The website, though simple, is set up to showcase BP’s live cam that is pointed directly at the wellhead. Originally, Reed says, the website was set up with the intention of having people project the image for others to see, but the main goal has evolved into simply putting eyes on the image. “On Meet the Press one morning, one of the guests was calling this the image of the year, so I thought, this is an important image to have out there,” said Reed of the image, “It’s such an unbelievable image, an image type that we’ve never had access to before.”

Today, ShowTheSpill.com has more than 1600 unique visits, but as the oil continues to plume from the well’s head, their hits are expected to continue to grow.

In Texas, the streaming video was the background to an interpretive dance. http://www.youtube.com/jostonedance

If you’re in New York, 25CPW will be projecting the image this week, possibly starting tomorrow night (June 15), otherwise, find someone to donate a projector for the night and go to town with this, literally.

Comedian, Stephen Colbert via Comedy Central

Steven Colbert just grew on us a little bit, here at New Sky.

Last night, Colbert, with the help of Bing.com, donated $100,000 to a newly formed foundation called “The Colbert Nation Gulf of America Fund”. According to the website for the fund’s manager, the Baton Rouge Area Fund (BRAF), “This fund will be used for general relief. From it, grants will be made to nonprofits that work directly to help the people and wildlife affected by this oil spill.”

Colbert called the Gulf of Mexico the “Gulf of America” during his program last night because, “Nation, we broke it, so we bought it.” The comedian would later go on to reverberate the important announcement via a twitter update around approximately midnight. “donate to the colbert nation gulf of america fund. because if you’re not part of the solution, you’re exactly like bp.”

To make a donation to the fund, or to simply find out more information, please visit the BRAF website.

Twitpic photo by user rwitherell

With all that is happening in our great country, we’d be remiss from mentioning that Tennessee is under water this evening. As of 7pm Eastern, 21 people are confirmed dead from the storm which spanned from Tennessee to Mississippi this past weekend,with 13 dead in Nashville alone. The Cumberland River, which runs straight through downtown, is not expected to crest until tomorrow evening.

The area is rife with non-profits that are ready to lend a helping hand, but don’t underestimate the help that you can give. Here is a list of organizations that you can help right now, no matter where you are.

Hands On Nashville – Hands On Nashville (HON) was founded in 1991 to help people transform the world around them by volunteering. Hands on Nashville is a recognized leader in programs, partnerships and services that maximize volunteer impact for youth, adult, corporate, and nonprofit constituencies in the greater Nashville community.

The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee – The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee brings good people and good causes together to help ensure both the excellent stewardship of donor funds and the wise investment of grants in the 40 counties of Middle Tennessee that they serve.

Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee – Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee fights hunger by providing food, services and education to 46 Middle and West Tennessee counties, including the Nashville Davidson County area. During a community crisis in Nashville, Second Harvest would help in the coordination of basic food items to areas that need it.

And of course, the local American Red Cross, which has opened numerous shelters in the area. The shelters open this evening are as follows:

UPDATED SHELTER LIST: As of 12:00 A.M. CST:
• Lipscomb University – Nashville, TN
• Gordon Jewish Community Center – Nashville, TN
• Fairview Recreation Center – Fairview, TN
• Hazelwood Elementary School – Clarksville, TN
• Al Menah Shrine Center – Nashville, TN
• First Assembly of God – Erin, TN
• First United Methodist Church – Millington, TN
• First Baptist Church – Dover, TN
• Grace United Methodist Church – Mount Juliet, TN
• Smyrna Town Center – Smyrna, TN
• Centerville Church of Christ – Centerville, TN
• College Hills Church of Christ – Lebanon, TN
• Haywood Junior High School – Brownsville, TN
• Waverly Church of Christ – Waverly, TN
• Civic Center – Jackson, TN
• Baker Community – Millington, TN
• People’s Church – Franklin, TN
• Ed Rice Community Center – Memphis, TN

NBC Nightly News recently posted a list of organizations that you can contribute to if you’d like to help with the ongoing efforts in Southeastern Louisiana. The following is as it appeared on NBC Nightly News’ website.

Tri-State Bird Rescue Research is working to “oversee the wildlife rehabilitation” along the Gulf Coast

Mobile Baykeeper is raising money in response to the oil spill in order to protect “the beauty, health, and heritage of the Mobile Bay Watershed.”

Seabird Sanctuary has 300 volunteers on “stand-by” to assist with the Gulf Oil Spill if it impacts Florida.

The Greater New Orleans Foundation has set up a fund to help some communities that will be affected by the oil spill.

Hi All,

As many of you know, our latest love project is centered around helping a non-federally recognized group of Native American’s living on the small Isle de Jean Charles off the Louisiana Gulf Coast. For decades it was thought that the end of their way of life would come via a hurricane or the steady erosion that continues to eat away at the fragile coastline. With one of the largest oil spills in US history making landfall, a new challenge needs to be met.

Today it is with great urgency that we ask you to step to the plate and start swinging. The New York Times, along with a number of other news organizations has begun reporting that the oil has made landfall. We believe that it is our responsibility as human beings do to whatever we can to blunt this horrible disaster.  As with most disasters of this magnitude, individuals can be left feeling helpless.  What can one person do in the face of such an astronomical challenge?   The answer to this question can sometimes, in part, be easier than you think.  Along with what is sure to be a great insurgence of non-profits to the area (we’ll post a list of organizations you can help as we find out about them), one has a eco-sustainable way to help clean up the to-be blackened coastline. Matter of Trust is a non-profit organization that is using hair to help clean up oil spills. That’s right, hair!  We’ve all got it, some more than others (tear), and we can all help out their organization by simply cutting off the lovely locks that frame our beautiful faces to help clean up a coastline, help save an ecosystem, and an ocean based economy that generates more than $230 Billion dollars in revenue yearly.

Go to their website, check it out. If you don’t have any hair to donate like John and I, you can always send a little money. Anything can help.

We cannot afford to lose this delicate area of our great country.

Humbly yours,

Grant & John

Here is a powerful graphical representation of the issue we face by the talented Tiffany Farrant:

Here is a brief glimpse into some of the issues people face while living on the gulf coast:

To read more about the oil spill, please visit these links.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2010-04-29-oilspillupdate_N.htm

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20100429/ARTICLES/100429189/1193?Title=Gulf-Coast-oil-spill-could-eclipse-Exxon-Valdez

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/federal_government_halts_new_o.html

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2010/04/cabinet_officials_will_inspect.html

http://www.2theadvocate.com/news/92480224.html

A young boy with a facial injury sits as just hours after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake epicentered near Port au Prince, Haiti. Photo by The American Red Cross via Flickr

The earth shook and people screamed as their shoddily constructed world came crashing down around them. Haiti, population 8,528,000, which is approximately the size of Maryland, has long been considered the third world, but for those who have visited, Haiti is a step above. Recently, on the USA Today website actor Rainn Wilson did a video blog about his recent trip to Haiti.He praised the pride that the natives had for things like the clothes that their school children wore to school. Which he, an American, deemed, “spotless”.

Yesterday, the place that Mr Wilson described so eloquently changed forever. An initial magnitude 7.0 earthquake sent the countries’ homes of the rich and the impoverished alike tumbling to the ground. Today reports of thousands losing their lives float loftily in the air.

Along with other world leaders, President Barack Obama pledged aid to the earth-torn country, but government is not enough. Below are links to private and federally funded organizations alike that are aimed at helping save lives.

Help us help others in this extreme time of need.  (Vetted list below)

ARCrelief – Working in Darfur, Pakistan, Uganda, + more, helping victims of war and civil conflict rebuild their lives

Hands On Disaster Response – Hands On Disaster Response (HODR) is a US-based non-profit organization, that provides hands-on assistance to survivors of natural disasters around the world, with maximum impact and minimum bureaucracy.

Haiti Children – Runs orphanages, provides proper nutrition, education, and health care.

Action Against Hunger – ACF responds to emergencies like this all over the world, delivering life-saving assistance to millions of people in crisis every year. They are able to provide critical emergency assistance—and help communities regain their livelihoods and secure food and water supplies for the future

American Red Cross – As part of a worldwide movement that offers neutral humanitarian care to the victims of war, the American Red Cross distinguishes itself by also aiding victims of devastating natural disasters.

American Jewish World Services – Each day, AJWS helps thousands of people in Africa, Asia, and the Americas move beyond poverty, illiteracy, disaster and war. AJWS believes that empowering individuals and communities regardless of race, religion, or nationality advances human dignity and transforms the world for the better.

AmeriCares – AmeriCares has already committed $5 million in medical and humanitarian aid, is sending emergency response experts to Haiti, and is currently preparing an emergency airlift to our partners in Haiti.

Beyond Borders – Their mission is to work for justice and peace out of devotion to Christ by fostering sharing and understanding across cultural and economic borders.

CARE – CARE is a leading humanitarian organization fighting global poverty. They place special focus on working alongside poor women because, equipped with the proper resources, women have the power to help whole families and entire communities escape poverty.

Catholic Relief Services – Catholic Relief Services is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States.

Carma Foundation – The mission of Carma is to measurably improve the health of poor and vulnerable women and children in Haiti.

Childcare Worldwide – Childcare Worldwide’s motto is “Helping Children Survive and Succeed.” Our child sponsorship program helps children succeed through education. They have been in Haiti since 1983.

Direct Relief International – Women and children are disproportionately affected by poor health outcomes in developing countries and here in the United States. Direct Relief places a high priority on improving the health of these most vulnerable populations by working with programs emphasizing maternal and prenatal health.

Doctors Without Borders – Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is an international medical humanitarian organization created by doctors and journalists in France in 1971.

Feed My Starving Children – With God’s help Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) will strive to eliminate starvation in children throughout the world by helping to instill compassion in people to hear and respond to the cries of those in need.

Food For The Poor – Food For The Poor ministers to spiritually renew impoverished people throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

Friends of the World Food Program – Friends of WFP is a U.S.-based, nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that focuses on building support in the United States for the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and other hunger relief operations.

Haiti Marycare – Haiti Marycare works with local partners to improve lives through child and family health programs, education, and community development.

Haitian Health Foundation – The Haitian Health Foundation provides health care, development, relief, and the hope of a future to more than 225,000 of the poorest people in over 100 rural mountain villages in southwestern Haiti.

Hope for Haiti – Hope for Haiti has held the vision from the very beginning that the people of Haiti are the ones who take control of their future and we are here to lend a needed hand along the difficult path.

International Medical Corps – International Medical Corps relieves the suffering of those affected by war, natural disaster and disease, by delivering vital health care services that focus on training. This approach of helping people help themselves is critical to returning devastated communities to self-reliance.

International Rescue Committee – For 75 years, the International Rescue Committee has been a leader in humanitarian relief.

International Relief Teams – International Relief Teams is a non-profit, international relief organization dedicated to organizing volunteer teams to provide medical and non-medical assistance to the victims of disaster and profound poverty world-wide.

Medical Teams International – Their mission is to demonstrate the love of Christ to people affected by disaster, conflict and poverty around the world. Their vision is to help build a faith-based global health movement to save lives and transform people through the power of Christ’s love.

Meds and Food for Kids – Meds & Food for Kids (MFK) is dedicated to saving the lives of Haiti’s malnourished children and other nutritionally vulnerable people.

Mennonite Central Committee -  Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), a worldwide ministry of Anabaptist churches, shares God’s love and compassion for all in the name of Christ by responding to basic human needs and working for peace and justice.

Mercy Corps – Mercy Corps is a team of 3700 professionals helping turn crisis into opportunity for millions around the world.

Operation Blessing – OBI has helped more than 202 million people in more than 105 countries and all 50 states, providing goods and services valued at more than $1.4 billion.

Operation USA – Operation USA helps communities alleviate the effects of disasters, disease and endemic poverty throughout the world by providing privately-funded relief, reconstruction and development aid.

Oxfam – Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice.

Partners in Health - At its root, their mission is both medical and moral. It is based on solidarity, rather than charity alone.

Rural Haiti Project – The Rural Haiti Project is a youth leadership organization that aims to empower children to become leaders and builders of their communities by conducting programs for low-income at-risk children in rural areas of Haiti.

The Salvation Army – The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible. Its ministry is motivated by the love of God.
Its mission is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

Samaritan’s Purse – Their emergency relief programs provide desperately needed assistance to victims of natural disaster, war, disease, and famine.

Save The Children – Creates lasting, positive change in the lives of children in need.

UNICEF - Working in over 150 countries, UNICEF provides children with health care, clean water, nutrition, education, emergency relief, and more.

World Concern – Caring for AIDS orphans. Rebuilding homes after disasters. Fighting child trafficking. Providing business loans to poor moms. Teaching men sustainable agriculture. Preventing HIV/AIDS. Planting trees. Digging water wells.

World Relief – In community with the local Church, World Relief envisions the most vulnerable people transformed economically, socially, and spiritually.

World Vision – World Vision is a Christian humanitarian charity organization dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

-Sincerely, the New Sky team.