OIL SPILL IN THE GULF: HOW YOU CAN HELP
The oil leak in the Gulf Coast that began following a deep water oil rig explosion on April 20th is still occurring. As the oil slick reaches the coastal wetlands, fragile ecosystems and the animals that inhabit them are in danger. Visit the Voice of the Wetlands (VOW) or For the Bayou websites to make a donation, or support Music for Relief and VOW's Send Dirt campaign by texting DIRT to 85944 and make a $10 contribution via your mobile phone. Or if you would like to volunteer, find opportunities to do so here.
Another way you can help is by using less oil. Take public transportation, ride a bike or walk rather than driving your car. Our dependence for oil is what forces suppliers to drill offshore in the first place. If we all use less oil and become less dependent, we can solve the root of the problem instead of a mere side effect.
The wetlands are breeding grounds for thousands of marine animals, stopping and nesting grounds for millions of migratory birds annually, and home to 2 million people whose lives will be negatively impacted by this environmental catastrophe.
The wetlands are a natural barrier against damaging storm surges during hurricanes. Estimates show that for every 3-4 miles of healthy coastal wetlands a storm surge must travel over, the surge is diminished by one foot. Additionally, levees fronted by wetlands and coastal forests are believed to hold up better than those fronted by open-water. The more the wetlands die as a result of the oil, the more damage hurricanes will do to the communities along the coast.
Thousands of fishermen in the area are losing their livelihoods. Louisiana has the 2nd largest seafood industry in the U.S. The bulk of oyster and shrimp production comes from the engulfed area, and the oil slick threatens to destroy these fisheries completely. The damage will likely not be just temporary. More than 20 years after the catastrophic Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, the fishing industry is still in shambles, and people are still recovering.
In partnership with Voice of the Wetland & For the Bayou, Music for Relief is supporting the important
humanitarian and environmental assistance that is need in coastal
Louisiana now and for the years to come to restore and protect our
critical wetlands.
Thank you for your support.
The wetlands are breeding grounds for thousands of marine animals, stopping and nesting grounds for millions of migratory birds annually, and home to 2 million people whose lives will be negatively impacted by this environmental catastrophe.
The wetlands are a natural barrier against damaging storm surges during hurricanes. Estimates show that for every 3-4 miles of healthy coastal wetlands a storm surge must travel over, the surge is diminished by one foot. Additionally, levees fronted by wetlands and coastal forests are believed to hold up better than those fronted by open-water. The more the wetlands die as a result of the oil, the more damage hurricanes will do to the communities along the coast.
Thousands of fishermen in the area are losing their livelihoods. Louisiana has the 2nd largest seafood industry in the U.S. The bulk of oyster and shrimp production comes from the engulfed area, and the oil slick threatens to destroy these fisheries completely. The damage will likely not be just temporary. More than 20 years after the catastrophic Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, the fishing industry is still in shambles, and people are still recovering.
In partnership with Voice of the Wetland & For the Bayou, Music for Relief is supporting the important
humanitarian and environmental assistance that is need in coastal
Louisiana now and for the years to come to restore and protect our
critical wetlands.
Thank you for your support.
Views: 33
Comment
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Comment by Dawn Swales on August 5, 2010 at 1:05pm -
I want to donate to this cause, but I live in the UK. How do I go about donating? Am I able to text the number above and still donate? I do support MFR and would love to become more involved, but most of the stuff you do is from the US. Any chance of a few people getting together and running an office from the UK?
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Comment by Jeffrey Lauer on May 9, 2010 at 9:48pm
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Its a sad thing that this has happened too, since i live in pensacola, which is a city off of the Gulf Coast
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