Monday 31 May 2010

US Oil-spill - tragedy continues

Photo reference: Dead Sea Turtle, courtesy of The Independent.
Information reference: facts quoted courtesy of BBC News on-line.

By now I think we're all aware of the ever-increasing tragedy resulting from one of the world's worst environmental disasters ever.
It's a Bank Holiday in the UK and most of us are fortunate to be enjoying some time relaxing with our families, celebrating the spring weather and getting out and about. Spare a thought as you do so for the myriad of ocean-living creatures that are continuing to perish as a result of the relentless gushing of leaking oil in the Gulf of Mexico.
Media reports state that thousands of gallons of oil are continuing to pump, uncontrolled, into the oceans off America's Gulf Coast every day. According to today's BBC News website at least 20 million gallons have now spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, affecting more than 70 miles (110km) of Louisiana's coastline. At least 12,000 barrels (504,000 gallons) are continuing to leak every day. Despite various attempts to stem the massive leak there has to-date been no success.

Most of us feel so helpless when an environmental disaster such as this occurs - what can we do (if anything) to help the situation? For me there's a feeling of grief at the loss and suffering of all the sea life - mixed with a real frustration at my impotence in being unable to help or really make a difference (and a sense of underlying guilt for being a Homo sapien responsible for the overt consumerism that somehow is at the root of this tragedy).
We are forced to trust that the 'experts' are really doing all that is humanly possible (regardless of associated price-tags) to solve this problem, urgently. Yesterday, University of Alabama engineering professor Philip W Johnson apparently said he was hopeful the new plan to build another dome to cap the leak would succeed; however the oil flow could increase by as much as 20% until the new containment device has been successfully applied over the leak.

Perhaps, if we focus our positive thoughts and prayers towards the Gulf coast today, our combined spiritual energy may somehow help to stem the flow.

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