That horrible, tragic, terrible oil spill
By Karina | May 3, 2010
I have a confession to make. I am having a really hard time facing the fact that there is an ecological disaster of untold proportion unfolding right now in the Gulf of Mexico. Of course I’m referring to the horrible tragic and terrible oil spill from the Deepwater Horizon oil rig. And for days I’ve been just shutting down because the facts of the spill and all of the affected creatures and habitats are just too ugly to face.
At dinner out on Sunday night, however, I found myself telling the 11 year old that the reason why I was bummed I had forgotten my to-go container was because I didn’t want more plastic in the house because plastic made me part of the problem that caused that giant oil spill in the Gulf. So I realized that I should probably talk about this on Tiny Choices, instead of my regularly planned update about the delicious DIY pop tarts I made over the weekend, just to get it out of my subconscious and to force myself to face facts.
So. Because I’m still pretty overwhelmed by the awfulness that this actually happened, let me just do this in bullet points – and I hope that if you have any comments you’ll be really open in the comment section, because I am hoping that talking this out will help me, at least, to figure out where to go from here.
- Of course when something this horrible happens our first response is to jump to dramatic conclusions – like: how on earth can I keep putting gas in my motorcycle and car, knowing that *my demand* is contributing to a culture where off-shore drilling seems totally reasonable and even necessary to some people? (Please see Rachel Maddow’s amazing response via twitter on this point.)
- For that matter, how awful that this spill happened less than a month after Obama gave his executive go-ahead on off-shore drilling! Of course he is now saying that there will have to be better safeguards, but I have to confess (and I love the guy!) that I am scrutinizing his decisions with a distrustful eye, because I am fearful that there was a tiny bit of hesitation on action at the beginning because he didn’t want to show up the oil companies after saying off-shore drilling is a-ok. If you haven’t found it, here’s the transcript from his Sunday visit to LA. And here’s the webpage that USEPA is managing with information about the spill.
- My partner and I agree that we just want to throw up when we read the news about this, which is one of the reasons why I have been ostriching about the problem for several days.
- But even though I’m horrified at what is going on, why is it so hard to find photos and stories about it that are really comprehensible? The NYTimes doesn’t have much up in the form of relatable media, and the best slide show we’ve found has been from the Telegraph – a UK paper.
- Oh my gosh, all the poor fisherpeople. all the fish, and the birds, and for heaven’s sake the oysters. And if anyone dares say to me (not that this happens much but still) that environmentalism and the economy are diametrically opposed in the course of the next week or so, I might kick them in the shins, because this environmental DISASTER is going to cost so many jobs for those who depend on a healthy Gulf ecosystem.
So what can we do, Tiny Choosers? You see, one of the reasons Jenn and I started writing Tiny Choices is because we could see that it was easy to be overwhelmed by the Big Environmental Picture, and to feel helpless and like our personal choices wouldn’t mean anything. I hate to say this, but I kind of feel like that right now. How can I help in the face of such horrific pollution? Should I really try to cut out petro-fuels out of my life (including car, motorcycle, and fuel oil for the heat in the winter) or work harder at conserving fuel and avoiding needless plastics? I want to do MORE, but I don’t want to burn out.
How are you dealing with the oil spill? Are you trying to answer similar questions, and do you feel as woebegone as I do?
[[Photo from flickr user Travis S via creative commons license.]]
Topics: General | 10 Comments »
i wish i had something constructive to say, but i’m empty. looking at that slideshow makes me ill. those are the first images i’ve seen, aside from the platform on fire. just seeing all those birds flying around and not knowing what’s coming…
i keep picturing those oil-absorbent mats made from hair clippings and imagining volunteers floating them out on the ocean.
You mentioned ostriching? I can’t even look at the photos. I’m so upset about this.
We really need to develop viable alternative energy sources and cut frivolous us of oil on things like disposable plastic.
I make my own personal choices greener, and hope to have a ripple effect. I strongly believe that we’re only going to end our destructive ways with policy changes, and so my personal choices only matter if they include calls and emails to my representatives, and money to the right lobbying groups. If I do these things, I feel like maybe we can change our path, and I can make a difference.
But this? What am I supposed to do about this? It makes me sick. And feel so helpless.
Woebegone is a good word to describe it. I feel really guilty for not taking a more activist approach…
It takes one person at a time to do the small things and they do add up.
… if there is any small consolation in this catastrophe, it is that it needed to happen to show -everyone- that this Can happen… and, hopefully, it will spur real change in safety regulations, future decisions, and viewpoints… a small consolation. it’s the only way i can wrap my head around it.
hey! i heard this morning that schwarzenegger is pulling his support for offshore drilling in california!
I just made a post the other day on my blog about ways to help:
http://www.missmalaprop.com/2010/05/gulf-oil-spill-resources-how-you-can-help/
I live in New Orleans, and grew up in Gulfport, Mississippi. I have a lot of friends that want to do what they can immediately. But yes, long term we need better alternative energy sources. The fact that Schwarzenegger and other bigwigs are changing their minds on offshore drilling now is a good thing – hopefully it won’t be all forgotten in a few months though.
Donated hair clippings from salons can help clean up the Gulf Coast oil spill! http://www.matteroftrust.org/
From the website:
“Thousands of salons and groomers mail us hair clippings, swept up off their floors. The fibers are stuffed into nylons to make booms or woven into hair mats. We all know about shampooing our oily hair, but it took Phill McCrory, a stylist from Alabama, to realize that hair was an efficient and abundant material for collecting and containing petroleum spills.”
Bring this flyer to your salon & urge them to participate! http://www.matteroftrust.org/images207/matteroftrust_flyer.pdf
This is a good example of why individual action is just not enough. No matter how hard we personally try to do the right thing and hope that this will positively influence those around us, it will take a long time for this approach to have a substantial effect, time which we just don’t have.
What is needed is collective action. Citizens working together, in an organized and strategic manner, to change the way thing operate on a bigger scale. There are powerful financial and ideological forces at work, fighting to make sure the world keeps operating in its current destructive way. Individual action is not capable of addressing this, particularly in the time frame that we have available.
Our climate is at a crisis point. We either drastically change the way we do things really fast, or we are facing massive, catastrophic suffering. This is an emergency situation, and it demands an emergency response. Join your local climate action group, and if you don’t have one in your area, start one. Such a group can put pressure on your local political representatives, and work within the community to mobilize more people into taking action. We need a mass grassroots movement working to put pressure on the decision-makers, the people who are responsible for allowing things like this oil spill to happen.
Of course we need to start with our own behavior, but I think rather than obsessing over every little detail it is more important to put our energy into the bigger picture.