I can’t believe I have truly bitten my blogging tongue so much on the oil disaster. It is day 63 and I finally am writing a blog post. Basically, I have been micro-blogging about it on Twitter and Facebook a bunch, but never took the time to truly gather my thoughts for a post. I refuse call it the “gulf oil spill” because this infinite amount being dumped into our ecosystem is no longer “spill-worthy.” No – this is a disaster! One of the reasons I sat back so much is because is because I did not want politicize this. Like many Americans, especially those from Louisiana, I just wanted it fixed. I could care less who did it, JUST FIX IT! It is personal on many levels for me, so I will take a stab at writing about it the best I can. I apologize to those of you who are looking at a definitive “hit piece” from this normally very opinionated blogger. But I think a large part about growing as a person, is stepping back and thinking about different angles of a situation. Maybe I am not alone with my political struggles with this situation.

In the blogging world of New Orleans, I love all the bloggers, even though 90% are not on the same political page with me. I thought it more productive to share our common ground, our love for the environment and love of Louisiana without having to point and blame politicians because they have an (R) or (D) attached to their name. My friend and business partner Ed, are polar political opposites, yet I truly embrace his thoughts on remembering the 11 that died when the oil rig blew up. These 11 men have been grossly neglected in the whole scheme of this catastrophe and it is a crying shame. We all want it fixed, just the angles about how we go about it is certainly not in tune for the most part. The oil disaster has become a very easy political moving target.

The Louisiana politicians are against a moratorium on drilling because it will bankrupt Louisiana and drive the proverbial knife in our backs even more. I have been struggling with this one. You see, in my youth, trying to “find my way politically” days, I also was drawn to the environment and animals. I belonged to Greenpeace, save the whales etc…, WWF and I’ve been a vegetarian for 30 years now. How does that fit into the Conservative mold? Even though I have distanced myself from some of those wacky agenda groups, I still have a heart for all the living and breathing creatures who are effected by the sea and on this planet. I almost threw up a little in my mouth learning about sea turtles being burned alive just yesterday.

Who cares if drilling stops? It actually makes perfectly good sense. If you are doing something and not sure what you are doing, you better stop and figure it out before you do it any more. In other words, if we don’t know how to fix a disaster, why would we possibly want to create more disasters? Then I think of those who are impacted negatively and my state as a whole and say to myself, “We are the USA – we can certainly help a state in need and all those who lose their jobs.” But then it does not make sense either, because we have a nation that needs oil. Why not drill for it in our own back yards? Or maybe it is better to let others drill in our back yards, drill in their back yards, or just let others deal with all of that and we buy it? It makes my head spin and I wish I had the answer. I know many of you will have a deep-rooted opinion on this one and I look forward to hearing about it, without being hateful. I think that is the problem – passion and being hateful become a blurred line in this discussion.

As for President Obama, yes, he fits into the equation of the oil disaster. He is not involved in it because it is his fault or because he welcomes it to further his agenda, the anger from some directed at him initially was appalling to this Conservatarian. But has he done enough? From someone who does not want the Federal Government involved in my life so much, I will say what I wrote on Facebook the other day. ” My son asked what should be done differently withe the oil mess. I told him if our house was on fire, I would grab every garden hose and use every resource necessary to stop it before the fire department showed up. Maybe not the
perfect scenario – but you get what I was trying to say. Maybe shoot first, ask questions later. Or get to the closest ER and worry about sorting the bill out later.” I’m sorry folks, but that is the attitude that should have been in place earlier on and should be there now. I’m not feeling it! I tried not to be that way for a long time – making this partisan – blaming Obama and I can’t regarding some of it. Regardless of your political party affiliation, have you stepped back and thought about if there is enough being done by our current administration? After all, this now will have impact on the entire US – not just a small part of a coast line as we initially thought. Help me here folks!

Here is a current map of where oil has washed ashore on beaches. I’m locked into a Destin vacation in a couple of weeks. Looks like we will be washing off oil after getting out of the water.

I made the video below at the beginning of the oil disaster. I regretted what I said as soon as it got worse, but unfortunately still have to stand behind, “drill baby drill” because as much as I would love to see alternative energy magically pop up and fill all our cars, it is not realistic. Now do I want to drill even more before we fix the current mess? My jury is still out. I’m not much of a gambler and that is what this is – gambling with the environment. You can talk about solar panels and wind power until you are blue in the face, but it does not change our need for oil AT THIS VERY MOMENT. Would you rather have a foreign dependency or oil or have it yourself? Hmmm…..

6 Replies to “The Oil Disaster: Day 63”

  1. Hi Greta,
    Its true the disaster has been devastating to our coastal economy. It will adversely effect our shores for several years to come. “Drill baby drill” has been politicized but it HAS sustained and advanced this country for decades. What I hope will happen from this accident is that more attention (and funding) will be given to alternative energy sources like hydrogen, biofuels, electricity. This country should produce its own energy (that’s a given). We also need to be mindful of our responsibility to our future environment and less to the financial stability of a few tycoons.

  2. Has anyone or the government considered utilizing Gen. Russell Honore’ for the oil spill clean-up? I believe he is trained in disaster relief and experienced in handling one of the worst disasters in America-KATRINA!!

Comments are closed.