Today NBC did quite a long story on the oil leak in the Gulf. This entire affair does have me a bit upset as it appears to have many others upset as well. Why has it been a month with no sight to plugging this killer. Why has BP dragging their feet? The President is taking the blame for not plugging this leak yet. However, I think he's put himself in the hot seat to give BP time to figure something out. That's the impression I got anyway. It does appear that there are a lot of folks out there that are using him as an escape goat; too cowardly to own up to their own stupidity and greed. This seems to have been allowed to run rampart for far too long.
It's about 20 years ago, now, we bought a house in the suburbs of Lancaster. It was a cheaply built, but a pretty little house with a bit of property attached. I especially liked this property because of the 100 year old trees that stood in the boundaries. At the time, it was expensive for us, but we thought well worth it.
As settlement day came closer, we were approached by UGI about running a gas line through our property to the development behind us. They would gladly pay us $1,000 for the use of our property. It was tempting until I found out that they would cut down the largest and most beautiful tree on the property as well as most of the other ones. I changed my mind and told them "no". They would simply have to wait for the road to go through. Those trees supported some of the most beautiful and interesting wildlife, as well as some species of birds I still don't see in my present garden. I would lose all that. To me, those trees were worth well more than a mere $1,000.
How much are those wetlands in Louisiana worth to us...the people of the US? The wildlife it supports? How many species of animals will no longer exist should we allow this fiasco to continue? How are we going to teach our children that we need to take care of our planet for it to take care of us? Is this the kind of example we want them to learn by? Is putting up with the greed and false PR from folks who really don't care something we want them to use as roll models?
All those millions of dollars spent to clean up this mess, once the "powers to be" decide to finally clean it up, could have been spent on alternative energy that is clean and doesn't involve destroying the earth and those who live on it.
Our President stood before us today and accepted the blame for all of this. He said it was his job and that "the buck stops here." Personally, I think he is trying to do his best against odds that are overwhelming and against greed and deceit that has been rampart for a very long time. Maybe he'll be gone with the next election, maybe he'll be able to turn things around. But in all honesty, I think he is really trying to climb a mountain without supports. And he seems to be getting none. He came into office with a promise. A promise he seems to want to keep. A promise he may not be able to keep. But, he's been the most honest president we've had in ages.
When we built this house, we built it in a farmer's field. This was a place where the deer rested and the field birds flourished. When we moved in, I started planting trees. To date, I have 65 trees on my little property. It's home to numerous birds, both forest and field. The deer wander through it as do other creatures such as Snapping turtles, snakes and fox. Most of the trees I planted are East Coast native trees that produce the food and shelter the animals and insects enjoy. We're fugal with our energy consumption, using the shade of the trees to cool the house and property in the summer and less of the AC. I would love to put up solar panels on the roof to make my home self-sufficient but it is still priced a bit out of reach for us.
I am very unnerved about what is happening along Louisiana's Gulf shores. This was a huge mistake to think that we could drill for oil so close to something so tender and the wetlands that are sorely needed to protect the land from the ravages of nature. Our natural areas are so much more important than the pocket books of a few.
Maybe growing up so close to the Amish gave me a few hints on how to conserve, or maybe not. One thing I know I do have is a healthy respect for all life, no matter what form it takes. All things have a purpose and it isn't ours to chose who lives and who dies for a percentage of what there is to be had.
Just my personal opinion.
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