So, today is Day 64 of the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of New Mexico. And I am concerned. We are deluged daily thru TV, radio, newspaper and internet on the horrific events and the flailing attempts to stop the flow, rescue the coastal waters and it becomes an arena for helpless hopelessness for those of us that are only able to view the travesty and unable to extend or offer assistance due to distance, personal issues or lack of financial stability due to our own personal economic plights. We are caught up in our own maelstroms of life. So, our coping mechanisms switch on and the lights flash in our brains - "Does not compute!", "Too much information",..."not my problem"... But it is!
I have posted (almost daily) on facebook and twitter tidbits of information on this oilspill that I think go unnoticed due to all the repetitive rhetoric proffered by our news providers. They take one aspect and beat it to death. And it results in an apathetic response in the viewer/listener. It becomes, as Seinfeld would express, "yada yada yada".... and because of that we are missing some pertinent information. There is information that needs to be presented to our government representatives and questioned.
I watched the C-Span airing of Tony Hayward's indiffident and arrogant Q & A session and listened to our pontificating representatives asking the same damn questions over and over. The Congress did not seem to have prepared that much and our representatives were borrowing the same questions from one another. But, I wanted to know answers to questions that were never asked. Like, why, back in February when BP realized there were cracks in the seafloor, did they continue to drill? BP knew there were problems back then? And, according to the article on Bloomberg.com, most drilling companies would abandon when such an event would occur because these cracks fill up with natural gas and create the potential for the exact event that occured with this oil rig. One of the "cures" for such events is to force concrete into the cracks. And there is postulating that they may have used the wrong kind of concrete. ??? Shouldn't these people KNOW what kind of concrete should be used in such cases? Exxon closed down an oil well (The Blackbeard) in 2006 when similar issues arose. They were willing to take the loss. But BP was too greedy...the want for money far exceeded their sense of integrity.
And we cannot let our government get by on the fact that they have set such substandard requirements on any offshore oil drilling resulting in a myriad of time bombs sitting in our coastal waters with little or no safety features.
This is not a fluke, not a "once in a lifetime" event. It is a warning of more to come, unless the citizens of this country become proactive and tell their representatives ENOUGH. It does not take long to write your government representatives....you can even find "template" petitions to sign. And, trust me, they are read and responded to. I can attest to this.
And, what about the potential for hurricanes? Think about it. Hurricanes sweep up water from the Gulf and pour it in deluging rains across the lower states (and sometimes the northern states) of the United States. Let's all think about this....what else is going to fall on our lands? OIL!!!! I listened to a caller on C-Span relating how they will have to shut down the electric grid if such a scenario occurs due to the potential from fires if oil coats the electric wires. Why is this not another topic of discussion?
I have to relate another little factoid that seems to fly under the radar with our news agencies.... The potential toxic rain from the chemicals poured on our Gulf waters to disperse the oil. The chemical used is called COREXIT 9500. This chemical has been banned in Europe due to it's long term damages. This chemical is carcinogenic and is toxic at only 2.61 ppm. What is even worse is the molecular transition of this chemical in reaction to warm water (Gulf of Mexico is warm water). The chemical quickly turns into a gas which is evaporated into the clouds and eventually returns to the earth with it's carrier - rain. This toxic rain is INEVITABLE and wherever, whatever it touches - it will be leaving behind carcinogens on farmland, our orchards, reservoirs, animals and people. This is irreversible and it is going to release an untold chain of events on our natural processes in North America. It is something that we can only observe and experience. So, thank you BP for the calamity you have brought us. And, please, contact our government leaders and speak up and speak loudly!!
My sources:
http://www.bloomberg.com/
http://www.examiner.com/
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