Yesterday marked the second anniversary of the oil platform explosion that touched off the Gulf Oil Spill. As you may remember, the spill couldn't have happened at a worse time. Millions of shorebirds were just beginning to arrive in the Gulf as part of spring migration, and as the spill continued into the summer, birds migrating southward caught the oil. the outrage around the spill reminded us of another spill that took place long ago here in California, in 1969 off Santa Barbara. In many ways, it was that spill that sparked the modern environmental movement and gave rise to Earth Day. That spill, just as much as the BP spill in 2010, showed that the story of any oil spill is told in the images of dead and dying birds. This is why we at Audubon care so much about this issue. Starting yesterday, Audubon is raising awareness about this on its website, encouraging people to take positive action to make sure that oil and birds are never forced to mix again. (above, photo from the 1969 spill)