6.08.2010



the oil spill in a photo



i can't take it
anymore.



and yet it still continues
to stream
with no end in sight



how can we
help the clean-up
from home?



ideas?




ph: charlie riedel/AP


18 comments:

Anonymous said...

so does that mean you are going to the gulf to help clean?

honeydonthink said...

I can't go to the gulf to help clean, but I can send (even) a small donation to help efforts there. I'll gladly forego that extra latte or carwash to do so and your blog entry today reminded me I can. Thanks!

Cerré said...

well said. i'll do the same.

Jillian Hobbs said...

i actaully read that they wont even be pluggin the leak until august, so oil is going to continue to spew! it's ridiculous!

I would go to the gulf if I had the means, i've been sending little donations when I can... glad you posted this... people need to be aware that this is still a problem

Anna said...

Here's one idea: http://crafthope.com/2010/06/project-8-gulf-coast-oil-spill/

yak said...

send yours and your dogs hair

yak said...

hi Anna
Dawn dish soap is not fragrance
free. pictures on the internet,
show liquids being squirted
into the eyes of birds.
i'm allergic to fragranced products. maybe pellicans are stronger and like Dawn 'apple blossom' ? i guess something is better than nothing but i'd rather have a product fragrance
free world.

Anonymous said...

first thing you can do is educated yourself on the topic of oil... most people don't even know where or how exactly we have come to use oil.
this is an interesting documentary:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5797240072407639740&hl=en#

jokemijn said...

i don't know if we can. This week there was an article in belgian newspaper (http://tiny.cc/q8em3). Belgium has one of the biggest companies when it comes to dredging, they could not solve the problem, but they could speed it up. But due to american laws Belgian boats cannot sail from one harbour to another, this can only happen with american boats, and these have equipment that is a little outdated... it makes me worry. I hope the solution is near nevertheless.

carl said...

here in europe we dont fill up at bp's stations. its a boycott.
they seem not to care at all , their chief said:" i'm a brit , i can take it.."
but this is not london airraid 1944
but similar.
put the pressure on them NOW!

carl said...

i just think that the glorious attitude "everybody for himself and god for us all " will not work this time.
bp declared ecologic war on the u.s.
this company is not able to stop the spill they have to be sued with utmost fierceness --
sim. "der zauberlehrling" of j.w.goethe

Unknown said...

Hmm. But we're talking about a cost already running in the billions, which BP is obligated to cover anyway, as they should.

I'm afraid the only truly substantive help we can provide will be to well and truly learn from this tragedy and proactively take concrete, personal measures now and over the long term to reduce our collective overdependence on petroleum and its by-products.

Can we recognize our own responsibility in this? We can begin by more actively demanding answers to tough questions from our government representatives and insisting upon real governmental oversight over the kinds of environmentally destructive industries (drilling, mining, etc.)that allow us all our creature comforts. Even in a financial crisis (whose damage is far shorter term than the damage to the Gulf's just discovered coral reefs) it is essential that we be willing to pay higher gas taxes in order to fund the development of environmentally friendlier energy alternatives, and that companies pay stricter carbon emmisions taxes.

Without significant change in behavior, there will be no significant change in results.

Manda said...

stop using oil based products. which is most things. plant your own food garden. and use off the grid solar power. thats a good start. you cant help clean up but you can make your life less dependent on a system that is destroying the earth. sorry to be so grim but i believe it. x

northernspy said...

yeah manda, just get right off the grid. no sweat. i find the "let's get off petroleum based products" angle completely ridiculous. good luck. how about that plastic macbook you are reading and commenting on blogs with right now!? oh, and getting off the grid means you can't have an internet connection either - or is that kind of like being a vegetarian that eats fish?

a good start would be to get a new administration in power that actually knows something about crisis management and is about action on not political posturing and tough talk on the today show!

Anonymous said...

This makes my heart bleed, I just want to do something.
I've called up to volunteer with the wild life and been put up on a list, called the white house, I guess I should donate some money.. It's just a catastrophe , it so dark and terrible, I wish I could do more...

Anonymous said...

although northernspy makes an observant comment that it's not feasible to leave the petroleum-based economy, he/she is misguided to think that a new administration could do any better. The extraordinary difficulties occurring a mile beneath the sea is not a ready fix, no matter who's in charge... Though why a submarine with robotic fixtures can't go down there and seal the leak is puzzling...

Anna! said...

Something you may be interested in http://www.threadless.com/product/2346/peliCAN

northernspy said...

anon. i don't think my thoughts on a new admin. are 'misguided' at all. bush was way too much in the sack with the oil companies and as well is obama (with bp putting wads of campaign cash in his pocket!). the only difference btwn. the two is that bush made no bones about where he was coming from and so everyone expected him to play up to big oil - but obama himself was "the change we had been waiting for" (in his own words) and the joke is that he is exactly like all other washington politicians but just more of a blow-hard hypocrite.
he might actually be worse since he cut his teeth here in illinois + chicago political scene. i live in chicago and it ain't pretty here...
why did it take him 50+ days to give a response with any meat on the bone?! it is because he is so under qualified for this job as well as is his staff.

all this to say, i do love this blog!