Twelve-Year-Old Devon Melton’s Garage Sale For His Mother Goes Viral

A 12-year-old boy from Ferguson, Mo., has blown us away with his courage and sacrifice.

Devon Melton’s mother, Christina Craig, was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and his parents are struggling with the financial burden of her illness.

“I overheard her talking on the phone,” Devon told KTVI. “I just asked her are you ok, because her tears were running down her face. She said she was failing me as a parent because she’s always sick, and I had to help.”

That’s when Melton decided to step in.

He got the idea of holding a garage sale, but he didn’t have much of his own to give away. So he began reaching out to potential donors on Craiglist’s ‘Free’ section with a moving email that soon went viral.

He wrote:

Hi this is Devon. I am the one that messaged you on Craigslist. My mom is amazing she and my dad take care of my two brothers, me and my sister. She has breast cancer and I heard her crying one day after she had her surgery. I thought she was hurt so I went to her door. I heard her say I’m losing everything because I am sick. We are about to lose our home, electric, gas and dad lost his job..I went to my preacher and asked how can I help. He said to do a garage sale. I went to every house on my road getting donations for the garage sale..

My mom deserves the best and I want to help her because she helps everyone. Even with her sick she still works at the food pantry at our church. She says people have to eat and God blessed us to be part of a ministry that can feed people. I just wish it was mom’s turn to be blessed with a timeout like she says she needs. I hope we can get things together and I can really help my mom.

The post inspired a slew of donations from Craigslisters. KTVI reports that he’s received over 200 emails from people wanting to help and has recently had to expand the sale to a bigger location.

He’s raised $120 so far, and plans to continue holding the sale until all the donations are sold.

“I can give up a couple of my things and.. put the hard work in,” he told KDSK. “She takes care of me, so I thought I should take care of her for once.”

Watch Video Here

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It is the second time in just three months that PIB has killed hundreds of seabirds in the South West.We cannot go on treating our precious marine environment as a dustbin : Tony Whitehead from RSPB

More than 1000 birds now dead as result of coastal chemical spill in UK

Dead guillemot covered in the glue like substance, photo by Darryl Thorpe/Cornwall Wildlife Trust

Unprecedented number of deads birds washing ashore

April 2013. A week after the first reports of birds covered in a sticky glue like substance being washed up on southwest beaches, wildlife charities have confirmed that the number of dead has passed 1000. This is in addition to the 200+ birds in the care of RSPCA and South Devon Seabird Trust.

Second recent incident
The substance has been identified as polyisobutene (PIB) by researchers at Plymouth University. It is the second time in just three months that PIB has killed hundreds of seabirds in the South West.

In this latest incident birds have been found in a wide area from Dodman Point, Cornwall to the Teign Estuary, Devon but the worst hit areas have been beaches along Whitsand Bay in south east Cornwall where locals have been counting hundreds of birds every day.

Alison Fogg, zoologist and environment campaigner who lives by the sea near Lanteglos in Cornwall has been close to the unfolding disaster; “It is hard to sum up so many different emotions, from the last few days, in a few words . Seeing more than 157 dead birds on Lansallos beach, followed by hundreds more at Lantic Bay, was quite devastating. Lansallos is a small sheltered beach on the South Coast of Cornwall. A haven for nature and totally unspoilt, this beach is popular with holiday makers, walkers and locals for swimming and relaxation.

“The scale of destruction to wildlife, in the beginning of the bird breeding season and at the start of the tourist season is quite difficult to comprehend.”

Bin bags of dead birds collected from one beach, photo by Darryl Thorpe. What is PIB? Polyisobutene (PIB), also known as polyisobutylene or butyl rubber, is a non-toxic and non- aggressive substance, used for example to manufacture chewing gum, adhesive tape and sealants. It is also very sticky – PIB is what makes cling-film stick to whatever it touches. In shipping, it is often used as a thickening agent for industrial lubricant oils. PIB was first developed in the 1940s as a synthetic alternative to natural rubber which was in short supply due to conflicts in rubber-producing regions. As a substance, it is generally colourless or light yellow, odourless, tasteless and cannot easily be identified. One of its special properties is that it is the only form of rubber that is completely impermeable to gas as well as water. PIB, along with other non-petroleum products, is transported around the world on a regular and increasing basis. The global consumption of PIB was over 850,000 tonnes in 2011, with the USA as the leading producer, but Belgium and France together produce almost a fifth of the PIB market. The UK is also a major importer. As a consequence, there is considerable transport of PIB around the UK and Western Europe. Global consumption is forecast to increase by around 40% by 2017 to 1.2 million tonnes per year. What are the impacts of PIB on seabirds and marine wildlife? PIB usually enters the water through ships ‘flushing’, or washing, their tanks and clearing ballast water. PIB is a hydrophobic substance though, so on contact with water it coalesces into a waxy, glue-like formation, generally floating at or just underneath the surface. As such it is extremely hazardous to a range of seabird species, which dive to find food. These birds become covered in the substance, which sticks their wings to their bodies and prevents them from feeding, causing immobilisation, hypothermia, starvation and eventually death. There is also a risk of ingestion of bits of PIB in its waxy form.

Unknown source
It is not known whether the substance got into the sea as a spill from a ship or as part of legal and routine tank washing operations.

We cannot go on treating our precious marine environment as a dustbin
Tony Whitehead from RSPB said; “The devastation this substance has caused has been appalling. To see the images of beaches strewn with bodies is a sobering reminder that we just cannot go on treating our precious marine environment as a dustbin.

“If this was an illegal spill, we need to support the Maritime and Coastguard Agency in tracking down the ship responsible. Although this will be difficult, surely it’s not impossible.

Legal?
“If this was the result of legal tank washing operations, we need to urge the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to tighten up the rules and make it illegal to wash this stuff into the sea. It’s a noxious substance and we don’t want it in our marine environment.”

 

Read Full Article Here

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• More than 1000 birds now dead as result of coastal chemical spill in UK (sott.net)
• Lansallos, Cornwall: Nature helped and harmed by humanity (guardian.co.uk)
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• PIB chemical pollution kills more birds than MSC Napoli (arkofgod.wordpress.com)
• Sticky pollution victims ‘could number thousands’ (guardian.co.uk)
• Bird pollution ‘higher than Napoli’ (bbc.co.uk)
• Stricken seabirds wash up along south coast of England (guardian.co.uk)
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Flash Flood in United Kingdom – England, Tamerton Foliot [Plymouth]

Earth Watch Report  –  Flooding

 

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21.11.2012

Flash Flood

United Kingdom

England, Tamerton Foliot [Plymouth]

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Flash Flood in United Kingdom on Wednesday, 21 November, 2012 at 15:10 (03:10 PM) UTC.

Description

A MAIN commuter route in Plymouth was closed by flooding, and some villages were cut off as torrential rain swept across the South West in the night. Gdynia Way, the main route into Plymouth from the east, was closed at 4.30am and remained closed seven hours later. Parts of Tamerton Foliot and Yealmpton were described as “impassable”, and Tamerton Foliot Road was also still closed at 11am today. Firefighters had more than 300 calls to flooding in Devon and Somerset this morning. The Kings Arms pub in Tamerton Foliot, which has just completed an extensive refurbishment, is flooded to knee-high internally. Flooding was reported from right across the city, and council contractors were out in force, clearing drains ahead of a second downpour forecast for tonight. Early today a man driving a blue Mitsubishi Colt was trapped when his car broke down in floodwater in Gdynia way at 4.15am. Plymstock firefighters pushed his vehicle clear, and the road was closed. An hour later the Plymstock crew was called to Bovisand, where a stream broke its banks. They diverted water away from houses at Bovisand Court. Camels Head firefighters went to Yealmpton, east of Plymouth, where they pumped out one house in Stray Park and diverted water running off the fields. Firefighters from Ivybridge were called to Tamerton Foliot, where part of the village was closed by flooding. Police said people were rescued from a car trapped in two feet of floodwater. The car, a blue Nissan Almera, was trapped by the water in Old Warleigh Lane at about 4.20am Police said the road was closed at the junction of Riverside Walk and Fore Street, and four houses were affected. The Environment Agency said there were 24 flood warnings and 50 flood alerts in place, in an area stretching from Plymouth to East Devon after widespread, heavy rain during Tuesday the night.

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Britain braced for more flood chaos

 

Dominic Harris , Ryan Hooper

The UK is braced for another day of deluges and flooding as heavy rain sweeps across the country.

Homes were flooded and roads left underwater yesterday as downpours caused widespread disruption, and forecasters warned more misery is on its way.

Vehicles were abandoned and there were reports of entire villages being cut off as floodwater surged through lanes and streets and into homes.

As with yesterday, the South West and Wales are expected to bear the brunt of the weather as a low pressure system moves eastwards across the country, bringing gusts of up to 70mph and extremely heavy rain.

The Met Office warned that some areas could see up to 60mm (5in) of rain falling on already saturated ground, leading to further risk of rivers flooding.

Strong winds could yet worsen conditions, particularly surface water flooding, as leaves and debris block drains and channels.

More than 80 flood warnings are in place – 50 alone in the South West – and there are a further 138 less serious flood alerts, the Environment Agency said.

Agency teams are on the ground across the country clearing watercourses of debris and monitoring river levels, and will be out in force over the coming days.

Pete Fox, the Environment Agency’s head of flood risk strategy, said: “There is already significant travel disruption due to the wet weather and we would urge people to remain vigilant as further flooding is possible across the South West.

“People at flood risk should move their valuable possessions to a safe place before the heavy rain falls.

“We also ask that people stay safe, by staying away from swollen rivers and not attempting to drive through floodwater.”

Sally Webb, forecaster with MeteoGroup, the meteorological division of the Press Association, said: “There will be gusts as high as 70mph in coastal parts of Cornwall and south west Wales, and it will be very windy elsewhere, reaching up to 50mph.

“The rain is going to be very heavy, and in parts of Cornwall and south-west Wales we could see as much as 50mm or even 60mm over higher ground.

“Elsewhere in the UK is likely to see between 25mm and 30mm.

“The South West and Wales are going to be the worst hit, and it will also be slow to clear from Scotland.

“Rain will push east overnight towards East Anglia, London and Kent, leaving it a bit drier and clearer in the west.

“Some of the heaviest rain will be in areas that have already got flooding, such as the Devon and Bristol areas.

“This weather is very common for autumn, it is just unfortunate that it seems to keep coming at the moment.”

While today is expected to be a washout, tomorrow should be bright and breezy, with sunny spells and scattered showers in the west.

The weather caused major problems on the road yesterday, with the AA attending more than 8,000 breakdowns – 37% more than normal – and 500 floodwater-related callouts by 4pm.

Roads were reported as being impassable around the M5 corridor and in Worcestershire and south Birmingham, and standing water on roads created difficulties for motorists.

Dozens of schools were closed, including 12 in Devon and 17 in Somerset, two of the worst-hit counties, and businesses including pubs and restaurants forced to turn away customers following the floods.

Emergency services in Somerset were also called to a flooded property to help rescue a woman who had gone into labour and needed to get to hospital.

Earlier this week, more than 100 residents were evacuated from their homes and transport links were cut off after persistent heavy rain caused flooding in Scotland.

PA

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