"I don't think I'm overstating the case by saying this is America's Chernobyl." —Louie Miller, Mississippi state director, Sierra Club, at a news conference on May 1, 2010, in Gulfport, Mississippi.
Not overstating it? Indeed!
But, unless you live on the Gulf Coast, as does my extended family, unless you know people who will lose everything because their livelihood. in fact, the economy of the whole regions already deeply depressed by the aftermath of Katrina, is completely dependent on the health of the Gulf of Mexico, this is just a minor little setback in the United State's intoxicated love affair with oil consumption and war above all else.
God forbid we should have policy that takes care of people and the environment in which we live! That ain't Amurrrrican! That ain't for the real Amurrrrica.
- The extremist right wing nut jobs are blaming this on Obama?! (Now who was it that said, "Drill baby, drill!"????)
- BP assured everyone this would never happen, but if it did, they had plans to immediately correct it. Now they admit to being clueless about what to do as this well pumps tons of oil into the Gulf every day!
- If this disaster doesn't rewrite America's policy on off shore drilling, we are a hopeless and disgusting lot.
- Record oil profits. Record oil profits. Record oil profits. What do we do now?
- This is yet another catastrophic result of a nation's government owned by corporate greed.
I mourn the death of the pristine beauty of the Gulf Coast on which I grew up: the sugar white sands, the beaches littered with sea shells and crabs, the clearest water in the world in which you could watch little seahorses and starfish swim, dolphins play, and routinely see huge sea turtles and giant manta rays swimming in the wild.
Gone, now. Probably forever so bubbah can drive his Hummer and Ms. Thing can sip her bottled water shipped all the way from Fiji. Am I angry? You're damned right I am! Where's the righteous indignation over taking care of people and the beauty of God's creation?! Instead, we just want to kick some terrorist butt so we can guzzle some more oil.
And where is Dick Cheney today? Talking to King Abdullah in Saudi Arabia? Trying to line his purse with more oil money no doubt? Now isn't he just the clever one. Dick never misses an opportunity!
Our reckless, live-for-the-moment, greedy, consumptive lifestyle in this nation will inevitably kill us all. But what matters most is that some people will get very wealthy in the process.
Related articles:
- Sierra Club Director Calls Oil Spill America's Chernobyl (shoppingblog.com)
- BP Rests Oil Clean-Up Hopes On New System (news.sky.com)
- Watch-and-wait game continues for Gulf Coast residents (cnn.com)
- Some Still Call for Drilling as Oil Approaches Gulf Coast (redstateprogressive.com)
- Bob Ostertag: The New York Times, Astroturf, and the Gulf of Mexico (huffingtonpost.com)
- "BP Says It Will Pay Oil Spill Cleanup Costs" and related posts (newsone.com)
- Images: Massive oil spill imperils Gulf Coast (news.cnet.com)
- GULF COAST OIL SPILL: Wildlife, fishing could be destroyed (economy4abc.blogspot.com)
- 10 Things You Can Do to Help the Gulf Coast Clean the Oil Spill (usnews.com)
- Senator: 'BP says it'll pay for this mess. Baloney.' (cnn.com)
- Another Week at Least of Unabated Gulf Oil Geyser (abcnews.go.com)
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