Hair & Hosiery Clean Up the Gulf?

We have all heard about the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and all the efforts to clean it up. I believe that we all can take some time in between shopping and doing our makeup to try and find out as much as possible about what is going on, how it is effecting our Eco-system and what it is doing to the birds and animals of that area.

Here are a few facts for you:

• Tuesday, May 18, that they have now documented 156 dead sea turtles, 12 dead bottle nose dolphins, and 35 oiled birds. By Monday, May 24, pelicans that had recently been removed from the endangered species list were showing up in the Gulf region covered in oil.


• While new underwater video released by BP on May 18 showed oil and gas gushing in ominous billows from the underwater well, neither BP nor the government has provided an accurate estimate yet for the amount of oil leaking from the underwater well.


• The BP oil spill also took an odd turn in the direction of independent scientific help on Wednesday, May 19, when BP approved the use of six $24 million oil centrifuge devices that were created by a team funded by Kevin Costner, after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.


• More than a month after the oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, efforts to contain the BP oil spill have failed and Louisiana shore lines are under siege from heavy crude oil.


• The White House is now saying "the worst": the BP oil spill will go down as the worst in U.S. history.


• The spill is estimated at over 590,000 gallons as of day 35!

Here are a few photos:

And now here is what you can do to help...

"One innovative nonprofit has an oddly stylish solution to help with the spreading oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico: using an unlikely pairing to clean it up—hair and hosiery! Since 1998, Matter of Trust has been collecting donations of oil-absorbing human hair and animal fur to clean up after the thousands of oil spills that happen each year. The hair and fur donations are made into mats and booms, which use old nylon stockings to keep clippings together. To help, volunteers in the Gulf region are hosting “Boom-B-Q’s” (boom-making parties), and over 300,000 salons in the U.S. are donating hair clippings to the nonprofit’s hair-collecting program, which means you might already be part of this great cause every time you get you get a trim. But Matter of Trust still needs help. “We now need the costly mesh used to carry the boons across the beaches,” says Lisa Gautier, President of Matter of Trust. That’s why Gautier and her husband are encouraging cash contributions, with a promise to personally match monetary donations dollar-for-dollar up to $50,000. “This movement is better than we ever imagined, but we still need the funds to transport the booms,” Gautier said. “The volunteers at the Boom-B-Q’s would be very grateful!” Watch the video above to learn more about the program and visit matteroftrust.org/contribute to donate via Paypal." (InStyle.com)