oureaglesnest - Tumblr blog

[oureaglesnest]

Our Eagles Nest turned 12 today!

[oureaglesnest]

October 2018 Camping Trip Menu Planning

I never know which meal I'll be responsible for, so I just try to cover all the bases.

Crackerbarrel

• Cheesy Bread

• Chili

• Cheese & summer sausage

• Apple slices & caramel

As it turned out, Ron and I were responsible for Lunch and Supper!

Sat. Breakfast -JK

Sausage Gravy & Biscuits

Sat. Lunch

• Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese & Spam

• Tomato soup

Sat. Supper

• Beef Stew

• GARLIC CHEESE PULL APART BREAD

Sat. Campfire

(Bake Monkey bread for Sunday breakfast)

Chocolate Pudding Dump Cake

1 16 oz package chocolate cake mix

1 3.9 oz package instant chocolate pudding*

1 1/2 cups milk*

1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Lightly oil or spray 12 inch dutch oven; line with parchment paper if desired.

In large bowl, whisk milk with pudding mix until thickened. Stir in cake mix; mix until well combined, batter will be thick. Spread batter in prepared dutch oven. Sprinkle evenly with chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes or until edges pull away from sides. Allow to cool before lifting from oven with parchment paper.

*or use 4 "pudding cups"

Dutch Oven Caramel Apple Pie

12 refrigerated Cinnamon Rolls

1 large Granny Smith apple, diced

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3 tablespoons, chopped pecans

Caramel Icing

2 packets cream cheese frosting (included with rolls)

1/3 cup caramel ice cream topping

Cut each roll into 4 pieces and arrange in the bottom of an aluminum foil lined 12-inch Dutch oven, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

In a bowl combine apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, cracker crumbs and pecans. Remove lid and sprinkle evenly over cut rolls. Cover with lid and bake at 350°F 25-30 minutes.

For icing combine cream cheese frosting with caramel topping. Drizzle over pie while still warm.

Dutch Oven Temperature Control using Briquets

350°F in a 12-inch Dutch oven, oven top 16, oven bottom 10

Sun. Breakfast

• Cold Monkey Bread

The other recipes i considered for this camping trip were as follows: Chipped Beef with Bacon Spuds

Bacon Spuds

1 large potato per person

2 onions

12 slices bacon

salt and pepper

Notes: Don't double

Heat Dutch oven on coals for Frying. Slice the bacon into small pieces. Peel and cut onions into 1/8ths and break them apart. Slice spuds into 1/4 inch thick slices. Dump the bacon in the dutch oven and stir until about half cooked. Spread the bacon evenly over the bottom of the dutch oven. Spread the onions on the bacon. Pour the spuds on the onions. Shake quite a bit of salt and pepper on top.

Cover and Bake at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes. The bacon grease in the bottom should keep things from burning, but it's fine to check if you're getting antsy. The spuds are done when they are tender to a fork.

Chipped Beef

1 5oz. jar Hormel dried beef, or 4 2oz. pkgs Buddig beef

1/2 Cup butter

1/2 Cup flour

4 Cups milk

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Cut beef into small pieces. Melt butter in dutch oven or skillet. Stir in flour and pepper. While constantly stirring, slowly add in milk.

Bring to nearly boiling and stir in beef. Simmer for 10 minutes

Serve over Bacon Spuds.

Crackerbarrel Recipes

Campfire Quesadillas

4 medium flour tortillas

1 jar salsa con queso

1 can black beans rinsed and drained

1 c. shredded Mexican blend cheese

Spread 1 Tbsp salsa con queso over one side of a tortilla. Sprinkle 1/4 c. black beans and about 1/4 c. cheese questo. Fold other side of tortilla over to cover ingredients. Place on a piece of tin foil large enough to cover the quesadilla. Leave the ends open.

Place the foiled quesadilla on the grate directly over the campfire. Keep over fire to cheese is melted and tortilla is crispy. Remove from the grate and cut in four pieces.

Sat. Lunch

Smoked Gouda Mac & Cheese with SPAM

Make at Home

1 pound pasta, cooked al dente

Cheese Sauce

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 cups milk

3 eggs, beaten

20 ounces grated smoked gouda

1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, or to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground smoked paprika

Fresh cracked black pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Whisk in the milk, eggs, cheese, salt, ground mustard, paprika and black pepper. Continue to stir until the cheese is completely melted, and then cook for another 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce thickens slightly.

At camp

Add noodles to each pan. Add sauce and mix slightly. Try to leave a nice layer of noodles on the bottom.

Cover pan with foil. Place on campfire grill grate. Try place pans around the edge of the grate not directly over the hottest part of the fire to prevent the bottom from burning. Let cook 8 to 10 minutes.

GARLIC CHEESE PULL APART BREAD

16 frozen white dinner rolls (Rhodes brand)

½ C butter, melted

1 C grated Parmesan cheese, divided

1 tsp dry parsley flakes

1½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp Italian seasoning

½ tsp onion powder

Remove frozen rolls from freezer and loosely wrap them in plastic wrap and allow to sit at room temperature for 45 minutes. Cut rolls in half with a clean pair of scissors. Combine melted butter and seasonings together. Pour over dough and gently mix. Add ½ C of grated cheese and combine. You want each piece of dough to be coated.

Line the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with the piece of dough and then top with remaining grated cheese. Allow to rise in a warm place for 1½ - 2½ hours. Cover bottom of pan with foil to prevent butter from leaking out. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until center is completely done

Tomato soup

2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil

1 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 large white onion, finely chopped

1 large clove garlic, smashed and peeled

2 Tbs. all-purpose flour

3 cups lower-salt chicken broth

28-oz. can whole peeled plum tomatoes, puréed (include the juice)

1-1/2 tsp. sugar

1 sprig fresh thyme

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 Tbs. thinly sliced fresh basil, chives, or dill, or a mixture of all three (omit if using one of the garnishes below)

In a nonreactive 5- to 6-quart Dutch oven, heat the oil and butter over medium-low heat until the butter melts. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft but not browned, about 8 minutes. Add the flour and stir to coat the onion and garlic.

Add the broth, tomatoes, sugar, thyme, and 1/4 tsp. each salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat while stirring the mixture to make sure that the flour is not sticking to the bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 40 minutes.

Discard the thyme sprig. Let cool briefly and then purée in two or three batches in a blender or food processor. Rinse the pot and return the soup to the pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Reheat if necessary. Serve warm but not hot, garnished with the herbs or dolloped with one of the garnishes below.

To add a creamy touch:

Sour cream, goat cheese & Parmesan garnish: In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup sour cream with 1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese. Add 1 Tbs. freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, 1 Tbs. thinly sliced chives, and 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil. Mix thoroughly and season to taste with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Add a dollop to each serving

[oureaglesnest]

A Camping Recipe I'd like to Try

KALAMATA ROAST

First, you’ll need to preheat your 12-inch Dutch oven to about 275 degrees. That means you’ll want to place 13 coals on top and 7 coals on bottom.

3- to 4-pound beef chuck roast, bone in or boneless

¾ cup beef broth

½ cup brown sugar

1½ teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 large garlic clove, chopped

½ cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, sliced into thin strips

½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced

1 cup fresh or frozen pearl onions

Brown roast on all sides in Dutch oven. Pour beef broth over entire surface of roast. Evenly sprinkle remaining ingredients on top in the order listed. Cook low and slow for 3-5 hours. You can maintain this low simmer by placing two additional coals on top and two below every hour or so, depending on the weather.

SERVES ABOUT 8-10

[oureaglesnest]

May Camping Trip Menu

Friday Night Crackerbarrel

Pull Apart Garlic Bread

1 loaf crusty artisan bread

5-10 cloves garlic

1/2 cup parsley or other herbs

1/2 teaspoon salt

pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup shredded cheese (anything that will melt well - we used a blend of parmesan & mozzarella)

At Home:

Cut 1/2 - 1 inch slices horizontally and vertically to create squares, making sure not to slice all the way through the bread - you want the pieces to remain attached to the base of the loaf. Place the loaf into your Dutch oven.

Mince the garlic and parsley, then mix with the salt, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Using a spoon, drizzle the garlic-herb mixture into the cracks, followed by the cheese.

At Camp:

COOK 10-20 MINUTES: Place the lid onto the Dutch oven and set over 5 prepared coals. Place 15 coals onto the lid. Bake until the bread is warmed through and the cheese is melted.

Saturday Breakfast

CAMPFIRE CINNAMON BLUEBERRY BREAD

1 loaf (1 lb) sliced cinnamon bread

6 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups fresh blueberries, divided

1 cup powdered sugar

1–2 tablespoons cream

powdered sugar or maple syrup, for serving

Prepare a campfire and let it burn down to coals.

Lay 2 large sheets of heavy duty foil on top of each other. Spray with nonstick cooking spray. Place the loaf of cinnamon bread in the center of the foil, and fold the edges up around the bread, forming a sort of bowl. Spread the pieces of bread apart.

In a bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Beat in the milk, cream, maple syrup and vanilla. Pour the mixture over the top of the bread, making sure the mixture goes in-between each of the pieces. Sprinkle one cup of the blueberries over the bread and press most of them between the slices. Use another sheet of foil to cover the top of the bread, and crimp the edges to seal.

Place the bread on a grate over the hot coals. Grill until the egg is cooked through, about 30 minutes, rotating the bread to avoid hot spots. Remove from the heat and allow to stand (still in the foil) for 10 minutes.

Combine the powdered sugar with the 1 tablespoon of the cream in a ziplock bag. Add more cream as needed to make a glaze. Cut the corner off the corner of the bag and drizzle the glaze over the top of the bread.

Serve sprinkled with the remaining blueberries and powdered sugar or maple syrup.

Saturday Lunch

Winter Tomato Soup

Tomato Soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (to taste)

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 bay leaf

1 can tomato juice

2 cups low sodium chicken

1/4 cup heavy cream

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat olive oil and butter in a large saucepan or heavy Dutch oven over medium heat. When butter is melted and sizzling, add onion and carrot and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, turmeric and a generous pinch of salt and pepper; stir to coat and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Add bay leaf, tomato juice and chicken broth. Bring to a simmer then reduce heat to medium. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaf. Stir in cream. Taste, then season with salt and pepper as needed.

Potato Chips with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

For Chips:

2 medium russet potatoes

Sunflower or vegetable oil, for frying

Fine sea salt

For Dipping Sauce:

1 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small onion, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup whole milk

4 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup crumbled)

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Using a mandoline slicer set to the thinnest setting, sliced unpeeled potatoes. Place potato slices in a bowl of ice water to soak for 15 to 20 minutes, then drain and arrange in a single layer between sheets of paper towels or clean tea towels to dry completely.

Fill a large, heavy saucepan with 2 to 3 inches of oil. Set over medium heat and monitor until it reaches 350 degrees F. Carefully drop in a few potato slices at a time, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Fry for about 2 minutes, flipping once or twice, until chips are evenly golden in color. Transfer to a paper-towel lined baking tray to cool; sprinkle liberally with fine sea salt. Let oil come back to temperature before repeating with another batch of potato slices.

To prepare sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk. Continue to cook, whisking regularly, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove from head and whisk in blue cheese until melted. Season to taste with cayenne and salt.

At Camp: Reheat cheese sauce and serve warm with chips.

Saturday Supper

CHICKEN, ARTICHOKE AND WILD RICE CASSEROLE

1 c. wild rice, uncooked

3 c. chicken broth

1/2 tsp. salt, divided

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. pepper

6 skinned, boned chicken breast halves

1 1/2 tbsp. olive oil

3 1/2 c. sliced fresh mushrooms

1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, drained, cut in half

1/3 cup roasted red bell pepper, from a jar, chopped

1/4 cup sliced green onions (4-5 medium )

1/2 tsp. dried whole rosemary, crushed

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 c. dry sherry

1 10 oz container refrigerated Alfredo pasta sauce

1 cup shredded refrigerated Italian cheese blend

At home:

Rinse wild rice very well in hot water. Combine rice and chicken broth in saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour or until tender. Cool rice.

Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt, paprika and pepper over chicken. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat, cook chicken on each side until lightly browned. Set aside to cool. Add mushrooms to same skillet and saute for 5 minutes or until tender over medium heat. Set aside. Cool chicken and cut into cubes. Mix chicken with mushrooms.

At Camp:

Lightly oil or spray 10 inch dutch oven. Spread wild rice in an even layer. Place chicken and mushrooms in single layer on top of rice. Top chicken and mushrooms with the artichokes, peppers and green onions.

Mix mayonnaise with Alfredo pasta sauce, sherry, rosemary and shredded cheese and spread on top of chicken mixture. Bake for 35 minutes with 10 briquettes around the base of the oven, 14 around the outside of the lid with 4 spaced evenly in the center. Makes 4-5 servings.

[oureaglesnest]

Pie Irons

We love using our pie irons when we go camping. They're perfect for patrol coming.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature

¼ cup blueberries

4 slices bread

1 large egg

1 tablespoon milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

In a bowl, smash blueberries into the softened cream cheese. Spread two slices of bread with the cream cheese mixture. Top each slice with another bread slice. In another bowl, beat the egg with the milk and vanilla. Dip each side of the sandwiches into the egg mixture. Coat pie iron with cooking spray and place the french toast sandwich inside. Close the iron and cook each side for a few minutes until bread is golden brown.

Stuffed Hash Browns

2 cups hash brown potatoes

1 tomato, thinly sliced

½ avocado, roughly chopped

¼ cup shredded cheddar

salt and pepper, to taste

pinch cayenne

Coat pie iron with cooking spray and fill each half with about ¼ cup hash browns, packing them in. Top each side with cheese. Arrange tomato and avocado on one side and sprinkle with seasonings. Close the iron and cook on each side for a few minutes until hash browns are golden brown.

[oureaglesnest]

Did you find one of my QR Code GeoCache items!?! Please leave a quick note about what it is and where you found it :)

If it is an SD Card take a few lower resolution photos and pass it on.

If you want to download the photos from the card make sure you scan for viruses. There could be some bad people out there in the wild.

I am working on developing some Geocaching tools at http://geocode.mobi/ and I am interested in your ideas.

I am MichaelKappel at GeoCaching.com http://www.geocaching.com/profile/?guid=61d25756-8936-4463-9520-43ea96110130

[oureaglesnest]

We love camping at our Boy Scout Camp, Theakiki! It's a new kind of camping with our Crew. #crew319

[oureaglesnest]

With one Masters Degree, one Bachelors Degree and one finishing high school, this had been an amazing week for our unschool homeschool family!

[oureaglesnest]

The boys are working on their Architecture merit badge. Kankakee had a variety of architectural styles

[oureaglesnest]

Check out @bakeat350tweets's Giveaway! Perfect for Christmas!

[oureaglesnest]

Troop working on building shelters for the #wildernesssurvival merit badge

[oureaglesnest]

Trying next weekend

Bannock bread - Camp stove frypan cooking - 6:27 Minutes

½ cup flour

1/8 cup dry milk

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp shortening

1/8 tsp salt

raisins

[oureaglesnest]

Campfire Cooking

No secret, I love food. So, it makes sense that when we are out in the woods, this is no different.

I’m going to start collecting my recipes here. I’m tired of trying to figure out where I saved them and on which computer. So, everything will come here.

Last time in the woods with our Troop, our menu went like this:

Cracker Barrel - Campfire cheese bread,  Campfire Spinach Dip, CRAP, Liverwurst, Summer Sausage and Hot Cider. The boys had watermelon and pop-tarts. I felt bad and asked the boys if they wanted to share with us. 

You kinda have to move out of the way when they descend on the food... 

Breakfast - Pie Iron Pancakes and sausage. The boys loved it! They were sort of whinny when I suggested it, but they ate everything as soon as they tasted it! 

Lunch - Beef and Veggie Kabobs and Warmed Wraps

Supper - Awards night! Every family brought a dish to share. We brought Pretzel Salad. Patrick made it at home and it was wonderful!

Saturday Night Campfire - Campfire Cones, Popcorn and Watermelon

Break Camp Breakfast - Always the same, donuts. Powdered and chocolate. Gross, I hate it.

Here are the recipes

Campfire Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Heavy duty aluminum foil Dip 14 oz can of artichoke hearts, cut into little pieces 8 oz of cream cheese 5 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry 5.3 oz plain Greek yogurt 2 big handfuls of mozzarella cheese Pinch of red chili flakes Pinch of chipotle chili pepper Pinch of oregano Pinch of garlic powder Pinch of Cajun seasonings Salt and pepper to taste Place a big sheet of aluminum foil on the picnic table. Combine all the ingredients in either a bowl (if you brought one big enough) or curl up the edges of the aluminum foil and make a bowl out of the foil! Wrap the dip in the foil, using another sheet of foil if your first piece wasn't big enough and place it near the fire for 20-40 minutes. Remove it from the fire, unwrap it, taste it to ensure it's warm enough. Devour that tasty tasty dip!

 Pull-Apart Garlic and Cheese Bread

1 round sourdough loaf of bread (I just picked up whatever looked good on the day old rack) 2-3 tablespoons butter, melted 2-3 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded

Cut into the bread in a crosshatch fashion, being careful not to cut all the way through to the bottom. Drizzle butter into each slice of bread, and sprinkle with minced garlic. Pulling apart the bread gently, add mozzarella cheese between each cut.. Wrap stuffed bread in aluminum foil and cook over your heat source of choice for 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese has melted entirely. Serve warm.

CRAP is just Candy, Raisins And Peanuts. We add things as the weekend goes on. We ask each of the scouts to bring something to add. Surprisingly enough, it all works out!

Pie Iron Pancakes What you need: Pancake batter Melted butter Brown and serve sausage Maple syrup

Brush the bottom of your pie iron with butter and add enough pancake batter to cover the bottom. Add two sausages and cover with more batter. Brush the other side with butter and close the pie iron. Keep it level over the coals and let cook for about a minute before turning. You want to give it time to set up and flip it fast or it will bunch up. Top with syrup.

Watch disappear. 

Beef Kabobs

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce 3 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice from 1 lemon 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 medium cloves) 2 teaspoons dark brown sugar 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 pounds beef sirloin tips, cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes 8 ounces cremini mushrooms, cleaned and halved 1 large red onion, sliced into 1 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 onion layers each) 8 oz cherry tomatoes 2 peppers cut in squares, seeds removed

Whisk together oil, Worcestershire, soy sauce, lemon juice, mustard, garlic, brown sugar, and black pepper in a small bowl. Place beef cubes and mushrooms in a large resealable plastic bag. Add marinade and seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible. Marinate, refrigerated, for at least 1 and up to 5 hours.

Thread beef onto skewers, alternating with mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes and onions.

Clean and oil the grilling grate. Grill skewers until beef is well seared on all sides and center of beef registers between 125-130°F on an instant read thermometer, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer skewers to platter and let rest for 5 minutes. 

Wrap in warmed pita bread.and add sauce, if desired.

Kabob Sauce

1 cup sour cream 1/4 cup Italian dressing 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

The boys wrapped the pita bread in foil and put the packet near the flame, but not in it.

Campfire Cones

Ice Cream Cones  Aluminum foil Favorite s’mores toppings: peanut butter, mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, sliced strawberries, sliced bananas, etc

Line each cone with peanut butter if you wish. Fill with your favorite toppings, I used chocolate chips and mini marshmallows. Wrap each cone tightly with foil. Oven directions: Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes. 

Heat the foil-wrapped cones over a campfire for about 3-5 minutes, or until the chocolate and marshmallows have melted. See you next time!

[oureaglesnest]

Sufferings are a kind of paradise to him who suffers them with patience, while they are a hell to him who has no patience. —St Philip Neri

I understand that temptations seem to stain rather than purify the soul, but this is not really the case. Let us see what the saints have to say about it. For you it suffices to know what the great St Francis de Sales says, namely that temptations are like the soap, which when spread on the laundry seems to soil, but in reality cleanses it. —St (Padre) Pio

We make ourselves a ladder out of our vices if we trample the vices themselves underfoot. —St Augustine

[oureaglesnest]

GRIST.ORG:  Just stick this portable outlet to your window to start using solar power

by Sarah Laskow

We have seen a lot of solar chargers in our day. And among of all of them, this is the first one we’ve seen that we will definitely run out and buy as soon as it’s made available in the U.S. It’s a portable socket that gets its power from the sun rather than the grid. You plug into a window instead of into the wall. It’s easy.

That was the whole point, according to the designers, Kyohu Song and Boa Oh:  “We tried to design a portable socket, so that user can use it intuitively without special training,” they write.

It is really simple. The portable socket attaches to a window like a leech to human skin. On its underside, it has solar panels. The solar panels suck energy from the sun. The charger converts that energy into electricity. You plug in to the charger.

Even better, the charger stores that energy. After 5-8 hours of charging, the socket provides 10 hours of use. You can pop it off the window, stick it in your bag, and use it to charge up your phone with solar energy, even if you’re sitting in a dark room.

(via: http://grist.org/list/just-stick-this-portable-outlet-to-your-window-to-start-using-solar-power/)

(photos: Kyohu Song and Boa Oh)

[oureaglesnest]

Petition to Stop seismic airgun testing for oil and gas off the U.S. East Coast.

According to your Department of the Interior, seismic airgun testing for oil and gas in the Atlantic could injure or kill 138,500 dolphins and whales, including endangered North Atlantic right whales.

Seismic airguns and offshore drilling threaten commercial and recreational fisheries as well as ocean-based tourism and coastal recreation from Delaware to Florida. 730,000 jobs in this region depend on a healthy ocean. Seismic airgun testing is the first step toward expanding deepwater drilling, the same practice that caused the well-known Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster.

Offshore drilling is dirty and dangerous, and seismic airguns are an insult to ocean economies and ecosystems. With respect, we call on your administration to reject seismic airgun testing in the Atlantic.

https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/stop-seismic-airgun-testing-oil-and-gas-us-east-coast/khpw6LCt

»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»»>

Further info:

http://oceana.org/en/our-work/climate-energy/seismic-airgun-testing/overview

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/will-seismic-blasts-upend-atlantic-marine-life/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflection_seismology

[oureaglesnest]

Streams are Stressed by Pharmaceuticals Pharmaceuticals commonly found in the environment are disrupting streams, with unknown impacts on aquatic life and water quality. So reports a new Ecological Applications paper, which highlights the ecological cost of pharmaceutical waste and the need for more research into environmental impacts. Lead author Emma Rosi-Marshall, a scientist at the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, comments, “Pharmaceutical pollution is now detected in waters throughout the world. Causes include aging infrastructure, sewage overflows, and agricultural runoff. Even when waste water makes it to sewage treatment facilities, they aren’t equipped to remove pharmaceuticals. As a result, our streams and rivers are exposed to a cocktail of synthetic compounds, from stimulants and antibiotics to analgesics and antihistamines.” Read more: http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/04/streams-are-stressed-pharmaceuticals