Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Spotlight
Thirty years ago today, the Mexican oil company Pemex was drilling an oil well named Ixtoc 1 off the Gulf of Mexico when the drill accidentally penetrated an area of high pressure gas. This blowout released 140 million gallons of oil into the surrounding waters, resulting in one of the worst oil spills in history. Among the affected areas was a nesting site for Kemp's Ridley sea turtles. Although often considered protected by fortresses of bone and shell, sea turtles are actually very sensitive to pollutants. Being indiscriminate predators, they will hunt and feed in toxic conditions. Of particular concern is the effect of oil on eggs, hatchlings and juvenile turtles. The Mexican and US fisheries departments joined forces in a rescue and rehabilitation mission. Some 9,000 turtles and hatchlings were airlifted to protected lagoons and held there until water conditions had improved.

Quote
"Try to be like the turtle — at ease in your own shell." — Bill Copeland

Question of the Day
How does oil pollution affect a sea turtle?
The main problem with oil is that it doesn't dilute, it doesn't mix and it takes a long time to break down; so, when turtles come in contact with the pollutant in the ocean in its concentrated and refined form, it can be particularly harmful.

• Swallowing the contaminated water and digesting organisms covered in oil can cause digestive and intestinal problems.
• The oil burns eyes and skin, and damages sensitive membranes in the nose, eyes and mouth.
• Hydrocarbons can trigger pneumonia if it enters the lungs and can damage red blood cells when entering the bloodstream.
• Turtle eggs are porous, so oil that seeps into the sand and tidal waters of the shore can penetrate the turtle eggs. Toxins in the oil can cause developmental problems during this fragile stage of the turtle's life.

Word of the day
Brobdingnagian

Immense; enormous.

[After Brobdingnag, a country in Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, where everything was enormous.]
(© Houghton Mifflin Company)

Today's History

The Tu-144

• ''Casey at the Bat'': was first published, in the San Francisco Examiner (1888)
• Duke of Windsor: the former King Edward VIII wed American divorcee Wallis Simpson, for love of whom he abdicated the throne of England (1937)
• Tupolev Tu-144: Soviet jet crashes at the Paris Air Show; it was the first crash of a supersonic passenger aircraft (1973)
• The Producers: Broadway musical by Mel Brooks won a record 12 Tony Awards (2001)

Today's Birthdays

Rafael Nadal

• Jefferson Davis (1808-1889): Confederate president
• Josephine Baker (1906-1975): singer, dancer, activist
• Tony Curtis (84): star of Some Like it Hot and The Boston Strangler
• Larry McMurtry (73): novelist/screenwriter who wrote The Last Picture Show and Lonesome Dove; writers William Douglas-Home (1912-1992) and Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) shared his birth date
• Dan Hill (55): singer/songwriter, "Sometimes When We Touch"; also, musicians Curtis Mayfield (1942-1999), Charles Lecocq (1832-1918), Boots Randolph (1927-2007), Suzi Quatro (59)
• Anderson Cooper (42): broadcast journalist, host of CNN's Anderson Cooper 360°
• Rafael Nadal (23): tennis pro