See other Editorial Articles
Title: “The oil is creeping towards my home in Alabama as I write this, and it is breaking my heart.”
Source:
[None]
URL Source: [None]
Published: May 12, 2010
Author: bh
Post Date: 2010-05-12 20:44:06 by tom007
Keywords: None
Views: 10097
Comments: 85
“The oil is creeping towards my home in Alabama as I write this, and it is breaking my heart.” Published by ash_anderson, May 12th, 2010 Climate Justice , Climate Policy , Climate Science , Climate and Forestry , Corporate Responsibility , Corruption , Dirty Energy , Extraction , Government , Impacted Communities , Oceans , Oil , global warming 1 Comment Brinkley Hutchings, Greenpeace Student Network activist, at home on the Alabama coast -- directly in the path of the fast-approaching spill. From Brinkley Hutching’s blog, a post entitled A Local’s Account of the Deepwater Disaster. She filmed an astonishing video from her fathers aircraft, as they flew from their home to the source of the spill and back. See below. She is also the Greenpeace Campus Coordinator at University of North Carolina-Wilmington. itsgettinghotinhere.files...r-lighter.jpg?w=357&h=382 I grew up in one of the most beautiful places. Montrose, Alabama. My family lives on Mobile Bay, and I spent my childhood exploring the many bays, rivers, streams and creeks near my home. Starting at age 7, I would spend whole days exploring the local waters and shorelines with my little 13 foot boat. What existed naturally in my own backyard was truly utopian. Now, all the beautiful trees, wildlife and pristine waters, all will see the thick black and red oil within these next days. It brings a deeper ache than I can express. As I flew out to the spill last Friday with my father (he’s a pilot), I wasn’t prepared for what I was going to witness. Here are some notes I took during the flight as we approached the source of this disaster: “We are starting to smell oil…the pungent smell burns my nostrils and I feel nauseated to the core of my being….oh my God…red streaks of oil are everywhere…thick black near the well…it is crude oil and it stretches as far as I can see…I am sick…I can’t feel my own body or distinguish any of my feelings right now… this is the worst and most saddening situation I have ever seen in my life…The boats are randomly skewn about, and they are so disorganized! The cleanup efforts look completely haphazard and ineffective. It is utter chaos down there! Boats randomly placed, pulling booms that are simply swirling the oil around in circles! I really don’t feel alive right now…this is a horrible dream…why the heck didn’t BP have to have a plan in place for a disaster like this?!” It was so much worse than I could have ever imagined and not even close to what the media has been portraying. I couldn’t even take it all in. I saw miles and miles of crude oil pouring from the Earth’s core to the ocean’s surface, red as blood, where it then proceeded to move eerily and ominously with the current toward my home. Before I even registered sadness, tears poured down my face. My entire body cried. I felt so helpless looking down at that uncontainable and chaotic mess. I will never be able to clear that picture from my mind. This disaster could have been prevented, yet it wasn’t due to BP’s own negligence and a weak national energy policy. What’s outrageous is that BP is doing everything they can to avoid assuming responsibility for this spill. How dare they try and sidestep responsibility for the worst disaster in the Gulf’s history?!?!?! Over 4 million gallons of crude oil are destroying the Gulf coast and innumerable wildlife habitats while also crippling local economies – this is destroying my home.The time of giveaways and loose regulation of the oil industry must end. I hope with all my heart that this disaster will be a huge wakeup call. Things must change. We must all work to lessen our dependence on fossil fuels and be involved in a clean energy revolution. Congress needs to ban offshore drilling and President Obama needs to provide unwavering support to end offshore drilling. Please talk to your friends. Talk to your neighbors. Start organizing yourselves. Become involved with these serious issues we are facing. If we continue on our current path of carelessly extracting fossil fuels like oil and coal, rather than harnessing clean, renewable energy like wind power, we will see many more tragedies like the BP oil spill. From the disaster zone, Brinkley Hutchings Still photos taken during the flight Possibly related posts: (automatically generated) * Oil continues to dump into the Gulf * National Day of Action, Night of Mourning Against Offshore Drilling. Friday… * My Op-Ed on the Offshore Drilling Disaster * Powering Our Future
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: tom007 (#0)
Well, Brink, I suggest you get use it, life is a bitch, as you will find out. Thru ones life, everyone pays at some time for the mistakes of others.
Lets give this a few months and head down South to scoop up some cheap beach front property. It can't be worse than "Tar Beach" (the rooftops of the buildings we lived in in Brooklyn.)
You didnt mention the girls that use to sunbathe nekkid on the rooftops???? How come??? You had binoculars.
Put out the hay and the hair absorption devices and stop the mess. I don't know how to get this information to the jackasses in charge. Please help, if you can.
deleted
The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. "You've got to put right and wrong above legal and illegal. Because when tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty; and it is not rebellion at all, it is submission to the higher law that our government is in rebellion to. We're not the rebels, they're the rebels."
Lod, relax. The Kenyan has it covered.
They should seal the well closed with a nuke or similar magnitude blast under the sea floor. They should have started working on that immediately as a last resort in case the well wasn't contained by the time the nuke was ready to go off.
deleted
The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. "You've got to put right and wrong above legal and illegal. Because when tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty; and it is not rebellion at all, it is submission to the higher law that our government is in rebellion to. We're not the rebels, they're the rebels."
Slick, in the WH, is a classic, Grade A asshole. And did I mention an empty suit?
deleted
The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. "You've got to put right and wrong above legal and illegal. Because when tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty; and it is not rebellion at all, it is submission to the higher law that our government is in rebellion to. We're not the rebels, they're the rebels."
He is to Gulf oil as Bush was to Katrina
What? Is the first family going down there and bob their nappy locks into the spill? Or what? We be needing all their ancestors back to Kunta Kentay to mop up this mess.
BP fails to cap well, and oil is heading to the Straits of Florida
A newscaster was all over this.
"Satan / Cheney in "08" Lod... You appear to have little faith in our government and Obumski in particular. All such events and affairs such as this oil spill are covered in Harvard law school. So sit back and relax, El Presidente has everything under control. Thats why Harvard law school is so great, they have secret books that deal with oil spills and such.
What makes you or anyone think that such an event would "seal" it closed?
"Sarah "Kiss my Torah" Palin" -- Jethro Tull, circa 2010-04-14
I wish that we could mock, and ridicule, those cretins out of office.
That cannot be done as we no longer have freedom of speech. It will take blood to revive the tree of freedom.
I only wish that I could disagree with you.
Kruschev was correct, "We will take you down FROM WITHIN".
Well, 5 miles of seafloor has apparently been doing a pretty good sealing job for quite some time, and last I checked, steel piping didn't stand up to well to nuclear blasts, so.... Get rid of that pipe, and physics takes care of the rest.
Nikita seems to have it correct.
His real name was ...PEARLMUTTER... His son and his grand daughter are both college professors in New York city. Does that scare you?
this spill is a pretty good deal, actually. in the best of all possible neocon worlds, the spill will eventually come ashore and cause lots of cleanup jobs, and the cost of those cleanup jobs will bankrupt BP, and exxon and its neocon allies at the AEI can buy BP at firesale prices. then there's the public relations aspect ---after all, we're an empire now, and we create our own reality... so, we want to ban drilling in US territory and make the US more dependent on oil coming from israel's neck of the woods... which will justify, covertly or not, expanding the wars to acquire oil from the oil patch in israel's neck of the woods, wars which will serve to enhance, whether anyone's willing to admit it or not, israel's security. it's all good... especially in view of the fact that the gulf of mexico has been drilled to death and there just isnt much oil out there... it's mostly gas. all this monkey motion, and we're still only getting 1.3 million barrels of oil a day from gomex... while we're burning 19 million barrels a day.
Four million gallons is a drop in the bucket when you are talking about the Gulf of Mexico. Not to say it won't kill some fish and birds but to think that four million gallons is going to destroy the Gulf of Mexico is foolish. Now if she is talking about that much a day or something like that, then yes, that could be very serious. But oil seeps into the ocean all the time and it is broken up by natural processes. I suspect this one will be too.
Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end. what, nobody has come up with 'this is obamas tarbaby' or similarly inappropriate remark fuck. lets get it together people, that was a gimme.
'It is better to have less thunder in the mouth and more lightning in the hand.' - Apache proverb
Is the first family going down there and bob their nappy locks into the spill? Or what? We be needing all their ancestors back to Kunta Kentay to mop up this mess. LOL! Good one, Lod.
Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end. ...which explains why the mass media has to hype this event with 25,000 stories a day (according to google headlines) as the spill operation was just getting cranked up. we know whose side the mass media is on, dont we? ...as they continue their attempts to expand the wars to iran...
Because those who own BP, own the media.
There is some truth to that. However, there WILL be damage. Unfortunate for the people, plants and animals of the Gulf. Not so unfortunate for BP.
A likely moniker.
I rise in great respect for the courage and high ideals of Rosa Parks who stood steadfastly for the rights of individuals against unjust laws and oppressive governmental policies. -- Ron Paul
I said there would be. Some fish will die and some birds will die and that is unfortunate. But four million gallons is not a lot when you consider the amount of water in the Gulf of Mexico. 1 cubic mile = 1 101 117 147 400 gallon [US, liquid] source: http://www.onlineconversion.com/volume.htm I don't know how many cubic miles there are in the Gulf of Mexico but look at how many gallons are in just one cubic mile. As I said, four million gallons in the Gulf of Mexico is literally a drop in the bucket.
Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end.
he who wants bread is the servant of the man that will feed him, if a man thus feeds a whole people, they are under his control.
this "nuke the spill" tactic ought to be great for terrorizing people into shutting down drilling offshore, dont you think? nobody in their right mind thinks it's a good idea to actually do it, but at least floating the idea is a useful scare tactic... good to see you're so plugged in.
Well, oil is lighter than water, of course. Might be fairer to figure how thick the oil would be spread over the surface of the GoM. GoM area: 579153 sq miles 1 sq Mile: 5280 * 5280 sq feet My calc show it would come to about 1/10,000th of a cubic inch per square foot. which indeed seems miniscule. Of course that's spread out over the whole GoM which this isn't. The current will take it to isolated places. I supposed the Valdez was much worse for the spill being very close to shore. Maybe this won't be that bad.
Yes, but the oil will only be on the surface, so the volume of water doesn't matter, the area does.
Because all of the people working on controlling the oil leak will die - as they are at the center of the oil spill.
Video of spill from the air: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=did-S6XbpMM&feature=player_embedded#!
for the first time in his environmental career, he feels hopeless.
Because all of the people working on controlling the oil leak will die - as they are at the center of the oil spill. They could move all the people far out of the way, light the oil on fire, let it burn off and then all the people could return.
we know whose side the mass media is on, dont we? ...as they continue their attempts to expand the wars to iran... The media makes a big ado over nothing in order to divert the people's minds from what is really important. It will be a bad fishing season for a few thousand people, but compared to 100 million, that is nothing. 10,000 people will stay away which hurts the local economies but others will come just to see it which will help the local economies. It takes time, but the oil desolves in ocean water, the bacteria will eat it, and the hot summer sun will evaporate it. In any event, a few months after the oil spill stops, there will not be a trace. Then the media will hype the sex life of some movie star to keep our minds occupied on what is not important.
Comments (42 - 85) not displayed.
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#2. To: Cynicom (#1)
#3. To: Jethro Tull, All (#2)
It can't be worse than "Tar Beach" (the rooftops of the buildings we lived in in Brooklyn.)
#4. To: tom007 (#0)
#5. To: tom007 (#0)
#6. To: Lod (#4)
#7. To: tom007 (#0)
#8. To: Jethro Tull (#2)
#9. To: Eric Stratton (#8)
Seriously though, why haven't they set the shit on fire?
#10. To: Jethro Tull (#9)
#11. To: Eric Stratton (#10)
#12. To: Jethro Tull (#6)
Lod, relax. The Kenyan has it covered.
#13. To: Lod (#12)
#14. To: Pinguinite (#7)
hey should seal the well closed with a nuke or similar magnitude blast under the sea floor. They should have started working on that immediately as a last resort in case the well wasn't contained by the time the nuke was ready to go off.
#15. To: Lod (#12)
#16. To: Pinguinite (#7)
They should seal the well closed with a nuke or similar magnitude blast under the sea floor.
#17. To: Cynicom (#15)
#18. To: Lod (#17)
I wish that we could mock, and ridicule, those cretins out of office.
#19. To: Cynicom (#18)
#20. To: Lod (#19)
I only wish that I could disagree with you.
#21. To: buckeroo (#16)
What makes you or anyone think that such an event would "seal" it closed?
#22. To: Cynicom (#20)
#23. To: Lod (#22)
Nikita seems to have it correct.
#24. To: tom007 (#0)
(Edited)
#25. To: tom007 (#0)
Over 4 million gallons of crude oil are destroying the Gulf coast and innumerable wildlife habitats while also crippling local economies – this is destroying my home.The time of giveaways and loose regulation of the oil industry must end.
Lord Acton
#26. To: Jethro Tull (#6)
#27. To: Lod (#12)
What?
Lord Acton
#28. To: James Deffenbach (#25)
(Edited)
Four million gallons is a drop in the bucket...
#29. To: tom007 (#0)
It was so much worse than I could have ever imagined and not even close to what the media has been portraying.
“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it is never gone.” ~ Rose F. Kennedy
#30. To: James Deffenbach, all (#25)
Four million gallons is a drop in the bucket when you are talking about the Gulf of Mexico. Not to say it won't kill some fish and birds but to think that four million gallons is going to destroy the Gulf of Mexico is foolish. Now if she is talking about that much a day or something like that, then yes, that could be very serious. But oil seeps into the ocean all the time and it is broken up by natural processes. I suspect this one will be too.
“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it is never gone.” ~ Rose F. Kennedy
#31. To: tom007 (#0)
Brinkley Hutchings
#32. To: wudidiz (#30)
However, there WILL be damage.
Lord Acton
#33. To: Pinguinite (#7)
#34. To: DeaconBenjamin (#33)
(Edited)
"nuke the oil spill"
#35. To: James Deffenbach (#32)
#36. To: James Deffenbach (#32)
“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it is never gone.” ~ Rose F. Kennedy
#37. To: Eric Stratton (#8)
Seriously though, why haven't they set the shit on fire?
#38. To: James Deffenbach (#25)
#39. To: ratcat (#38)
#40. To: ratcat, Eric Stratton (#37)
Seriously though, why haven't they set the shit on fire?
“It has been said, 'time heals all wounds.' I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens, but it is never gone.” ~ Rose F. Kennedy
#41. To: groundresonance (#28)
...which explains why the mass media has to hype this event with 25,000 stories a day (according to google headlines) as the spill operation was just getting cranked up.
.
.
.
