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Like everyone else I know, I watched the tragedy that is the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico with feelings of horror and helplessness. America's Gulf Coast, and New Orleans in particular, have had more than their share of disasters over the last few years. It has been bad enough when they've been natural like the devastating hurricane Katrina (pictured above), and there's absolutely no way to stop it--even if there had been a way to prevent many of the dire consequences that destroyed and paralyzed this great Southern city. But when they're man-made--like this oil spill--there is positively no excuse.
I occasionally write about our oceans because of my love for them and the danger they're in--and because piggish humankind is raping them. We are knowingly and with vigor destroying the quality of our water and the wildlife within it for greedy motives, nothing more and nothing less. The conservation of the planet and the future of their children and grandchildren are of no concern to those who use their mighty resources to this end.
As my regular readers know, I'm an admirer of Ted: Ideas worth spreading. When I watched this talk about the Gulf oil spill by Carl Safina,
whose "writing explores the scientific, moral and social dimensions of our relationship with nature," and here gives us a clear picture about the consequences that will stretch far beyond the Gulf, I felt it was important for me to pass this along. Even if you are oil spill fatigued, it's worth 20 minutes of your time to watch it.
Mr. Safina, my dear readers, has balls, which are hard to find in the political arenas where regulating the big business that makes rich corporations richer regularly loses out to the continued ruination of our seas, streams, forests, wetlands, and wildlife.
---Beth Arnold in Paris
