My friend, Nalini, alerted me to a global request for all knitters to create and donate 100% wool handknit sweaters for penguins.
I'm serious.
In short: There's been ANOTHER oil spill which is sure to be a global catastrophe. This time, it's off the coast of New Zealand. Specifically, the Tauranga Oil Spill is a result of the MV Rena colliding with the Astrolabe reef, in what is being called New Zealand's biggest ever environmental disaster. As with all oil spills, the wildlife, fish and fowl in particular, are harmed and killed. The fish die from the lack of oxygen in the water and ingesting the oil, while the birds which survive the initial spill, die from the oil coating their feathers, which prevents them from retaining heat and thus they freeze to death. Those that do not freeze are poisoned, as they ingest the oil coating their feathers when they preen themselves.
Solution?
Knitting!
As this article states, the penguins' problem is two fold- because their feathers have temporarily lost their insulatory properties, they need to be kept warm, and they must be prevented from licking, pecking or in anyway bringing their feathers in contact with their mouths until the oil has been removed.
Aid workers for an oil spill off of Australia in 2000 realised that dressing the penguins in doll sweaters was the most effective means of keeping them warm, and forming a harmless, helpful barrier between their mouths and their feathers. In the case of the 2000 spill, people caught wind of the efficacy of penguin sweaters, and started knitting and shipping thousands (because, really, what is cuter than knitting a sweater for a penguin?). How effective were these fabulous knitters? People sent in over 15,000 penguin sweaters. 15,000!!
Skeinz, a New Zealand store, has launched a similiar initiative to help with the Oct. 5th spill. Knitters are asked to knit a simple, ribbed pattern that is essentially a shaped tubed with small holes on either side for the penguins' "arms" (flippers? fins?), with elastic along the time and the bottom so they can't wiggle free. The sweaters must be made of 100% wool, in order to keep the birds sufficiently warm.
In addition to keeping the birds warm and preventing them from ingesting the oil on their feathers, the sweaters dissolve in the salt water that the rescued penguins are rehabilitated in. Once the sweaters have dissolved (as wool, being a protein, will do-another reason to choose it over a synthetic), enough time has passed for the penguins to be released into the wild.
This all sounds a bit Disney Princess for me, so much so that I wonder if this isn't a giant cyber-prank and I'm being punked, but I don't care. I think this is a wonderful project to begin using up Kathleen's Wonder Box of Generosity.
If you are interested, Skeinz has published information and a simple penguin sweater pattern on their website, with mailing address and contact details. It looks like they may have already accumulated quite a few, but more are always welcome, as they keep them in reserve for future crises.
I'm serious.
 |
| Photo: The Daily What |
In short: There's been ANOTHER oil spill which is sure to be a global catastrophe. This time, it's off the coast of New Zealand. Specifically, the Tauranga Oil Spill is a result of the MV Rena colliding with the Astrolabe reef, in what is being called New Zealand's biggest ever environmental disaster. As with all oil spills, the wildlife, fish and fowl in particular, are harmed and killed. The fish die from the lack of oxygen in the water and ingesting the oil, while the birds which survive the initial spill, die from the oil coating their feathers, which prevents them from retaining heat and thus they freeze to death. Those that do not freeze are poisoned, as they ingest the oil coating their feathers when they preen themselves.
Solution?
Knitting!
As this article states, the penguins' problem is two fold- because their feathers have temporarily lost their insulatory properties, they need to be kept warm, and they must be prevented from licking, pecking or in anyway bringing their feathers in contact with their mouths until the oil has been removed.
Aid workers for an oil spill off of Australia in 2000 realised that dressing the penguins in doll sweaters was the most effective means of keeping them warm, and forming a harmless, helpful barrier between their mouths and their feathers. In the case of the 2000 spill, people caught wind of the efficacy of penguin sweaters, and started knitting and shipping thousands (because, really, what is cuter than knitting a sweater for a penguin?). How effective were these fabulous knitters? People sent in over 15,000 penguin sweaters. 15,000!!
Skeinz, a New Zealand store, has launched a similiar initiative to help with the Oct. 5th spill. Knitters are asked to knit a simple, ribbed pattern that is essentially a shaped tubed with small holes on either side for the penguins' "arms" (flippers? fins?), with elastic along the time and the bottom so they can't wiggle free. The sweaters must be made of 100% wool, in order to keep the birds sufficiently warm.
In addition to keeping the birds warm and preventing them from ingesting the oil on their feathers, the sweaters dissolve in the salt water that the rescued penguins are rehabilitated in. Once the sweaters have dissolved (as wool, being a protein, will do-another reason to choose it over a synthetic), enough time has passed for the penguins to be released into the wild.
This all sounds a bit Disney Princess for me, so much so that I wonder if this isn't a giant cyber-prank and I'm being punked, but I don't care. I think this is a wonderful project to begin using up Kathleen's Wonder Box of Generosity.
If you are interested, Skeinz has published information and a simple penguin sweater pattern on their website, with mailing address and contact details. It looks like they may have already accumulated quite a few, but more are always welcome, as they keep them in reserve for future crises.
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