The Gulf Oil Spill is by far the most horrible environmental disaster I could ever imagine. Having spent almost my entire life in South Florida and the Caribbean I am bonded to the oceans of our world in a way I can barely explain. Some of my earliest memories from childhood are of my days swimming the warm waters of the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico anywhere from the beaches of Key West to the coastline of Florida and often many miles offshore in a boat.
My years in Ocala are the furthest I have ever lived from the ocean and I am but 30 to 40 minutes from Daytona Beach if the rivers and lakes around here are not enough to satisfy my need to be around water. To be honest I can’t imagine life without the ocean and the idea we may have now lost the entire Gulf of Mexico and most likely portions of the Caribbean as well has been the most sickening news of my existence. I don’t think that all of the wars since my birth and the devastation they brought to us in a combined effect would be the same as the loss of so much in the Gulf.
For the millions of human lives lost in wars I have far less pain and anguish than I do for the countless millions of marine animals lost in the Gulf Oil Spill at the hand of British Petroleum or BP as they are known. When we humans pick up arms and kill each other it is sick but self inflicted but when we humans kill nature and destroy so much wildlife is is far sicker. There is no amount of money that can replace what has been lost to all of us already in this oil spill and the potential loss of life is absolutely staggering when you consider this hole in the ground is still spewing unknown amounts of deadly poisons into the ocean and it could continue to do so for months.
Mark my words this is not over and sadly I feel it has only just begun. Even if they plugged the hole today where do you think all of this oil will end up? Do you suppose they will be able to clean it up or is it but a matter of time before it breaks up and floats all over the world? Everyone from Florida to Texas is worried about their coastline because they can see the oil on the horizon but in my opinion countries as far as Cuba and even Jamaica should be making plans for how to deal with the oil spill clean up because it is inevitable that it will reach these poorer less developed nations that lack clean up technology and equipment.
If Jamaica thinks things are bad now wait for the day when the white sands of Negril are covered in black tar balls and you will then see what real economic destruction is. The entire Caribbean relies on the crystal clear waters and clean sandy beaches and when this pollution reaches the shores of these countries where do you think tourists will go? The Bahamas will most likely be safe for quite some time but inevitably they too will have tar balls from the Gulf Oil Spill. There is no way around it, this oil spill clean up will absolutely never clean up all of the oil and it will gunk up the beaches of the South East United States, Mexico, the entire Caribbean and part of Central and South America as well.
Dead birds, fish and marine mammals have begun to was ashore and the death toll looks to be far worse than anyone of us could imagine. When Exxon Valdez struck the one saving grace was the total volume of oil was capped at the ships capacity but the Gulf Oil Spill knows no boundaries and could potentially spew for as long as 90 days in total. The wildlife in Alaska suffered greatly but there was an end in sight and although the loss of life was incredible they were able to save a large number of animals. It seems this time around the animals are showing up dead and there have been far fewer rescues at this point. Alaska is a sensitive region and the loss of any life is sad but the fragile nature of the coastal wetlands and their vital importance to the seafood chain is what makes this such a more devastating disaster. The Wall Street Journal law blog wrote about the rights of animals affected by the Gulf Oil Spill and basically the poor lowly creatures have no rights and there is no retribution legally for humans who commit crimes against nature.
British Petroleum has been lying about the total amount of oil spilled and continues to try to protect themselves and their shareholders to the point that they have angered the White House. What exactly that means is a unknown but apparently the government is now upset over what has happened. With the cozy relationship the oil companies have with government officials we all know that no one will actually get in trouble over this and at worst it will cost a few billion in lost profits which they can easily make up next year.
The only way we can make them pay is to Boycott BP Oil and ban them from offshore drilling in America. These people are obviously not capable of managing their offshore operations and their total lack of planning and preparation has been much of the problem. I have made a personal commitment to not only Boycott BP but I will also make a concerted effort to cut back on our fuel consumption in any way possible. As American we all share some responsibility for this disaster with our insatiable appetite for oil and petroleum products. I pulled into a BP gas station a few days back and realized I don’t want to spend my money with those people and the thought actually crossed my mind to pickup a can of oil from the rack nearby and spill it out on the floor of their retail store. What could they do? Arrest me for spilling a quart of oil?
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