Green sea turtle - Picture by: Mila Zinkova

– BP is in some very hot water over their practice of burning sea turtles, while trying to clean up their mess in the Gulf of Mexico. The initiative is being headed by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Turtle Island Restoration Network.

They officially notified the U.S. Coast Guard and BP of their intent to launch a lawsuit for them to stop burning endangered sea turtles alive, and have given an ultimatum of 60 days in order to do so. If the action is not stopped a lawsuit will be filed under the Endangered Species Act.

Todd Steiner, biologist and executive director of the Turtle Island Restoration Network has this to say on the subject “BP is burning turtles alive and it is cruel, heartless and a crime we can’t and won’t allow to continue, sea turtles were critically endangered before BP created America’s worst environmental catastrophe, and every effort possible must be taken to rescue endangered turtles from this oil spill. BP needs to reverse course and help double our efforts to rescue sea turtles, not prevent their recovery.”

The spill really did happen at an inopportune time, as the rare Kemp’s ridley sea turtles started to nest in the Gulf of Mexico.

BP wound up in this mess, as they started a burning process, as they didn’t allow enough time for rescue boats to make a search, and get the sea turtles out of harms way.

A sinking date has now been set for the retired military vessel scheduled to form an artificial reef off Key West in Florida. If everything goes according to plan, Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg – a 523-foot-long military ship that used to track Russian missile launches during the Cold War – will be sunk seven miles (11 km) south of Key West on May 27.

“Our sink window opens Wednesday, May 27, and that’s the date we’re currently targeting,” said Jim Scholl, Key West’s city manager and project administrator. “However, there are factors that could delay the scuttling, including weather and other unforeseen circumstances.”

A definite time for the sinking has not yet been set, but the event will probably take place during late morning, officials said.

During the sinking, a one-mile perimeter will be enforced on the water and in the air by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and other U.S. law enforcement agencies.

Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg is currently waiting in Key West Harbor.

Last week, a leaping 9-foot dolphin accidently ended up in an 18-foot boat in the Intracoastal Waterway near New Smyrna Beach, Florida. As the panicked animal tried to escape from the vessel, it repeatedly hit the two boaters, 64-year-old Norman Howard and his wife Barbara, with its powerful tailfin.

“It was slapping me pretty hard,” Howard said. “Yeah, it was throwing some good punches. Mike Tyson couldn’t hit harder than that.“

The U.S. Coast Guard arrived to the scene after receiving calls from witnesses of the weird accident, and promptly rushed the couple to Bert Fish Medical Center. Howard says he was smacked in the face and ribs, while his wife received lacerations to her face.

The dolphin could be rolled back into the Intracoastal Waterway after the accident.

Many dolphin species are agile jumpers and the Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) is for instance known to leap up to 10 feet (3 metres) or more. The maximal height of a leap depends on the individual animal and the surrounding water, since the dolphin uses its flukes to projectile itself into the air. In shallow waters, dolphins cannot jump very high.