"volunteers of america!" as the Jefferson Airplane used to say...

Here's where to go to help in the cleanup:
http://www.auduboninstitute.org/about/conservation/lmmstrp

deathbed humor

from my brother mark, who, like many including me, can find some a good laugh in anything:

http://mobile.twitter.com/bpglobalpr

and be sure to buy a t-shirt:

http://www.streetgiant.bigcartel.com/product/bp-cares

cleaning the birds

Heard an interesting interview with a scientist on NPR today about efforts to clean oil off pelicans.  As the birds attempt to clean their own feathers they ingest the oil, so they give them pepto-bismol.  Talk about your stop-gap solutions.

More about wildlife assistance:
http://www.thetakeaway.org/2010/may/21/gulf-oil-spills-affect-wildlife/
And there is a debate among experts about the effectiveness of cleaning on the birds:
 http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=127749940&m=127827299

Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana: 

http://www.crcl.org/

from the real scientists

okay, I'm all for probiotic solutions:

http://beta.wnyc.org/shows/lopate/2010/jun/03/unusual-spill-solutions-oil-eating-bacteria/#commentform

the plunger idea

Okay, here's my idea.  I'm no physicist or engineer, or even a plumber, but many of the ideas I have heard to date involve some kind of containment device that fits over the pipe tightly and balloons outward.  I propose the opposite, a sort of plunger...  Imagine a huge dome, with a hole at the top and a weighted bottom, made of some kind of flexible material.  Get 3M on this, they'll come up with something.  Attached to the hole is a hose or pipe (it would have to have some flexibility to deal with currents, etc.).  The dome would be made of some kind of flexible material as well that would provide a seal to the ocean floor surrounding the pipe.  As the container ship above slowly pumps the water out from inside the plunger, the pressure of the surrounding water would push in on the water inside to compress the plunger and push the water and oil inside it it upwards, as the gushing oil would prevent it from moving into the pipe, so where else would it go?  This is elementary physics.  Even if the container ships are not in place fast enough to take in the expelled oil, it would go into the air and fall onto the surface where it could be contained easier using known technology, rather than dispersing underwater creating unknown damage.

WNYC your ideas for a fix

the buck stops where?

I was listening to WNYC in the car tonight and the show was about the people offering ideas to BP on how to cap the broken pipe.  I was appalled, and angry, that the company has 24 tankers floating around the gulf filled with oil which they won't empty ashore, which they could then use to evacuate spillage.  The guests, and most people calling in, advocated a government takeover of the company as they are obviously more concerned with their bottom line than the gulf.  They also claim to be reaching out to all who offer expertise, but that does not seem to be the case.  I live nowhere near the gulf (in the NYC area), but the whole thing stinks -- I can smell it from here.

WNYC public radio New York your ideas