The Planet is Bleeding

The planet is bleeding. The Gulf of Mexico, where oil is gushing out as if from a severed vein, is the site of a hideous wound. We wonder if the Gulf and even the planet itself can fully recover. The images of birds weighted down with brown syrupy oil, the aerial shots of the discolored, thickened water along Louisiana, Florida, and the rest--visions of a summer sci-fi movie, a blockbuster disaster flick. If only that's all it was. . . There is only one good that can come out of this. And that is an awareness so strong, a concerted effort so indelible that we finally focus our attention, our resources, and everything we've got on finding an alternative for our addiction to oil. Because it is an addiction--and it's something that with patience, resourcefulness, and resolution, we can overcome. But it must happen before it's too late, before the Gulf spill is our final epitaph. The plight of the animals is perhaps the most heartbreaking, because they are innocents trapped in it all. We have plundered their world, selfishly attacked their homeland as if we were at war. Perhaps we have been. The animals rely on us for a clean and safe habitat. They are not aware of this, although perhaps some of them are. Our planet is in jeopardy. We are bleeding. BP is trying to find the way to apply the tourniquet so that it will stop the bleeding--a condition the company caused through negligence and greed. But even now--a 'limb' is sacrificed. How many limbs before the entire body dies?

oil spill

the recent spill in california, and another in russia's black sea. across the world and yet only days apart. From the Hindustan Times: "greed and carelessness" say enivornmental experts about the tragedy in russia". . . "may be the worst environmental calamity since the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986." "Nobody thinks about safety in Russia," says Vladimir Slivyak, director of Ecodefence, a Russian environmental watchdog. "Everyone thinks about money."

and what about the one in california? "human error." that's the word so far.

for me, the saddest thing of all is the animals caught unaware. innocent victims of technology--yet another instance of our assault on the environment. oil, and the need for it, our collective greed in craving it--all things that make no sense in a world so fragile and beautiful. the animals have no understanding of what happened to them. the birds and sea creatures don't question why. they are not angry with anyone. they simply seek to survive. it's in their nature. just like us. but we've attacked them without cause. like the war in iraq. these oil-soaked birds who seek refuge on the shore are like the children of iraq. fledgling creatures who don't recognize the concept of hate or greed, who value life without even knowing why. i cry for them. my heart is broken.