The name of the oil rig which has caused the greatest environmental disaster in human history seems to be quite prophetic... A "horizon" signalling a new era... the dawn of a new age.
A new age may certainly be dawning in "Um-urika"... An age of doubt about Big Oil, and oil in general. The Southern USA is likely bordering on a toxic pond... how's the beachfront property in the Ol' South?
What is ALREADY there - spilled in the gulf - is already a calamity. There is still a LOT more to come.
BP resisted actually trying to plug it up until last night. Why? Because that's billions of dollars of oil that's shooting up from the ocean floor! They tried to collect it in a giant upside-down bucket, then in a giant straw... Now, with public opinion really turning as toxic as the Gulf Stream, they're starting to work on the most unlikely of solutions.
And... they won't let 3rd party observers in!
Time for the break-up of the American Corp-ocrisy... It's a real shame when a corporation - whose only goal is profit - is able to tell the government (who is supposed to be looking out for the welfare of the people) what to do.
Posted this earlier elsewhere:
The Gulf is already f@cked. Oil companies love to talk about the shoreline impact of oil spills - because THAT is all the public can really usually see - and they pretend if it doesn't hit shore there's no real environmental impact. Kind of like their "chemical stew" solution to the problem: just add some toxins, and let it all sink to the bottom of the sea. Thing is, the impact on the subsurface biomes in the Gulf are far more catastrophic than can be imagined. Right now, reefs are beginning to die, entire hatching areas are being engulfed, and full sized (mature, breeding) sea species are being wiped out. This is not only going to kill off the shrimp/shellfish fisheries (don't let anyone ever feed you shellfish from that area again - even 25yrs after Valdez we're still seeing toxins in the sea life), but it is also going to eradicate the general fishery for years to come. One of the greatest tourist attractions in the Gulf region is deep sea fishing - catching the prized Marlin, etc. That just won't be happening - and where there will still be a few left, they're probably not going to reproduce for long. Swimmin' with the dolphins? Nope. Petting live sharks? Maybe in an aquarium. There is ONE solution to all this: ban offshore drilling. Period. Begin a full infrastructure investment in electric technology/hydrogen fuel, etc. This (however unfortunately) is just what Obama needed to force the US into a "Green Shift". The US - if focusing it's tech on this event - can become THE leader in green tech around the world. If they led the petroleum revolution at the turn of the last century, imagine the golden lining in leading the electric revolution? Imagine how the developing world (that is awash in sunshine) would pay for advanced solar technologies, wind tech, etc.? Offshore platforms should only be used to house wind turbines, and as oceanic research stations. Drilling should cease, and all oil companies need to pay for the cleanup around the rigs (the environments are usually toxic because there is always leakage before, during, and after drilling.
Enough is enough. The earth is sending us a message. We should heed it before Gaia rolls over and squashes us...
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