Slog
News & ArtsTuesday, June 15, 2010
Enviro More Heartbreaking Somehow Than All Those Oily Pelicans
Posted by Dan Savage on Tue, Jun 15, 2010 at 12:41 PM
A wave crashing on a beach in Alabama. We killed the ocean. Eccoterrorist via JMG.
2
I love how a nice oil and vinegar dressing will spice up simple garden greens. Who says the Garden of Eden can't be improved?
3
Tragic, but the thing that gets me is if you stop thinking about what it is and just focus on what it looks like, it's a rather beautiful image.
4
Ugh. I'm becoming a misanthrope and I really have tried not to be. The earth will heal, eventually, but not before we have done way too much damage.
6
Many religons predict a 10,000 year(coincidence?!?) break in the splendor of eden. 2012 starts now, or was it started by greed, or was it started by our desire for the freedon cars provide?
10
@6 , religion is cool and generally right about everything. Remember in 2013 that it was probably just due to bad translation or that religion isn't supposed to be literally interpreted.
@3 , I completely agree. It's a great juxtaposition.
@3 , I completely agree. It's a great juxtaposition.
11
5280, not to be a stereotypical self-hating liberal, but if we're consuming oil (which nearly all of us do in some way), aren't we part of the problem?
13
at first glance I thought this was a new Chihuly piece to go in that Seattle Center museum no one wants.
14
SC, we're "part" of the problem, alright, but this can't be blamed on anyone's use of oil. It can, however, be laid squarely at the feet of BP for their criminal misconduct.
16
Makes me think of Bradbury's Martian Chronicles and how I envisioned the water on Mars upon reading that - circa 7th or 8th grade....
17
It is a beautiful image if you don't think about the reality of it. The worse part of the spill is what we can't see, though - all the dispersed oil and the incredible amount of dispersant they dumped in to try to keep the oil hidden as long as possible.
I hate what has happened, and our sick corporate culture that allows this kind of thing to happen, but I do agree that we haven't killed the planet - we may have killed the fish and birds of the Gulf, and we have no idea of the global impact yet. I do think there will be a global-wide impact. But some other lifeforms will thrive, and rise, and everything will change again.
I hate what has happened, and our sick corporate culture that allows this kind of thing to happen, but I do agree that we haven't killed the planet - we may have killed the fish and birds of the Gulf, and we have no idea of the global impact yet. I do think there will be a global-wide impact. But some other lifeforms will thrive, and rise, and everything will change again.
18
The planet will be fine - it just won't be habitable by humankind, or most of the other forms of life currently living here.
20
5280, you live in the US, you use resources irresponsibly, and you are part of the problem as much as anyone is. I say that knowing that I am in the same position. Twist and turn and point your finger wherever you please, you cannot absolve yourself of responsibility, and your denial does nothing to help fix the problem.
21
@3 and others, I agree. The nerd in me marvels at the interaction of water and oil. It reminds me of making marblized paper in high school art class.
22
Ravishing photo. I hope answers are forming to questions the last couple generations of enviros have been wondering about, as Nigeria, Prince William Sound, Mexico, Katrina etc. came and went - what level of environmental disaster might it take to rouse significant numbers of people, and will it rouse them to something beyond all-is-lost lamentation followed by avoidance/resignation? Does our efficient news-outrage-snack cycle digest things so rapidly there's no chance for socially meaningful steam to build?
23
But Obama says the seafood is DELICIOUS!!!
So head on down and chow down!!! YUMMYY!!!! Good Eats!!!
So head on down and chow down!!! YUMMYY!!!! Good Eats!!!
24
@5280, I agree, our driving and allowing our economy to remain driven by fossil fuels, even after all the warnings, had nothing to do with it..nothing at all.
And I read that pick up truck sales are UP this last month!!! That's a lesson well learned!!!
"Man vs. Nature: ONWARD TO VICTORY!!" starring Troy McClure!!
And I read that pick up truck sales are UP this last month!!! That's a lesson well learned!!!
"Man vs. Nature: ONWARD TO VICTORY!!" starring Troy McClure!!
25
Before i read the headline, i thought this was a picture of some fanciful glazed dessert...what a downer.
26
I's true that this would never have happened without rampant criminality among the executive class, but it's not as if the public has been clamoring for greater accountability at the top. The people have the power to put at stop to irresponsible corporate governance, but we choose not to exercise it, because hey, that might actually push up the cost of gas.
27
The latest in beach technology.
Surf and sun tan lotion all in one dip!
It's new. It's brown. It's Lotion in the Water!.
28
OK, I demand a stop to irresponsible corporate governance. Ha ha. Hope you got a good laugh out of that. I'm sure BP did.
30
@13 I thought the same thing at first glance... thought it was a close-up of a glass installation. And then, I started tearing up when I realized what it really was.
32
I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder because this looks like a fucking mess to me.
A Rorshach nightmare!
A Rorshach nightmare!
34
Gurldoggie @20 is correct. That's your oil out there in the Gulf, and mine. BP is culpable, as are all the other oil companies, but they are ultimately doing our bidding. It's impossible to drill in those conditions, in a mile of water and with that kind of pressure, without running enormous risks. It's happened before and it will happen again and again and again, and every time it will be OUR FAULT. All of us.
No one with a TV or a car or a computer or food on the table is clean. 94% of all commerce in the world depends on petroleum products.
No one with a TV or a car or a computer or food on the table is clean. 94% of all commerce in the world depends on petroleum products.
35
I wonder how much of the oil from the BP platform was actually intended for the U.S.? It wouldn't surprise me to find out it was sold overseas, like the crude from Alaska going to Japan.
36
@35, I'm pretty sure all of the oil on the US side of the Gulf comes here, after being refined in beauty spots like Port Arthur, TX. But it doesn't matter; oil is a commodity. If you don't buy it over here, you buy it over there instead. The demand and the supply are global and with minor differences for various qualities of crude it's perfectly fluid in source and destination.
Demand for the stuff is going to double over the next two decades, too. Recycling your grocery bags isn't going to make a whit of difference.
Demand for the stuff is going to double over the next two decades, too. Recycling your grocery bags isn't going to make a whit of difference.
38
Think about this: The oil sands in Northern Alberta are the 2nd largest deposit in the world, and use 4 barrels of water to process 1 barrel of oil. A lot of your water supply comes from Canada. Our freshwater supply will be a much bigger issue in the future than this spill....happy Tuesday.
39
@14 : SC, we're "part" of the problem, alright, but this can't be blamed on anyone's use of oil. It can, however, be laid squarely at the feet of BP for their criminal misconduct.
Yes, but by focussing on the criminal contduct of BP, aren't we letting an industry who have "accidents" like this on a fairly regular basis off the hook?
Yes, but by focussing on the criminal contduct of BP, aren't we letting an industry who have "accidents" like this on a fairly regular basis off the hook?
41
It is both horrible and lovely. I wonder how far-reaching the environment repercussions are going to be. Granted, in 10,000 years, this will probably resolve itself somehow, but in the short-term, how long?
And, it seems like no one else has mentioned this, but even if we re-release the sea turtles and brown pelicans, what if they come back to the Gulf? Sea turtles almost always return to their breeding ground in which they were hatched to lay eggs. Will they return next year to find the same screwed up habitat? Will the pelicans, gulls, etc. return to their breeding grounds or accept Tampa, FL as their new home?
And, it seems like no one else has mentioned this, but even if we re-release the sea turtles and brown pelicans, what if they come back to the Gulf? Sea turtles almost always return to their breeding ground in which they were hatched to lay eggs. Will they return next year to find the same screwed up habitat? Will the pelicans, gulls, etc. return to their breeding grounds or accept Tampa, FL as their new home?
42
@28
Fine, laugh, but as long as we pay irresponsible corporations to do things for us, WE ARE THE PROBLEM.
This is the single most infuriating thing about our culture, for me. This incredible ignorance and denial and utter amorality. We pay people to do terrible things and act like we bear no responsibility for those actions. Oil companies, factory farms/big agriculture, drug companies. . . and on and on. . .
If we didn't pay them, they wouldn't exist. It is our fault. My fault, your fault, our fault.
Fine, laugh, but as long as we pay irresponsible corporations to do things for us, WE ARE THE PROBLEM.
This is the single most infuriating thing about our culture, for me. This incredible ignorance and denial and utter amorality. We pay people to do terrible things and act like we bear no responsibility for those actions. Oil companies, factory farms/big agriculture, drug companies. . . and on and on. . .
If we didn't pay them, they wouldn't exist. It is our fault. My fault, your fault, our fault.
44
our shit is fucked. the earth is bleeding and our shit is fucked. clean up?
not in this lifetime. gloom n' doom, yep. poor fuckers.
not in this lifetime. gloom n' doom, yep. poor fuckers.
50
@18
That is the only argument here with any weight, because it's the only one with truth. We as humans could never do anything to harm the earth, even with oil and nukes and deforestation.
We'll just make it less hospitable for us. The earth will always be here, and she doesn't care what she looks like. We just wanna feel special for "protecting the earth" when all we're really doing is protecting our self interest.
And yeah, it's sad, oil covered cute animals and all. But, in the end, under/oversea volcanoes, hurricanes/typhoons, and other natural weather patterns kill way more animals than a greasy stain we worry too hard about.
Also, I live in Metairie, and am fully aware of the impact, so think twice before you try and accuse me of not knowing.
That is the only argument here with any weight, because it's the only one with truth. We as humans could never do anything to harm the earth, even with oil and nukes and deforestation.
We'll just make it less hospitable for us. The earth will always be here, and she doesn't care what she looks like. We just wanna feel special for "protecting the earth" when all we're really doing is protecting our self interest.
And yeah, it's sad, oil covered cute animals and all. But, in the end, under/oversea volcanoes, hurricanes/typhoons, and other natural weather patterns kill way more animals than a greasy stain we worry too hard about.
Also, I live in Metairie, and am fully aware of the impact, so think twice before you try and accuse me of not knowing.
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