Well I would say the first thing is to just talk about it, educate others and don’t be afraid to bring it up. A lot of people do not know the extent of the spill, but the more education on the subject, the more thoughts and possible solutions can arise. It’s a touchy subject (with unfortunate amounts of politics involved) but our position as AmeriCorps members can actually work for us in this situation. Since we can’t discuss our political views or opinions, we can use that to veer conversations towards things we can discuss- like solutions.
Another thing that you can do is actually to collect your hair and the hair from your pets (in a plastic bag is fine) and send them to the Country Chase Veterinary in Tampa, where they are making oil absorbent mats to use to soak up some of the spill on the surface of the water. The only thing is that the hair can’t be from vacuums, it has to be debris free.
It may sound weird, but if you think about it- your hair soaks up/hold a lot of oil- which is why we wash!
This video (while the music might be a little weird) can show you how effective it can be.
*Nylon stocking are needed as well.
Here is where you can send the stuff:
CountryChase Veterinary in Tampa
12501 West Linebaugh Ave
Tampa, Fl 33626
813 814-1814
Hope this helps!
Jaclyn, OSEEC
People offer solutions to BP oil leak
If you didn’t hear this over the weekend on NPR, Listen Now!
Helping The Pros: Amateur Ideas To Stop The Oil Spill by, YUKI NOGUCHI
President Obama spoke about the oil spill in his weekend internet address this past Saturday:
Click Here
Not only is this a matter of loss with respect to suspension of fishing and decrease in tourism as the President points out, but there is hard loss in terms of the environment; the coastline, and its natural inhabitants are all damaged in a cruel way by this staggering event.
Here are a few facts (an a sort of equation) to think about:
1. It is estimated that about 23-46 million gallons of oil has spilled since April 20, 2010; aka, the start of the spill.
2. On Friday the cap, which is described HERE collected 252,000 gallons of oil.
3. The amount of oil collected on Friday amounts to about 0.5%-1% of the amount of oil that has already leaked.
What can we do for the oil spill?
AmeriCorps members, especially those of you who are working with the environment this year, what is there to do for the oil spill? What can volunteers do to help, and how can they become more aware of what is going on?
I found this picture on Newsweek.com and it is so shocking. Share with us, what is there to do?
Newsweek also reported:
The extent of the damage from the gushing oil well at the bottom of the gulf is too great to conceal, despite the efforts of BP and the Coast Guard to prevent news photographers from surveying the catastrophe. Last night, though, Associated Press photographer Charlie Riedel captured these images of pelicans and other birds struggling in the surf of Grand Terre Island, La., one of the shorelines closest to the spill
National AmeriCorps Week Video Contest Deadline
GET THEM IN! If you made a video send it in.
Here is a link to the INFORMATION!
Unemployment rate falls from 9.9 to 9.7
Slowly but surely the job market is making more space for eager employees, or are they? The Washington Post reveals that the spike in employment over the last month is a direct cause of the mass hirings for the census, and that private employers have created less than a third of the number of jobs they were expected to by this time.
Read More.
In lieu of this news however, I would remain hopeful for those of you who are leaving the trail of AmeriCorps for the big bad career universe. Here is a link to a site I have been perusing jobs on lately. HERC New England
Make a profile, upload your resume and start drafting those cover letters!
The Village Bottom Farm
LISTEN to this.
This audio program tells the story of the migration of Black families into West Oakland, CA and how the city is moving towards becoming a “greener” place.
Listen for this bit of poetry:
“Fish, talapia and perch.
In a closed system that actually grows,
MICRO GREENS.
…baby chard
…different lettuces
…wheat grass
…bean sprouts…”
Young NonProfit Professionals Network
This afternoon I was scanning idealist.org and found a link to a pretty interesting blog. Here is there mission statement:
YNPN is a national 501(c)3 grassroots nonprofit organization that engages and supports future nonprofit leaders through professional development, networking, and social opportunities. Beginning in 1997 as a small gathering of peers in San Francisco, YNPN has since grown from word-of-mouth and local volunteer leadership teams, to a nearly 15,000-member network composed of five affiliate chapters, including San Francisco; New York City; Washington, DC; Chicago; Denver; and dozens of emerging chapters in other cities across the country.
AmeriCorps, then what?
For all of you who’s year of service may be ending in the next few weeks or month, you may be thinking about what to do next. Well, as if that is not a big enough thought to tackle, here are some snacks for that thought to munch on.
I have read two articles recently that do two things, one, point out how the job market is increasing in certain fields, “hot fields” as the New York Times writer, Steven Greenhouse describes majors graduating with degrees in finance and computer science; and two, poses the question, is a degree necessary to do the work that America needs to do?
Greenhouse’s article paints a good picture of how the hiring landscape has been filled in over the last few years. For example, he provides hiring number like this one from Deloitte, “Deloitte, the consulting and accounting firm, has hired 5,300 college graduates, up from 4,800 last year (but down from 5,400 in 2008).” Read More.
I know what you are thinking, “None of us are going to go work for Deloitte or Wells Fargo Bank…;” good thing Greenhouse also provides us with this awesome factoid, “Using federal labor statistics, he has found that only 51 percent of college graduates under age 25 were working in jobs that require college educations, down from 59 percent in 2000.”
It is interesting to note that the work that needs to be done in our country does not require an employee to have a college degree, concurrently, a college education is expensive to come by.
RI Future points out how this notion fits in Rhode Island’s social and economic climate in this article, which outlines non-profits like yours and mine who work to provide services, including employment to the under served population. Read Here.
Infographic: a visual of damages done
Yesterday on RI Future.org they posted this InfoGraphic of the effects of the Gulf Oil Spill. Make sure you click on it, because it is really tiny here and if you click the graphic and then zoom in you will be able to read the text and learn a lot.
All Things AmeriCorps 