We know, at least intellectually, that that oil is a limited resource, yet we continue to extract and use it at increasing rates and with apparently decreasing care. The great scandal of this disaster is the one related to all kinds of “commons,” resources held by the whole community. Like tropical forests in Madagascar and Brazil, and the gold and silver deposits of the American West, “commons” have in human history too often been greedily exploited by a few, with the aftermath left for others to deal with, or suffer with.
Yet the reality is that this disaster just may show us as a nation how interconnected we really are. The waste of this oil — both its unusability and the mess it is making — will be visited on all of us, for years and even generations to come. The hydrocarbons in those coastal marshes and at the base of the food chain leading to marketable seafood resources will taint us all, eventually. That oil is already frightening away vacationers who form the economic base for countless coastal communities, whose livelihoods have something to do with the economic health of this nation. The workers in those communities, even when they have employment, are some of the poorest among us. That oil will move beyond the immediate environs of a broken wellhead, spreading around the coasts of Florida and northward along the east coast of the U.S. That oil will foul the coastal marshes that also constitute a major nursery for coastal fauna, again a vital part of the food chain. That oil will further stress and poison the coral reefs of Florida, already much endangered from warming and ocean acidification. Those reefs have historically provided significant storm protection to the coastal communities behind them.
What’s the point of this essay? KJS’s opening sentence: [blockquote]The original peoples of the North American continent understand that we are all connected, and that harm to one part of the sacred circle of life harms the whole. [/blockquote]
Nice to know the original peoples understand that and she doesn’t.
This article points out the damage the oil spill is doing and will do, but it doesn’t offer any solutions or suggestions other than we all are interconnected. It doesn’t suggest accountability. Again, what’s the point of this essay?
What blather. The hydrocarbons in that oil are the same hydrocarbons that form the basis of life on this planet. I have read letters to the editor in our Mississippi coast newspaper screaming about the oil man is polluting into the Gulf. ….What? The oil is just as naturally a part of the earth as the salt water in the Gulf. In fact it leaks into the Gulf all the time. I can remember as a little kid finding tar balls on the beach. What many folks don’t realize is that the hydrocarbons derived from oil go into every product we use, consume, or wear.
Now this is a very serious ACCIDENT, no doubt about that at all. And accidents are part of the human existence. We will learn from this and do better the next time. If the wacko extremist environmentalists would let us drill on land or in shallow water, this particular accident would have been solved in hours or days rather than weeks.
And the President’s ban on offshore drilling will not have one bit of effect on Mexico, Brazil, or China who are also out in the Gulf drilling. This would be like a moratorium on driving because there was a rushhour auto accident.
One more point….we agonize for days over coal miners trapped in a mine(and we should). But have you heard more than just a peep about the 11 workers killed in the rig blast? All resource extraction is a dirty and dangerous business. Remember, the response to the oil rig explosion for the first few days was just trying to determine if those 11 were still alive or not.
Absurd hypocrisy from one who has acted so unilaterally to wreck a Christian Communion.
I think there are other lessons that scripture identifies.
Believing that any institution is above sin is a bad idea. As shown, BP could not be trusted, and took advantage of policies that made government the handmaiden of capital rather than holding institutions accountable for their actions.
She might also actually demand that people be held accountable. That would be interesting. She might also recognize that a good part of the US economy is going to be destroyed and speculate about who will pay for it.
She could do so without blaming anyone, but holding everyone accountable.
Oh, I dunno. Odd isn’t it, that here she is talking about something she knows something about. And it turns out she doesn’t seem to know much that is instructive about even this. Where is the Holy Spirit when you need Him? Sakes. Larry