking:
Timing is the biggest issue with this dish. Start the sauce first! Follow the directions on the sauce packet. While the butter is melting, start boiling some water to poach the eggs in. Once the sauce mixture is boiling, when you reduce heat and simmer it for a minute throw your eggs in the boiling water and start toasting your English muffins. Splash some water on top of the yolk so a thin layer of opaque white covers them and keeps them warm, but not cooking them solid. Once the white layer over the eggs appears and the whites are cooked, the eggs are ready.
Assembly:
Two methods-
1) Sauce lovers- Put English muffins on plate. Top with a spoonful of the sauce, then egg, then more sauce and garnish if desired.
2)Sauce conscious eaters- Top English muffin with egg, then sauce, then garnish.
04 June 2010
Gulf Coast Oil Spill- Location Update and Scientific Discussion
The Gulf Coast Oil Spill has reached Pensacola Beach.
We've known for over a month this day would come. We've been waiting for it, preparing for it, dreading it. It has finally reached Pensacola. Now it's ready to be swept into the Gulf Current and blown up the east coast and maybe over to Europe or the Middle East.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_oil_spill_florida
http://www.forexyard.com/en/news/Florida-coast-suffers-first-impact-from-oil-spill-2010-06-04T163646Z-UPDATE-2
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Florida+coast+suffers+first+impact+from+spill/3112240/story.html
When we saw this on CNN while eating lunch, Brian jokingly said to me "2012- Wanna go to France?". I don't believe that 2012 stuff- it's silly...but f there was some alien race coming to judge us, I wouldn't blame them if they wanted to kill us for killing the planet-the punishment fits the crime. Think about it- we're killing millions of fish and sea mamals and a delicate ecosystem. Why? So we can drive instead of walk or bike.
Well, there are a couple of new things I want to mention as well. For the people who want to clean up- not all the information needed is actually being disseminated. The dispersants used in the water are actually carcinogens which can be inhaled. Coastal cleanup volunteers should be wearing masks, and could cause a great deal of harm to themselves if they don't. Also, to clean oil off of the animals you need to have special training so you don't hurt the animal.
Another shocking environmental impact that the media is not discussing is the air quality. When we heard the news that the oil had reached our hometown, we both called our parents. When I was talking to my mom, she said that she had been coughing a lot and got a throat swab done (we both usually get atypical strep when we get strep- you can't see white spots, so only the throat swabs will tell if you have it or not) and the results were really surprising- she had inhaled some petroleum. Her doctor's theory is that the burning at the oil spill site got petroleum particles into the cloud and they rained down. From my atmospheric physics class, this makes sense, the small particles could became what we meteorologists call cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and when there is enough moisture (which is basically everyday for the Gulf Coast- especially in summer, sea breeze season), these particles became parts of clouds and then rained down over the area. This same process is how acid rain works, where particles from volcanoes or anthropogenic sources of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides become CCN, form clouds, then rain and fall down. However, with acid rain there is a chemical reaction that turns water and sulfates or nitrates into sulfuric or nitric acid. There is no reaction between the oil and the water because of the molecular bonds, so instead of the combination causing acid rain, it just brings the particles down in normal rain.
Now I do have a Bachelors, but I don't have a Master's or a PhD in meteorology. I have only had one class that discussed cloud physics. I could easily be wrong. It's also possible that she could've gotten it from filling up her car's tank. I feel that the theory is more likely however because she doesn't fill up her car often since she has a hybrid, and there has never been a time in my lifetime where my mom's throat has been irritated by having petroleum particles in it as far as we know of. So these facts plus the timing make the event suspect.
Now, NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) recently distributed a PDF on the mutual effects of hurricanes and the oil in the Gulf Waters. In it, it says that if a hurricane passes over the area, it will not rain oil. In theory, this is true and well based on science- hurricanes are powered through the evaporation of warm ocean water- over a larger area than the are of the oil spill. Oil and water have very different chemical properties, so the oil will not be evaporated and get carried into the storm and rain down. BUT they are forgetting that the air will contain particulates of the oil in it if there are oil burns close to the passing of the hurricane and that these particles can become part of the cloud drops, then part of rain drops.
We're hurting ourselves more than we know with our greed for oil and animal flesh (including sea animals!). I know I'm preaching to the choir, but I hope that if anyone comes across this besides my friend Allie that they will at least consider the impacts they have on the earth by doing things as simple as eating and going from one location to another.
And now some legalese as I leave...
Please note: I am not a professional. I have a degree in meteorology, but the theory of oil becoming a CCN is, to the best of my knowledge, an untested one. My ideas do not reflect those of any organization.
We've known for over a month this day would come. We've been waiting for it, preparing for it, dreading it. It has finally reached Pensacola. Now it's ready to be swept into the Gulf Current and blown up the east coast and maybe over to Europe or the Middle East.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/us_oil_spill_florida
http://www.forexyard.com/en/news/Florida-coast-suffers-first-impact-from-oil-spill-2010-06-04T163646Z-UPDATE-2
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Florida+coast+suffers+first+impact+from+spill/3112240/story.html
When we saw this on CNN while eating lunch, Brian jokingly said to me "2012- Wanna go to France?". I don't believe that 2012 stuff- it's silly...but f there was some alien race coming to judge us, I wouldn't blame them if they wanted to kill us for killing the planet-the punishment fits the crime. Think about it- we're killing millions of fish and sea mamals and a delicate ecosystem. Why? So we can drive instead of walk or bike.
Well, there are a couple of new things I want to mention as well. For the people who want to clean up- not all the information needed is actually being disseminated. The dispersants used in the water are actually carcinogens which can be inhaled. Coastal cleanup volunteers should be wearing masks, and could cause a great deal of harm to themselves if they don't. Also, to clean oil off of the animals you need to have special training so you don't hurt the animal.
Another shocking environmental impact that the media is not discussing is the air quality. When we heard the news that the oil had reached our hometown, we both called our parents. When I was talking to my mom, she said that she had been coughing a lot and got a throat swab done (we both usually get atypical strep when we get strep- you can't see white spots, so only the throat swabs will tell if you have it or not) and the results were really surprising- she had inhaled some petroleum. Her doctor's theory is that the burning at the oil spill site got petroleum particles into the cloud and they rained down. From my atmospheric physics class, this makes sense, the small particles could became what we meteorologists call cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and when there is enough moisture (which is basically everyday for the Gulf Coast- especially in summer, sea breeze season), these particles became parts of clouds and then rained down over the area. This same process is how acid rain works, where particles from volcanoes or anthropogenic sources of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides become CCN, form clouds, then rain and fall down. However, with acid rain there is a chemical reaction that turns water and sulfates or nitrates into sulfuric or nitric acid. There is no reaction between the oil and the water because of the molecular bonds, so instead of the combination causing acid rain, it just brings the particles down in normal rain.
Now I do have a Bachelors, but I don't have a Master's or a PhD in meteorology. I have only had one class that discussed cloud physics. I could easily be wrong. It's also possible that she could've gotten it from filling up her car's tank. I feel that the theory is more likely however because she doesn't fill up her car often since she has a hybrid, and there has never been a time in my lifetime where my mom's throat has been irritated by having petroleum particles in it as far as we know of. So these facts plus the timing make the event suspect.
Now, NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) recently distributed a PDF on the mutual effects of hurricanes and the oil in the Gulf Waters. In it, it says that if a hurricane passes over the area, it will not rain oil. In theory, this is true and well based on science- hurricanes are powered through the evaporation of warm ocean water- over a larger area than the are of the oil spill. Oil and water have very different chemical properties, so the oil will not be evaporated and get carried into the storm and rain down. BUT they are forgetting that the air will contain particulates of the oil in it if there are oil burns close to the passing of the hurricane and that these particles can become part of the cloud drops, then part of rain drops.
We're hurting ourselves more than we know with our greed for oil and animal flesh (including sea animals!). I know I'm preaching to the choir, but I hope that if anyone comes across this besides my friend Allie that they will at least consider the impacts they have on the earth by doing things as simple as eating and going from one location to another.
And now some legalese as I leave...
Please note: I am not a professional. I have a degree in meteorology, but the theory of oil becoming a CCN is, to the best of my knowledge, an untested one. My ideas do not reflect those of any organization.
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