Big Trouble in the Gulf of Mexico

The second of three parts

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill continues to be a disaster of the first magnitude.  I look at it as connected to all the oil spills all over the world.  Yet it is in and of itself.

The questions and possibilities around this are mind-boggling.  It’s all a bit over-whelming to be sure.   I rarely watch TV News, so I try to get a sense of this through NPR, newspapers, the internet and so on.

Last month I dedicated my 2-page monthly publication The Poetic Express to this disaster.  The SURREAL THEATRE comic strip (above) is excerpted from that.  Then, last night I performed a sort of improvised poetic song-rant BP Blues with the Space Band (one of my musical projects).  I try to “get it out” through my art but it doesn’t seem to help much.

I rarely (never?) put internet petitions in my blogs. This is an exception,  partly because it originated with my friends the U.S. Surrealists and partly because I agree with its sentiments: Charge BP Oil Executives with Eco-Terroism.

I wrote this for my statement in the petition:

“This negligent and careless attack upon the United States of America could have easily been prevented.  Then, once it happened, the severity of its effects could have been greatly reduced.  The reality of the effect that this will have upon our country is truly shocking.  If this isn’t a terrorist act, then what is?  They (and their partners) should face their just penalties to the full extent of the law.”

To conclude this part, here’s a mixed bags of websites of interest.  I think these give some idea of the wide scope and complexity of the challenges which face us.

Wikipedia (interesting overview and links to other websites): 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deepwater_Horizon_oil_spill

NASA! Sometimes this seems too much like “pretty pictures” of something horrible.  A few captions I saw with pictures enhanced this feeling.  Yet, they have an interesting take on the whole disaster, if you’re really trying to keep up with it and understand it.  I often look at Earth as if I’m seeing it from space.  It helps keep it real.

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/oilspill/index.html

Hurricanes and “oil spills” could lead to trouble: 

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127036434

Biodiversity in Peril:

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/05/24/biodiversity-in-peril-the-u-n-warns/

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/04/29/oil.spill.wildlife/?hpt=T1

British Petrolium: 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/05/7-secrets-bp-doesnt-want_n_563102.html

Gov. Jindal scoops thick oil as he tours the marsh of Pass a Loutre, La. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

These photos should enlarge if you click on them and then hit the back button on the browser to return to the post.