Yoga Hero in the Gulf (Continued) – Save the Dying Sea Turtles…

By Yeah Dave on August 3, 2010 in Beautiful

You might have been following the story of yoga teacher Brock Cahill’s impassioned mission to save the dying sea turtles in the oil-slicked Gulf of Mexico. Brock is raising money to assemble a team and rescue these helpless creatures before time runs out.

Following is a recent interview with Brock.

Q: You were just down in the Gulf for a week. I know its hard to summarize but can you describe what you saw?

To be honest, I saw a clusterf–k. Pardon my French, but it was rather infuriating. I saw a whole lot of nothing going on. The entire region is basically locked down like a crime scene, but it is being run by the criminal. They have effectively sealed the perimeter to the spill site, not through law enforcement, nor a physical barrier, but through economic invasion. Literally, they have bought up every piece of transportation out to the spill site. I am talking about boat charters, captains, helicopters, aircraft, pilots, you name it… all been put on the payroll. You can’t get out there without a small fortune or a massive connection. If you were able to get up into the air for instance, a minimum altitude ceiling of 3000 ft has been imposed. At 3000 ft, a car looks like a dot. Not a whole lot you can do to rescue turtles from that elevation. They have also reserved every single hotel room within a two hour driving radius. Now, of course, this could all be seen as economic aid to the folks who are hurting in the Gulf… or it could be seen as a way to keep them quiet.

And then there is the media ban. They have made it a felony offense carrying a 40,000 fine to be caught within 65 ft of any boom, oil, or distressed wildlife. Whether you are john q public, or Anderson Cooper with a camera on your shoulder, you can’t legally cross the line. Hence the massive retreat from the scene and the disappearance of news. Now, did I encounter anything like that when i was down there? No. But it is a scare tactic. Was i worried? Yes, of course. Do i think it has effectively scared other people off? You betcha. Now BP can control what is released in the press. Hmmm…

Q: It seems like in the newspapers and on TV that BP is gaining control of the situation. A cover story in The NY Times last week mentioned very few oil patches are now visible on the surface. Care to comment?

Dispersant. The very same tactic they have used to bury information, they have used to bury evidence. The dispersant’s job is to break up congealed oil on the surface of the sea and drive it down in the water table. To sweep it under the rug. Two problems with this: a) now it becomes impossible to skim the oil off the surface to remove it, and b) this is so much more harmful to all the critters and all life forms living in the ocean. At least when it is crude oil on the surface, we know what we have to deal with, and it is organic matter. Now we have this milky sludge synthetic & toxic chemical that we have slopped all over the gulf in excess of 2 million gallons. Many of the animals that are dying are not showing signs of oil. Instead, such as is the case with many dolphins, they are bleeding from their soft tissues, like around their mouth and blowhole, and writhing in pain. The dispersant is akin to napalm. And it has got to be stopped.

Q: What’s the next step in your mission? How much are you trying to raise and what will you do with the money?

The next step is get back to the gulf, buy a boat, and get out in the water to save endangered sea turtles. To do this I need to raise $100,000. So far through the grace of the yoga community I have raised close to 15k! thank you yogis! Every single cent put into this project goes to direct action. Into the equipment needed to make this possible. My fear in donating to large organizations is that your money never really gets to the place that you intended. With this project, which we have titled operation kurmalliance, there are no overhead costs, no salaries, no guy sitting in an office on a computer, none of that. Just direct action, because we believe in the power of individuals to make a difference. I will make a difference in the gulf. One turtle at a time! Maybe you can help me?