Exploiting the mass communication that Uber provides (1060 hits)
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Submitted by Lojope <lojope.at.juno.com> (View user info) at 2006-01-11 11:53:18 EST
**If you happen like birds or just don't like the idea of a new species going extinct, read on. Otherwise, I can pretty much promise you that you won't like this post. You've been warned.**
Horseshoe Crabs are one of the oldest creatures still alive on Earth, having been around somewhere over 350 million years. They are about the ugliest motherfuckers in the whole world, but have been very useful to us humans for quite some time.
The blood of the Horseshoe Crab has a critical component, known as LAL (Limulus Amebocyte Lysate). This compound clots when exposed to bacteria or bacterial endotoxins. US Food and Drug Administration has required that all drugs intended for human use be tested with LAL. Some medical equipment and devices, such as IV tubing, are also tested with LAL. The chitin (shell) of the Horseshoe Crab is used to create suture material and wound dressings for use on burn victims and skin-graft donors. Products made with Horseshoe Crab chitin have been known to accelerate healing by 35-50%, and aid in reducing pain. Research is currently investigating the anti-viral and anti-cancer activity of Horseshoe Crab blood as well.
They also make great bait for eel and whelk, and this is where the problem lies. See millions of shore birds fly 10,000 miles from South America to the Arctic annually, stopping along Atlantic coast beaches to feed on Horseshoe Crab eggs. The eggs are the single most important food source for migrating shore birds.
80% of the entire population of one species of bird, the Red Knot, stop to feed on Horseshoe Crab eggs at Delaware Bay during their migration. They regain 30% of their total body weight then continue on their way to their summer breeding grounds in Canada. Without the eggs, migrating birds become too weak to complete their journey and successfully reproduce.
Once 100,000 Red Knots (again, 80% of the entire population) flocked to the Delaware Bay. Last year only 13,315 did. The latest count from Tierra del Fuego (where they winter) in February was just 17,600 birds. That's 13,000 fewer birds than last year, and it places them squarely on track for extinction by 2010. Experts agree that this is because many red knots didn't reach the Arctic last spring, or failed to reproduce. Last June, most nests found had less than the usual 4 eggs.
Ok, so what's the point? Well, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering enacting a moratorium on the harvesting of horseshoe crabs over the next two years for Delaware Bay. There are 15 states that are members of the commission: Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida.
What needs to happen for this moratorium to go into effect, is that a majority of each of these states' three commissioners have to vote yes. New York has already passed it, as well as New Jersey and Delaware that I know of. The governers of the rest of these states need to hear from their constituents and be urged to vote yes.
Connecticut is a swing vote from what I understand, so this is really important for anyone who lives there.
A phone call only takes about two minutes, all you have to do is call, say your name and address and tell your governor that you want him/her to vote yes on the Horseshoe Crab Harvesting Moratorium.
You can find your governor's contact information here: http://people.smu.edu/rhalperi/governors.html
If you get a second sometime in the next few days, make a call, it makes a difference.
Thanks for your time, Uber.
User Reviews
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-07-14 00:40:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Wiggles (user info) at 2006-05-31 05:10:50 (#)
Ranking: 0
rape
Submitted by Wiggles (user info) at 2006-05-31 05:10:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
rape
Submitted by dooawop (user info) at 2006-05-18 02:31:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
never mind,
that
was
just
your
post....
Submitted by dooawop (user info) at 2006-05-18 02:30:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
HOLY FUCK I JUST SHIT ALL OVER MY SCREEN!
Submitted by CookieLass (user info) at 2006-01-11 17:28:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:46:07 (#)
Ranking: 2
Rather than passing a moratorium on harvesting the horseshoe crabs (which aren't really crabs), they should give incentives for farming them. That way the crab population is boosted, the birds get fed, jobs are created, and the local economies won't be hurt by any motatoriums.
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Additionally, those things look like the Spawn from Alien. Anyone care to be a Host?
Submitted by electrictoothsyndrome (user info) at 2006-01-11 15:47:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
This is what I keep saying. This website can be used for a greater good.
While we're at it:
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced plans to severely reduce the information that companies are required to provide about their release of toxic chemicals—like mercury, lead, and dioxin—into local communities. For nearly two decades, the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) has provided Americans with vital information about deadly toxic emissions in their communities and has pressured companies to reduce their pollution by billions of tons. There is still time to file a public comment with the EPA urging the agency to retain our right to know what toxic chemicals are being released in our communities, but you must act quickly. Deadline: January 13!
Send an message about this to the EPA.
It only takes a couple minutes.
http://ucsaction.org/campaign/11_30_05_toxic_release_inventory
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2006-01-11 15:42:15 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
a) hi. how's the cuse treating you? i miss it up there, jersey blows.
b) if horseshoe crabs are so great, why are there 394528439248123490 dead ones every time i go to the beach on the cape or in RI?
c) has anyone here eaten a horseshoe crab? I haven't, but i'd be willing to bet they are one of the most delicious creatures in the ocean. typically, the more protective features a creature has evolved, the more delicious it is. examples: puffer fish, most delicious sushi ever imagined, oysters, lobsters, brightly coloredness, poisonous, etc.
but here we have armour plating and spikes. i bet they are fucking tasty.
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2006-01-11 14:05:55 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Really Mick? That's interesting.
I, and my dogs and cat say fuck MickGinny.
What a coincidence.
Submitted by precision (user info) at 2006-01-11 13:57:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
so what you are saying is, the crabs are good for us...so we should kill off the birds...gotcha.
Submitted by c1ndy (user info) at 2006-01-11 13:15:00 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
they look like little alien monsters. sooner they are extinct the better.
Submitted by MickGinny (user info) at 2006-01-11 13:10:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
People get so protective over animals and their various plights. Like McAllum and his cat crusade. I say fuck the critters and their problems until we solve our own problems. Why cant people get up in arms and protective for our little ones?
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:46:57 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I read the filename as horses hoe and knot.
I need a vacation.
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:46:07 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Rather than passing a moratorium on harvesting the horseshoe crabs (which aren't really crabs), they should give incentives for farming them. That way the crab population is boosted, the birds get fed, jobs are created, and the local economies won't be hurt by any motatoriums.
Submitted by Jeanneee (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:44:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
what the fuck ever, it still hurt
Submitted by cuberat (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:32:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ubetidid (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:31:39 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
i'm just wondering what you do for a living. Do you work at an aquarium?
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:30:25 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Jeanneee (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:23:43 (#)
Ranking: 0
You see that long, sharp stick thing sticking out of its rear end? Yeah - that's a stinger. It's barbed at the end and it hurts like fuck.
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No, it's not a stinger. You're on a computer. Google it for christ's sake. It's a tail, with no stinger, that they use to flip themselves over with when turned upside down. I'm sure a pencil would hurt if I jabbed it into your foot, but that doesn't make it a stinger.
Submitted by hairycoo (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:28:38 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
definitely a shortage of rape here...
Submitted by Jeanneee (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:23:43 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
You see that long, sharp stick thing sticking out of its rear end? Yeah - that's a stinger. It's barbed at the end and it hurts like fuck.
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:15:36 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Jeanneee (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:11:32 (#)
Ranking: 1
I stepped on one of those crabs on Edisto Island when I was a little kid. It hurt like fire. You can still see a mark on the bottom of my foot from where its stinger stabbed me.
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Horseshoe crabs don't have stingers. I'm just sayin'...
Submitted by Shlongy (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:13:58 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Allow me to be to first to toss out the age old comedic line, "needs more rape".
Submitted by Jeanneee (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:11:32 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I stepped on one of those crabs on Edisto Island when I was a little kid. It hurt like fire. You can still see a mark on the bottom of my foot from where its stinger stabbed me.
Submitted by HighVoltage900 (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:03:33 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
I hate those mother fuckers. One time I passed out with a couple of friends and woke up in a bathtub naked with hundreds of them crawling all over my body.
Submitted by Teephphah (user info) at 2006-01-11 12:00:40 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
Not that a phone call from me in land-locked corn country would even help, but what's the other side of the story? What does your respected opposition say about the moratorium?
You know, for purposes of balance and credibility and stuff.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2006-01-11 11:57:41 EST (#)
Ranking: 1
I don't get it, do you want us to kill horseshoe crabs or care for them?
In any case I don't waste time on anything that isn't human.
I did like the picture of the crab though, the smoothness was very satisfiying.
Submitted by JohnGalt (user info) at 2006-01-11 11:57:37 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Alternate Title Suggestion...
Public Service Announcment: Red Knot cancels out Crabs
Hit count x 100
Submitted by freebie (user info) at 2006-01-11 11:57:26 EST (#)
Ranking: 0
No need to worry about the crabs, I saw plenty at the aquarium last weekend. Damn things were all over place.