Talkin' BP Oil Disaster Blues
Recently, the U.S. Coast Guard and officials from BP were reporting some measure of success in diverting at least some of the oil spewing from a broken well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico into a container ship -- thereby preventing untold additional amounts of crude from spreading throughout the Gulf of Mexico and onto shore. The moment of that announcement held some measure of hope for a truly desperate situation.
Of course, that moment of hope proved to be nearly as fleeting as any other in this ongoing debacle. Oil is still pouring into the Gulf, and for people who live in this part of the country, at least, there is literally no end in sight. Hope feels like something in the distance.
Estimates of the volume of oil gushing out of the bottom of the sea have gone up significantly -- as everyone knew they would. No matter the latest number, it's plain that much damage has already been done to those Gulf shores, especially along Louisiana’s coast. And, unfortunately, even if engineers were somehow able to start capturing 100% of the oil gushing out of the bottom of the Gulf immediately, the effects of the environmental disaster will be with us for awhile.
People are downright mad. Tempers flare quickly when the topic arises, which, of course, it does frequently. Everywhere you go, people avoid discussing it.
In my Tampa-area home this past weekend, however, with my Florida-born family from the Daytona area visiting, discussions of the spill arose several times. These "discussions" would often start with a burst but end relatively quickly after someone would say they just couldn't talk about it anymore. "It makes me too angry," someone would say. Everyone else knew what they meant, because we all felt the same, and we always obliged and changed the subject without hesitation. For awhile at least.
But we'd keep talking about it, in fits and starts. We couldn't help ourselves. With tar balls in Pensacola and the oil surely coming our way eventually, it's hard to not discuss it. We'd talk about possible solutions -- and the apparent futility of all of them. About bombs and domes and how long will this thing keeping gushing anyway? (Some of us have heard it will gush for years if not stopped.) And we talked plenty about President Obama, the oil companies, the power companies and the car companies, too.
We talked about the poor people of Louisiana. And I guess we talked about ourselves, because we talked about what "We" need to do about it. So we talked about solar power and electric cars and wind turbines and even going off the grid entirely and getting out from under the thumb of the power companies altogether. And that felt like hope for awhile, as delusional as those thoughts might be. But if the discussion ever wandered back to the subject of the current disaster's effect on fish and wildlife, on Nature, we'd have to stop again. Because I guess we don't see any hope there.
Tonight, President Obama will address the nation about this ongoing catastrophe. I wonder what he will say. I will be listening.
What do you have to say?
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Of course, that moment of hope proved to be nearly as fleeting as any other in this ongoing debacle. Oil is still pouring into the Gulf, and for people who live in this part of the country, at least, there is literally no end in sight. Hope feels like something in the distance.
Estimates of the volume of oil gushing out of the bottom of the sea have gone up significantly -- as everyone knew they would. No matter the latest number, it's plain that much damage has already been done to those Gulf shores, especially along Louisiana’s coast. And, unfortunately, even if engineers were somehow able to start capturing 100% of the oil gushing out of the bottom of the Gulf immediately, the effects of the environmental disaster will be with us for awhile.
People are downright mad. Tempers flare quickly when the topic arises, which, of course, it does frequently. Everywhere you go, people avoid discussing it.
In my Tampa-area home this past weekend, however, with my Florida-born family from the Daytona area visiting, discussions of the spill arose several times. These "discussions" would often start with a burst but end relatively quickly after someone would say they just couldn't talk about it anymore. "It makes me too angry," someone would say. Everyone else knew what they meant, because we all felt the same, and we always obliged and changed the subject without hesitation. For awhile at least.
But we'd keep talking about it, in fits and starts. We couldn't help ourselves. With tar balls in Pensacola and the oil surely coming our way eventually, it's hard to not discuss it. We'd talk about possible solutions -- and the apparent futility of all of them. About bombs and domes and how long will this thing keeping gushing anyway? (Some of us have heard it will gush for years if not stopped.) And we talked plenty about President Obama, the oil companies, the power companies and the car companies, too.
We talked about the poor people of Louisiana. And I guess we talked about ourselves, because we talked about what "We" need to do about it. So we talked about solar power and electric cars and wind turbines and even going off the grid entirely and getting out from under the thumb of the power companies altogether. And that felt like hope for awhile, as delusional as those thoughts might be. But if the discussion ever wandered back to the subject of the current disaster's effect on fish and wildlife, on Nature, we'd have to stop again. Because I guess we don't see any hope there.
Tonight, President Obama will address the nation about this ongoing catastrophe. I wonder what he will say. I will be listening.
What do you have to say?
We will be listening to President Obama here in Texas, too. In my Austin-area home, talk of the Gulf disaster is similar to what you describe. Everyone I've spoken with in this area is ...
June 15, 2010
We will be listening to President Obama here in Texas, too. In my Austin-area home, talk of the Gulf disaster is similar to what you describe. Everyone I've spoken with in this area is disillusioned, and overwhelmed with feelings of distrust, anger and sadness.
I try to explain to my young daughter that as horrible as the catastrophe is, as hard to watch the now high-def feed of spewing oil, we have to pay attention to it. That maybe this will serve as the environmental (not economic or political) push needed to explore real change for her generation's future energy options.
A recent editorial in the Austin American-Statesman calls on Texas to be a leader in Gulf recovery, because, while our shorelines may remain unaffected for now, "our Gulf neighbors are in distress" and Texas is in a "vital leadership position." I agree.
And I am concerned about our shores, too, our fishers and fisheries; our oil & gas industry suppliers and workers who depend on offshore jobs.
And I worry about wildlife such as sea turtles that make their home at the Port Aransas National Seashore. There, staff work diligently to save the endangered Kemp's Ridley species. The eggs are collected and carefully incubated and hatched, then the small turtles are released. I've witnessed these baby turtle releases, as visitors are invited to do. For me, it was an incredible experience to watch the tiny creatures scramble off the shore and into the Gulf waters. Some of these turtles are said to be swimming directly into the path of the BP gusher. Gulf restoration researchers know this because they have tagged the grown turtles. They are concerned about one adult male turtle, and ask, "has he already surfaced in an oil slick that fouled his eyes or burned his lungs? How have the dispersants and oil affected the blue crabs on which he feeds?"
Yes, like folks in Florida, a typical conversation begins here in Texas along a similar vein, we too, get the blues. And the discussion must pause.
I try to explain to my young daughter that as horrible as the catastrophe is, as hard to watch the now high-def feed of spewing oil, we have to pay attention to it. That maybe this will serve as the environmental (not economic or political) push needed to explore real change for her generation's future energy options.
A recent editorial in the Austin American-Statesman calls on Texas to be a leader in Gulf recovery, because, while our shorelines may remain unaffected for now, "our Gulf neighbors are in distress" and Texas is in a "vital leadership position." I agree.
And I am concerned about our shores, too, our fishers and fisheries; our oil & gas industry suppliers and workers who depend on offshore jobs.
And I worry about wildlife such as sea turtles that make their home at the Port Aransas National Seashore. There, staff work diligently to save the endangered Kemp's Ridley species. The eggs are collected and carefully incubated and hatched, then the small turtles are released. I've witnessed these baby turtle releases, as visitors are invited to do. For me, it was an incredible experience to watch the tiny creatures scramble off the shore and into the Gulf waters. Some of these turtles are said to be swimming directly into the path of the BP gusher. Gulf restoration researchers know this because they have tagged the grown turtles. They are concerned about one adult male turtle, and ask, "has he already surfaced in an oil slick that fouled his eyes or burned his lungs? How have the dispersants and oil affected the blue crabs on which he feeds?"
Yes, like folks in Florida, a typical conversation begins here in Texas along a similar vein, we too, get the blues. And the discussion must pause.
We all knew what he would do and that was to appoint a commission. There is no real Federal effort to help with either stopping the oil from reaching the shore or with the cleanup. Rath...
June 16, 2010
We all knew what he would do and that was to appoint a commission. There is no real Federal effort to help with either stopping the oil from reaching the shore or with the cleanup. Rather then help the Feds are hindering the state's efforts.
Obama doesn't know how to act like a CEO because he has no experience and solving problems is for the little people beneath him. Unfortunately those little people need someone to cut through the red tape, take charge and give orders. Obama just became a one term failure.
Obama doesn't know how to act like a CEO because he has no experience and solving problems is for the little people beneath him. Unfortunately those little people need someone to cut through the red tape, take charge and give orders. Obama just became a one term failure.
