First, Do No Further Harm

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It’s really hard to think about doing small things to help the environment when hourly updates about the oil spill are being broadcast on all of the cable news networks. I haven’t had the will to even post here for weeks because it seemed so futile with the overwhelming environmental crisis unfolding in the Gulf.

I have finally come to believe that no matter what type of misinformation is coming out of the Gulf, it is what it is.  No matter how tragic, it is what it is---it has already happened. No amount of hand wringing or finger pointing can change what has already happened. No amount of lies and cover-ups can change the fact that a disaster of this scope will be studied for decades, perhaps even centuries, and hard to digest truths brought to light.

It is time to turn our attention to dealing with it. To get our brains working toward solutions, we need to accept the fact that political and financial agendas will be behind a lot of proposed solutions.

• While berms and dredging my look like a good idea to keep oil out of wetlands, what is the long-term effect? 
• Will the toxic sand migrate? 
• Will the tides, storms, currents move the toxic oil and chemical contaminated sand to a new area after a time? 
• Do environmentalists have a good reason for not approving these plans because of unknown future repercussions down the road?

The ever-failing plan of the week coming from BP doesn’t take much effort to dismiss anymore. They just keep moving down the list of possibilities so that they are perceived to be doing something. In my opinion, if it was a good idea, it would have been higher on their list of ‘solutions’ in the first place. It’s not as if they’re saying they have new information that makes the new attempt promising. BP just can’t afford to appear to do nothing as the crude continues to gush at who knows what rate.

The dangers of the dispersants will be brought to light in many unknown ways. From dead sperm whales washing upon beaches to human health problems to the people exposed to the toxins. Dead zones in the Gulf, already a major concern before the BP fiasco, will get larger and spread far beyond the Gulf area.

There are other consequences, some of them which are already being studied and addressed, others that have yet to be imagined. It’s a disaster and a crisis. It’s on going. It’s difficult to wrap our minds around. But it has happened.

As unlikely as it seems, recycling your plastic refuse will still make a difference.

Conserving energy will still make a difference.

Each person must continue to carry on the effort to clean up their tiny spot of earth by doing what they do best.

• Those who know how to grow things without chemicals – continue and share the knowledge.
• Those who car-pool to reduce carbon emissions – continue to do so.
• Those who don’t use more electricity that they need – continue to do so, and share your tips.
• Let the scientists and environmentalists work on what they do best – continue to work on the tremendous effort of dealing with the Gulf crisis.

As solutions are found to the individual problems left behind by the oily devastation, lend support in any way you can.

If we become discouraged, we fail. Failure is not an option.

210,000 Gallons of Oil a Day Spewing into Gulf, and it can get Worse?

The words "Drill, baby, drill" and the cries of opposition to a wind farm off the New England coast are still ringing in our ears as we watch the frantic efforts to control an oil slick come ashore in the Gulf of Mexico.


With the spewing 210,000 gallons of crude oil a day from an underground BP oil well from at least 3 leaks into the gulf, the worst U.S. environmental disaster t began with the tragic explosion of an oil rig that claimed 11 lives.


News about the disaster just keeps getting worse. Now we learn that there are fears that main pipelines in the actual well itself might give, resulting in what amounts to an open oil well gushing into the fragile waters of the gulf.


Rupture of the pipe is the worst case scenario as of this writing, but before the catastrophe, the possibility of an explosion and resulting spill of this magnitude was considered remote.


Weather this weekend may interfere with the efforts to skim the oil and move it away from the main area of the spill to burn it off. Heavy winds and high tides will also serve to drive the oil toward the coastal marshlands.


It's impossible to forecast the danger the spill will have on the environment because no one knows how big the spill will get, how the leaks can be stopped, or how and where most of the oil will come ashore.


Once the oil comes ashore, the most immediate impact to wildlife will be the birds. Reproductive failure and possible death to large numbers of birds is expected. Fisheries will also be greatly impacted, as the oil moves into coastal marshes and inshore ecosystem. Oyster beds, fish nurseries and shrimp populations could be devastated. The long lasting economic impact from this environmental disaster cannot yet be calculated.


Yet, people can still cry foul that a wind farm is ugly.


photo under morgueFile free license


Have you considered how this BP oil rig disaster will affect you? Please comment.


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