Comments on: Gulf Coast Awaits Landfall of BP Oil Slick http://blog.locustfork.net/2010/05/gulf-coast-awaits-landfall-of-bp-oil-slick/ A Wide Open Weblog for Big News, the Big Picture Thu, 24 May 2012 16:31:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Kathy Freeland http://blog.locustfork.net/2010/05/gulf-coast-awaits-landfall-of-bp-oil-slick/comment-page-1/#comment-4235 Kathy Freeland Sun, 02 May 2010 15:50:28 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=7426#comment-4235 I was on Dauphin Island about two weeks ago for the annual spring migration meeting of the Alabama Ornithological Society. Plovers and other birds are nesting on the west end of Dauphin Island now. It was an absolutely beautiful time of year to be there and as always seeing the birds, the water, enjoying the quiet of the west end was good for my soul. Now this. My heart and soul are definitely in great turmoil as I watch with everyone else this horrible threat getting closer and closer to that beautiful place and those wonderful birds and other sea creatures. How many more of these disasters will it take for us humans to learn we let it happen and only we can stop it from happening again? I was on Dauphin Island about two weeks ago for the annual spring migration meeting of the Alabama Ornithological Society. Plovers and other birds are nesting on the west end of Dauphin Island now. It was an absolutely beautiful time of year to be there and as always seeing the birds, the water, enjoying the quiet of the west end was good for my soul.

Now this.

My heart and soul are definitely in great turmoil as I watch with everyone else this horrible threat getting closer and closer to that beautiful place and those wonderful birds and other sea creatures. How many more of these disasters will it take for us humans to learn we let it happen and only we can stop it from happening again?

]]> By: Yvonne Bray http://blog.locustfork.net/2010/05/gulf-coast-awaits-landfall-of-bp-oil-slick/comment-page-1/#comment-4234 Yvonne Bray Sun, 02 May 2010 11:38:54 +0000 http://blog.locustfork.net/?p=7426#comment-4234 I was thirteen or fourteen before I ever saw the ocean. Our first family vacation was to Destin, long before it became a paradise for the rich. We stayed in a little block house just across from the only motel in Destin, now long gone. During that week I saw birds and ocean critters that I did not know existed and to a child seeing all of this for the first time I was mezmerized and dreamed of spending the rest of my life walking the pristene white sand and discovering shells and watching pelicans, herons and gulls. My heart is sick today thinking all of the Gulf Coast will be covered in black glumpy tar like gook. I am heartsick over the loss of wildlife and their habitat. Why are we smart enough to drill at these depths but not smart enough to clean up the mess when something goes wrong? I fear the Gulf Coast will not recover for a very long time and maybe not in my lifetime. My grandchildren will not have the same opportunity to remember the beauty and abundance of dancing up and down the coast in search of treasures never seen before. Their memories will be of trying to wash oil from their feet, their exposure to wildlife will be limited and as they become adults this may be the norm. Shame on us and our addiction to oil. I was thirteen or fourteen before I ever saw the ocean. Our first family vacation was to Destin, long before it became a paradise for the rich. We stayed in a little block house just across from the only motel in Destin, now long gone. During that week I saw birds and ocean critters that I did not know existed and to a child seeing all of this for the first time I was mezmerized and dreamed of spending the rest of my life walking the pristene white sand and discovering shells and watching pelicans, herons and gulls.

My heart is sick today thinking all of the Gulf Coast will be covered in black glumpy tar like gook. I am heartsick over the loss of wildlife and their habitat. Why are we smart enough to drill at these depths but not smart enough to clean up the mess when something goes wrong? I fear the Gulf Coast will not recover for a very long time and maybe not in my lifetime. My grandchildren will not have the same opportunity to remember the beauty and abundance of dancing up and down the coast in search of treasures never seen before. Their memories will be of trying to wash oil from their feet, their exposure to wildlife will be limited and as they become adults this may be the norm. Shame on us and our addiction to oil.

]]>