Friday, May 28, 2010

We have to do something...

You know, when I was younger, I didn't understand environmentalists or recycle freaks or anything. I was raised not to think about it--not to be concerned with it. And then, as I got older and forged my own opinions based on what I could see with my own eyes, everything changed. This earth and all the life in and on it became a hugely important issue to me.

So, I have to have to have to talk about the oil spill in the Gulf. It's killing me. I mean, I don't know that I've been quite this broken-hearted over something in a long, long time. And I'm not positive why this particular event has me so upset when we live in a world so full of scary, sad things to fret over but, if I had to guess, I would say that it's because this was absolutely preventable, and it was unarguably our fault.

I keep seeing footage of the wrecked Louisiana Wetlands, of brown, oil-laced water that used to be pure and blue, and I keep hearing the ominous warning--it will spread, it will contaminate, it will go on spilling out and out and out for years to come, ruining everything if we don't find a fix, and aside from wanting to cry, this tragedy has me asking a great big WHY? WHY has this happened? How is it that we have the technology to dig in and siphon the blood from the earth, but we haven't thought ahead enough to create some barrier to this kind of disaster in the first place? How was it so easy for this to happen? And why is it just happening now?

I'm praying that our society as a whole can find the heart and the will to change the way we view this planet, its resources and its fragility. Sure, it's appealing to get nice and rich while you're sucking the earth dry. Sure, it's tempting to just ignore what happens around you, so long as you can keep your five cars and your three houses and your damned condo in Hawaii, but, honestly, are you going to enjoy sludging through the oil on your smelly beach, kicking dead fish and birds to the side while you cough on the fumes?

And what about your kids? Does their future count? I'm done with greed fueling the decisions of the power holders in this country. It's time for an overhaul in thought. Policies must change, and we have to consider that our actions have consequences. We cannot just do whatever we want, whenever we want and to what degree we want. We have to learn balance. And the events of the last few weeks are a huge reminder of that.

Love your planet, love yourself!
Jen

1 comment:

Steelers 4 Life!! said...

Sadly Jen in the mainstream world,the news will eventually fade away and thus leave the collective consciousness of people. The thing I am sick of personally is the fingerpointing going on.

It's like two kids in trouble for breaking a vase yelling "He did it, no he did it." This goes for both sides of the political spectrum. Repubs are blaming the feds for not doing enough(talk about irony) and the Dems are blaming BP(and though I hate to admit, they're right in this case).

Regardless, you would think oil companies with their massive profits would have technology in place to fix this disaster.