My Rant on the BP Oil Spill

As a Louisiana native who grew up only 30 miles north of the Gulf of Mexico, I must rant my frustrations with the horrendous oil spill that after nearly 6 weeks is still gushing out of control. With its marshes, swamps, bayous, alligators, crawfish, shrimp, crab, pelicans, cranes, bullfrogs, mossy trees, Zydeco music, and Cajun festivities (I could go on and on), there's really no place like Louisiana in nature and in spirit. Every time I go back (which is often), I get excited because the culture and natural environment is so refreshing and invigorating to my Cajun soul. Of course seeing my family is the best part, but we are enjoying the outdoors 90% of the time that we have our eyes open despite the 90% humidity and swarms of mosquitoes.

It saddens me to know that the state bird, the Brown Pelican had only been off the endangered species list for a few months before this oil spill now threatens their numbers again. Pelicans usually nest on islands, so colonies are common along the coast of Louisiana. They can go blind from pollution in the waters in which they catch their food. Now, these birds, their homes and their food are getting a thick coat of pollution. And that's just one species being impacted.

Imagine all the natural life that thrives in these precious habitats that are being affected. Even the smallest of creatures being slightly altered by the oil can begin an echelon of disaster right on up the food chain. Then it comes to us. The coastal economy depends on the ecology. Not only are we losing food resources, we are losing jobs, livelihoods, tourism and getting an unwanted blow to an already sagging economy. The ironic thing is, it's our fault to begin with. Well, BP's, but the civilized human race indirectly.

I'm frustrated that greed always comes first. It is becoming more apparent as the investigation deepens into the cause of the BP oil spill that warnings were made about problems with the oil well, yet those warnings were ignored and BP continued "business as usual". Karma is a _____. I've said it a million times. Rather than taking a few weeks (or however long) of revenue down the drain to make necessary repairs, a business with so much money it's unfathomable to any normal person, decided to take the risk of a possible disaster for more of what they already have more than enough of - money. Now, BP is having to spend hundreds of millions of dollars for the cleanup and repair efforts, they have lost all respect from everyone and their dogs, and they're likely to get the pants sued right off of them.

In the end, no one wins because so much has been and will continue to be destroyed for years to come from this oil spill disaster. I just hope my Louisiana can make it through this and one day return to normalcy in nature and in spirit. I also hope that some total genius comes up with the solution for free, clean energy before we end up killing ourselves with a toxic mixture of greed and pollution.