The Gulf Oil Spill

[elser]

Well, some of y'all can laugh and joke about the press, the distortions, whateva you like. It doesn't matter to me if it was BP or Exxon or any one of the others or what pretend stats they all throwin out. They all drilling deep off coast so no one can see. Outta sight is outta mind and it almost kept right on payin off.

But this is my home. We had another five years of hard, hard labor to maybe get back some of what we lost in katrina. I rebuilt because I had no choice but don't think I wouldn't have taken it if I could. My kids are gonna be suckin' in dispersants and evaporating oil every single day instead of every four, so laugh and laugh about how the numbers are distorted or the gov't should be involved. Greed got them here and now my people are gonna be paying. Again.

I would like to know why there isn't a state of emergency all along the coast, most especially in poor poor Louisiana and soon, here. They all act like this gonna be gone in a matter of days, like it's an inconvenience. I don't know what Obama's thinkin (and I voted fo him so don't get all up at me) when he thinks BP gonna clean this up with as much enthusiasm as they drilled it out.

I've survived the death of a child, breast cancer, Katrina but I don't know if we are gonna survive this. That's all I got to say about it. I'm Buddhist and I got to accept and let go. Jes give me a damn minute.

Incensed Squids

I don't think anyone's laughing. But we can't feel it to the same degree as you do of course. What you all have endured in the last few years is incredible. My heart goes out to everyone who calls the gulf areas home, it's nothing short of tragic.

All we can hope for now is to contain the damage as much as possible....and hopefully learn from it.

[chits]

I really don't have heroes, but if I had one, it would be Squiddy. That l'il gal has been through more tough times than most will see in three lifetimes. I'm hoping for a miracle, for the gusher to stop and for that spill to be cleaned up pronto....every single day, I say a prayer. Like Els, I hope we finally learn from this disaster.

[ernstinen]

Well, some of y'all can laugh and joke about the press, the distortions, whateva you like. It doesn't matter to me if it was BP or Exxon or any one of the others or what pretend stats they all throwin out. They all drilling deep off coast so no one can see. Outta sight is outta mind and it almost kept right on payin off.

But this is my home. We had another five years of hard, hard labor to maybe get back some of what we lost in katrina. I rebuilt because I had no choice but don't think I wouldn't have taken it if I could. My kids are gonna be suckin' in dispersants and evaporating oil every single day instead of every four, so laugh and laugh about how the numbers are distorted or the gov't should be involved. Greed got them here and now my people are gonna be paying. Again.

I would like to know why there isn't a state of emergency all along the coast, most especially in poor poor Louisiana and soon, here. They all act like this gonna be gone in a matter of days, like it's an inconvenience. I don't know what Obama's thinkin (and I voted fo him so don't get all up at me) when he thinks BP gonna clean this up with as much enthusiasm as they drilled it out.

I've survived the death of a child, breast cancer, Katrina but I don't know if we are gonna survive this. That's all I got to say about it. I'm Buddhist and I got to accept and let go. Jes give me a damn minute.

Incensed Squids

I hear ya sister!!!

A hearty Amen from me, too! Thinkin' of ya, Squids! This jus' breaks my heart ---

Ern

[squids]

I appreciate the thought, Bryan (po boo, I'm so sorry!), chits and ern. I'm jes finding over the last few years that stats are made to be manipulated, that people will do most anythin to stay in the limelight, even stooping to levels they'd neva have thought they would, and that all of it is designed to distance us from some fundamentally awful truths. Makin snide comments like someone did earlier about media distortions in order to turn somethin horrific into somethin mo in line with political theater is panderin to the same corporate think that worships greed over life. It should be spoken against as much as we can stand.

Fwiw, my husband is a wildlife biologist here in Mississippi. The latest stats from the scientists in his area with good, solid science are sayin that it will be years before we can truly see some real effects of a total cleanup, it'll take that long to do it, and that the gov't stats are conservative, at best. Puttin out less than truthful information isn't gonna help our country recover. I get that it's a spin to create hope. I use hope in my work all the time. It's a wonderful thing. But in this case, it will have devastating effects, in terms of allowing the rest of the country to put it behind them as soon as possible or to naysay it or deny it or whateva.

[squids]

Oh, and chants out to Jen who's in our area too......jes hopin it can somehow stay our way and not drift ova to Florida or anywhere else. And no storms. Please.

[mazz]

I'm incredibly bummed about this whole thing and the way it's gone down since the leak started. It seems the past few years the strategy of politicians of all stripes has been "If I say it loud enough and often enough, without letting anyone else talk, it becomes the truth". The media seems to have adopted this as well and the "pop" media, i.e., TV news, cable, etc., doesn't seem to have much curiosity to dig for the truth above and beyond what the talking heads that happen to agree with them say.

None of this changes the reality that an environmental disaster the likes of which we may have never seen before is upon us. I'm so sad for the folks that rely on the sea for their livelihood, not to mention the wildlife that will needlessly perish.

I live in California and we live and die by the internal combustion engine here. Try to find a halfway decent public transportation system in California that isn't competing with tons of cars, all with one person in them. Let's face it, we're addicted to our cars and what alternative do we have? I propose that we all choose to leave our car parked at least one day a month and stay home or walk somewhere. Of course, this won't be possible for everyone, but everyone who can, do a day without driving and let's see if in some small way we can reduce our dependence on oil just a little bit.

My heart goes out to everyone affected by this directly and a reminder that something like this affects every person on the planet in some way, maybe not apparent in this moment.

Peace.

Mazz

[fusilierb]

Oh, and chants out to Jen who's in our area too......jes hopin it can somehow stay our way and not drift ova to Florida or anywhere else. And no storms. Please.

I'm afraid that the news is gonna get a lot worse before it gets better on this one. It just hit Dauphin Island today and is moving towards Florida. Louisiana's already been taking on oil for three weeks now. The storms are going to be very active this year, which is going to complicate the relief well, to say the very least. There is never a good time for a catastrophe, but we were finally really starting to rebound from Katrina here, so the timing is especially depressing.

Keep your head high. Keep being mad. And keep fighting. Once they finally figure out how to stop this damned thing, we'll do whatever we have to to clean up our shores. I just hope that the wildlife is as resilient as the people are. The two are extremely interdependent in my state. This is one for the record books. It's gonna be a long slow road to recover from this, both ecologically and economically and mentally and emotionally.

We have to, as a species, get serious about alternative energy or we're going to destroy everything that sustains us on this planet.

B

[Len911]

I was the one that made comments about distortions in the media. It wasn't for the reasons given. It certainly wasn't to steal the limelight away from anyone, and those who live in the gulf coast have my sympathies and pities. I am not an apologist for big corporations, or big government, I certainly have my issues with them. Just because I can still laugh and maintain a sense of humor in light of the tragedies doesn't distract from their significance. I don't worship greed over life, and I don't know how much of that greed finances a living for those many families whose livelihood depends on the petroleum industry in the gulf states. I suppose it is up to the people living in the gulf states whether or not they wish to turn off the switch to the petroleum industry and turn them into a wildlife refuge, or just how they wish to balance the situation, it doesn't hurt my feelings, and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if we just bought more oil from Canada, Iran or whomever, I don't have any profits to be made or lost. I agree with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I do accept the fact that accidents happen, and unfortunately in a litigious society, someone has to be blamed in order for someone to compensate someone for damages they incur. I agree I have a big mouth and sometimes instead of commenting
I should probably send flowers and a card,lol, and if I have personally attacked someone, I sincerely apologize, that was never any intention of mine, and tact is a virtue that will probably for ever evade me!!LOL!!

[ernstinen]

Now, don't laugh at me for this: I just finished a novel about how insects and dolphins team up to warn mankind about ecological disasters just like this! Obviously it's a fantasy, but the politics go to the heart of the problem: If WE don't clean up our act, Mother Nature WILL! The whiteflies talk to the dolphins and porpoises telepathically, and the key dolphin talks to a human language-expert in "dolphin-ese," if you will, telling her that if we don't get our sh!t together, the other species on the planet will take action to make sure that we DO! Maybe it's not such a fantasy after all --- we'll see. --- It's also a parody on the short-sightedness of government and the greed of corporations.

Please don't steal my idea --- it's copyrighted, thanks to the U.S. government!

Ern

[mojobone]

I was the one that made comments about distortions in the media. It wasn't for the reasons given. It certainly wasn't to steal the limelight away from anyone, and those who live in the gulf coast have my sympathies and pities. I am not an apologist for big corporations, or big government, I certainly have my issues with them. Just because I can still laugh and maintain a sense of humor in light of the tragedies doesn't distract from their significance. I don't worship greed over life, and I don't know how much of that greed finances a living for those many families whose livelihood depends on the petroleum industry in the gulf states. I suppose it is up to the people living in the gulf states whether or not they wish to turn off the switch to the petroleum industry and turn them into a wildlife refuge, or just how they wish to balance the situation, it doesn't hurt my feelings, and it wouldn't hurt my feelings if we just bought more oil from Canada, Iran or whomever, I don't have any profits to be made or lost. I agree with the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. I do accept the fact that accidents happen, and unfortunately in a litigious society, someone has to be blamed in order for someone to compensate someone for damages they incur. I agree I have a big mouth and sometimes instead of commenting
I should probably send flowers and a card,lol, and if I have personally attacked someone, I sincerely apologize, that was never any intention of mine, and tact is a virtue that will probably for ever evade me!!LOL!!

I'm feelin' ya, there, Len; I'm sure we all can appreciate the clarification-I'm the sort that's given to uncontrollable giggling at funerals, myself. Anger is like the haft of a knife that burns the hand holding it. They say that pain is fear leaving the body; I say laughter is anger leaving the soul.