this is not a happy fun post.

[lagilman]

Cherie Priest talks about Oil. If you've not thought about the BP spill, for whatever reason, if you're in denial about what's going on, or if you think the media is indulging in 'hysteria,' go read this. Hell, read it anyway.

There are moments when I wonder if maybe we've used up our last chances and it's time to let another species have its go. The ocean isn't called 'the womb of life' just for the poetry of it -- and we've done our damndest to kill it.


[Fair warning: here and now is not the time to defend anyone involved with this spill or offshore drilling entire. Unlike politics or religion, I do not believe there are shades of gray here: arrogance and corporate greed have brought us to this point, via deregulation, shoddy oversight, and rampant cost-cutting to impress the shareholders. Are you impressed?]

EtA: and, of coruse, there's BP CEO Tony Hayward's now-infamous quote: "I want my life back."
Dude? You get your life back when everything else is replaced, like shoreline and deep sea animals and fishes. Not before. That's what being CEO REALLY means, not the high paycheck and the perks.

Comments

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

We used to have 100 shares of BP in the retirement account. No, I was not impressed. Cost/benefit analysis on corporate decisions was not favorable.

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

The whole thing sickens me to the degree I can't even clearly think about it. And I am as clearly guilty as anyone else.

It's one factor in me working toward giving up the position I love...because there truly is no alternative to driving an 80 mile round trip for me to do it. No mass transit, no chance to move closer (just means other members of the family will need to drive that far). I ache because it also means leaving kids I've supported...but what else can I do?

[ceosanna.livejournal.com]

"The whole thing sickens me to the degree I can't even clearly think about it."

Yes, this.

[lagilman]

Is there any rideshare possibilities?

(we need to rethink the bus services in this country, so that they're actually useful, rather than being last-resort. Unfortunately, which comes first, the improved ridership, or the budget to make it so? I'd love to see some oil company donate their profits to the overhaul of a mass transit system, even if we traded them concession rights for that system for a year or three to make it so)

[joycemocha.livejournal.com]

Nope. No rideshare possibilities. Last year I carpooled with the school secretary, but this year our schedules don't coincide. Anyone else I might carpool with without going way out of the way and not saving gas has a different schedule.

This job is 20 miles up the mountain from the nearest incorporated city with any sort of mass transit. There's a mini bus that runs 3 times a day, but the times are all wrong for my work, even if I only drove out to Sandy and then caught the Mountain Express. It's unlikely the area would ever benefit from a more developed mass transit system, as most of the locals who live and work around there do stuff like nursery work, hauling, construction and the like. It's also unlikely to develop the density for a more intensive mass transit system, due to geography and buildable land.

The school is actually centrally located for the district. Some kids come from the small town on the mountain pass, which is close to four ski areas (two of which are walkable from the town), and others come from the developed area between school and town. Plus there's quite a few who come down from the mountain to the north. To the south is not only wilderness but pretty rugged land with hillsides that like to go touring during winter wet season.

[lagilman]

h, it's tough then, yeah. Sometimes, the best you can do is look for the most fuel-efficient vehicle to get the job done.

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

Agggggggh. Thanks for the link.

I'd kind of stopped paying attention since initially everything I heard about it was partisan wanking. Except for hearing that the oil was spreading into the water supply of the gulf states (http://www.petmd.com/blogs/fullyvetted/2010/may/fur_for_oil) ... I should have thought to the next step, which was that it was unlikely to stop there. :(

[lagilman]

The ocean doesn't respect boundaries, you can't tell it "that was some other state/country's problem, not mine" and expect it to stay out.

Even had this been capped within days, it still would have been a disaster. By now?

[chaoticgoodnik.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I just took a look at a graphic of the Gulf Stream. That thing goes, essentially, everywhere. Not good. :(

Adding this in with the giant trash islands and fishing down the food chain ... one has to wonder how much the ocean can take. :/

[windrose.livejournal.com]

My hometown is on the Gulf of Mexico. When I think about this, it makes me want to scream/cry/throw up.

[deire.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I don't think it matters if we 'should' give another species a chance. Because sometimes I think we already have killed the human future, and what survive won't be us.

[deire.livejournal.com]

He could have his life back if he could bring back the dead. Knowing BP and its corporate culture, the workers on platform were overworked and underpaid in a culture where when something goes wrong you run instead of fixing it, because if you don't someone is waiting to blame and skin you, whether it was your fault or not, and where every corner that costs money gets cut. That permeated the company, and I can't think that it wasn't out there on the ocean too.

[smoemeth.livejournal.com]

What really got me was the link at the end of her post to the video of Gov. Jindal describing how there aren't even any insects buzzing in the marshes. Good gods, when even the *bugs* are gone, you know you are utterly, completely screwed. :(