There are things in the world that are terrifying. You know…the usual stuff: the 7 Plagues, nuclear war, pestilence, Rush Limbaugh, Styrofoam “peanuts”, Anne Heche, “infomercials – the things that make our blood run cold and our brains reel with the words “Say wha?”
This morning was pretty much the same as most. The scent of brewing coffee lured me into grudging consciousness and I staggered into the kitchen, turning on my spouse along the way (the Computer, not the Husband). While it went through its usual techno-stretch-and-moan routine, I poured a cup and extricated my leg from Charley (the dog, not the Husband).
Peeling William (the cat, also not the Husband) from my keyboard, I began to surf through the morning’s news.
Hmm…apparently the Republican Party of Iowa wants to restore the original 13th amendment (it had something to do with not letting Americans accept titles of nobility and such). The Party feels that this should be put back in place, thus usurping the 13th as it stands today – the abolishment of slavery.
“Even so, it’s a little startling to come upon section 7.19, which calls for “the reintroduction and ratification of the original 13th Amendment, not the 13th amendment in today’s Constitution.” Since the existing 13th Amendment bans slavery, while the “original” one was about something else entirely, the wording might give the impression that Iowa Republicans wish to reverse emancipation, which is not at all the case, according to state GOP Communications Director Danielle Plogmann. Like many aspects of Republican politics this year, it’s actually about embarrassing President Obama.”
Why they think that this would “embarrass” Obama is beyond me, but then I’m just on my first cup of coffee. Until enough caffeine has entered my body to lend me more clarity and insight I will shrug and shove this into my overflowing “Stupid Politicians” file.
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/07/27/why-some-republicans-want-to-restore-the-13th-amendment.html
Moving on, we come to Gore VS The Sleazy Masseuses. Blah, blah…the usual “famous person accused by money-grubbing whackos who emerge en masse years after the supposed fact.” We can all learn from these sordid tales. To wit: if you become well known and/or obscenely wealthy, have someone teach your significant other how to rub your shoulders, avoid strip bars, hookers, reporters, Glenn Beck and cavorting in front of open windows while naked.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/gore-affair-district-attorney-case-criminal-prosecution/story?id=11292348
Now, these next two scary-ass things belong together in the category of “Useless Oxygen Absorption Creatures”. I speak, of course, of Lindsay Lohan and something known as a “Snooki.” The former is a pathetic train-wreck of young entitlement and fame-addiction gone horribly wrong. The latter is the crude product of yet another “reality tv” show wherein foul-mouthed and thuggish youths are paid to demonstrate their mind-staggering stupidity.
I have yet to reach the point of such self-abuse that I would watch such a thing so, in the interest of research, I asked my 21 year old daughter what, exactly, a “Snooki” was and why she was known to anyone. Daughter’s reply: “She’s just some slutty, swearing, fighting chick on a show about people who all have the IQ of toilet mold. It’s a really popular program.”
Oh, okay then. Millions of people tune in to watch human toilet mold. Good to know.
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20405035,00.html
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/smashed_snooki_booked_fApeB1o3wRjLREyP9WXMNI
Enough of this. I’m beginning to feel mildly queasy. I pause to refill my coffee cup and to swallow my daily vitamins (one-a-day and, of course, the tangerine-sized calcium tab that the doctor says will guard me against having my bones suddenly crumble like aged blue cheese). There – I’m feeling somewhat better so back to the headlines…
Oh crap. New research indicates that not only will calcium supplements not protect your bones; they might cause your heart to implode. “Their analysis found nearly a 30 percent increased likelihood of having a heart attack among people older than 40 who were taking calcium supplements. In addition, there was a small but statistically insignificant increase in the risk for stroke and death among those taking supplements.”
http://www.businessweek.com/lifestyle/content/healthday/641629.html
I’m going back to bed.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Monday, July 26, 2010
A Writer's Notes
During the course of a brief flurry of emails between Jeff Cochran (a frequent contributor to Like the Dew) and I, we touched upon the role of music in a writer’s life.
In that I cannot write while any music is playing (it captures me and lures me from what is always a very tentative path), I’d not given that subject much thought until now. So I shall try. A rich merlot at hand? Check. Sarah McLachlan playing? Check. (Good Canadian girl, that). Candle lit? Check.
Yes — music, literature, dance and the visual arts all leap from the same mystic wellspring but writing is such a tenuous thing, relying as is does on the patience of others. A symphony, ballet or painting has an immediate reward for the one experiencing it: reading requires a certain commitment for it is a slow unfolding with little in the way of instant gratification (unless, like me, a well crafted set of words can bring you to tears of humble astonishment).
Perhaps, however, I do listen to internal music as I tap away on this keyboard.
My mother gave me Puccini, Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss and the other celestial beings. One of my first aural memories is of La Boheme (the incomparable Victoria de Los Angeles, Jussi Bjorling version of course).
My father blessed me with Sousa, Herb Alpert, Mahalia Jackson, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, old and delicious boogie-woogie and more.
From my grandparents came the treasures of wild highland skirls, the aching melodies of World War II and the Hollywood “golden days”.
The unbridled joy and beauty of Elvis, the Beatles and Springsteen (among countless others) accompanied me through my days and nights between 8 years old and…now.
I have gathered the music of those who have touched my life as I would petals strewn upon my path. Each melody and lyric has changed me in some intangible fashion and the echoes must surely be heard in my words.
Music can be both blessing and curse. It can lift and exalt us, redeem and release us, but it can also haunt us and bring us crashing down in pain. Consider the agonizing loss of love: every song shared, every tune danced to together, every fragment of music that book-marked your days can, if love ends, send you flying to turn the radio off before the tsunami of tears and regret leaves you gasping…again.
Here it is now: McLachlan’s masterpiece (a fitting piece for merlot and candlelight):
Spend all your time waiting for that second chance
For the break that will make it ok
There’s always some reason to feel not good enough
And it’s hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction, oh beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
They may be empty and weightless, and maybeI’ll find some peace tonight
In the arms of an Angel, fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here
So tired of the straight line, and everywhere you turn
There’s vultures and thieves at your back
The storm keeps on twisting, you keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don’t make no difference, escaping one last time
It’s easier to believe
In this sweet madness, oh this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees
In the arms of an Angel, far away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
In the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here.
Yes, the music of my life plays throughout my days and moves my fingers across the computer keyboard. It is intrinsically woven through our hearts, minds and motions.
Here’s a question for you: what one song or composition do you wish to be played at your funeral? Your choice will say it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVbkz_3lO3c
In that I cannot write while any music is playing (it captures me and lures me from what is always a very tentative path), I’d not given that subject much thought until now. So I shall try. A rich merlot at hand? Check. Sarah McLachlan playing? Check. (Good Canadian girl, that). Candle lit? Check.
Yes — music, literature, dance and the visual arts all leap from the same mystic wellspring but writing is such a tenuous thing, relying as is does on the patience of others. A symphony, ballet or painting has an immediate reward for the one experiencing it: reading requires a certain commitment for it is a slow unfolding with little in the way of instant gratification (unless, like me, a well crafted set of words can bring you to tears of humble astonishment).
Perhaps, however, I do listen to internal music as I tap away on this keyboard.
My mother gave me Puccini, Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss and the other celestial beings. One of my first aural memories is of La Boheme (the incomparable Victoria de Los Angeles, Jussi Bjorling version of course).
My father blessed me with Sousa, Herb Alpert, Mahalia Jackson, The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, old and delicious boogie-woogie and more.
From my grandparents came the treasures of wild highland skirls, the aching melodies of World War II and the Hollywood “golden days”.
The unbridled joy and beauty of Elvis, the Beatles and Springsteen (among countless others) accompanied me through my days and nights between 8 years old and…now.
I have gathered the music of those who have touched my life as I would petals strewn upon my path. Each melody and lyric has changed me in some intangible fashion and the echoes must surely be heard in my words.
Music can be both blessing and curse. It can lift and exalt us, redeem and release us, but it can also haunt us and bring us crashing down in pain. Consider the agonizing loss of love: every song shared, every tune danced to together, every fragment of music that book-marked your days can, if love ends, send you flying to turn the radio off before the tsunami of tears and regret leaves you gasping…again.
Here it is now: McLachlan’s masterpiece (a fitting piece for merlot and candlelight):
Spend all your time waiting for that second chance
For the break that will make it ok
There’s always some reason to feel not good enough
And it’s hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction, oh beautiful release
Memories seep from my veins
They may be empty and weightless, and maybeI’ll find some peace tonight
In the arms of an Angel, fly away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here
So tired of the straight line, and everywhere you turn
There’s vultures and thieves at your back
The storm keeps on twisting, you keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don’t make no difference, escaping one last time
It’s easier to believe
In this sweet madness, oh this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees
In the arms of an Angel, far away from here
From this dark, cold hotel room, and the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage of your silent reverie
In the arms of an Angel; may you find some comfort here.
Yes, the music of my life plays throughout my days and moves my fingers across the computer keyboard. It is intrinsically woven through our hearts, minds and motions.
Here’s a question for you: what one song or composition do you wish to be played at your funeral? Your choice will say it all.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jVbkz_3lO3c
Saturday, July 24, 2010
In Libris Veritas Est II
Read this first and then get back to me.
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Technology/jessi-slaughter-viral-tweens-violent-online-rant-spurs/story?id=11224731
Okay, you’re back. I apologize for the sick sense of disbelief and nausea that you’re now experiencing.
“Jessi's social life has largely been confined to her computer. She told ABCNews.com that most of her friends are online and posted a video in which she said “I'll Pop a Glock in Your Mouth and Make a Brain Slushy”.
Jessi is eleven years old. Her world is that of the dark corridors of internet chatrooms, blogs and the warped “reality” of cyberspace. This is not a child who is a creature of outdoor adventures, giggling sleepovers with friends and skinned knees. This is a child who is a product of our misshapen “Brave New World” wherein every idiot and crazed, froth-mouthed deviant with access to a computer can terrorize others and spew their venom into the ether. Rumor is presented as fact (hello Rush, Glenn and the rest of the coven) and truth is twisted into self-serving and unrecognizable forms.
But what are we to expect? When we deprive our children of the books that unveil the human experience and condemn them to the shallow shadows of their television and computer worlds they become denizens of the darkness and prey to the worst that lies within mankind.
And this is not just a mental cesspool for the mentally deficient and age-challenged: mature and otherwise intelligent people fall beneath the spell of the online written word, the “idiot box” and the blaring voices from the radio.
Yes, the internet has allowed the sharing of vast amounts of information, creativity and ideas. It can be the path to global enlightenment and the key to the cage for many. Sadly, however, as all inventions that are meant to better the lot of mankind, this one is being co-opted by thugs and lunatics. (As the not-proud owner of my very own cyber-stalking, mentally bizarre “village idiot” I can attest to that).
To Jessi’s parents (and I use the term in the biological sense only): buy her a gift-set of all the banned and “challenged” books in the US. Pull the plug on your daughter’s computer and read with her between therapy sessions. You may save her life, your own… and the lives of those who may, someday, be the victim when she “pops a Glock and makes a brain slushy.”
Apparently insanity, violence and corruption are only a click away. How I wish that one had to be of legal voting age and sound mind before they touched a keyboard.
(What's the bet that little Jessi and her "parents" get an appearance on Oprah and their very own "reality show" within a year?)
http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Technology/jessi-slaughter-viral-tweens-violent-online-rant-spurs/story?id=11224731
Okay, you’re back. I apologize for the sick sense of disbelief and nausea that you’re now experiencing.
“Jessi's social life has largely been confined to her computer. She told ABCNews.com that most of her friends are online and posted a video in which she said “I'll Pop a Glock in Your Mouth and Make a Brain Slushy”.
Jessi is eleven years old. Her world is that of the dark corridors of internet chatrooms, blogs and the warped “reality” of cyberspace. This is not a child who is a creature of outdoor adventures, giggling sleepovers with friends and skinned knees. This is a child who is a product of our misshapen “Brave New World” wherein every idiot and crazed, froth-mouthed deviant with access to a computer can terrorize others and spew their venom into the ether. Rumor is presented as fact (hello Rush, Glenn and the rest of the coven) and truth is twisted into self-serving and unrecognizable forms.
But what are we to expect? When we deprive our children of the books that unveil the human experience and condemn them to the shallow shadows of their television and computer worlds they become denizens of the darkness and prey to the worst that lies within mankind.
And this is not just a mental cesspool for the mentally deficient and age-challenged: mature and otherwise intelligent people fall beneath the spell of the online written word, the “idiot box” and the blaring voices from the radio.
Yes, the internet has allowed the sharing of vast amounts of information, creativity and ideas. It can be the path to global enlightenment and the key to the cage for many. Sadly, however, as all inventions that are meant to better the lot of mankind, this one is being co-opted by thugs and lunatics. (As the not-proud owner of my very own cyber-stalking, mentally bizarre “village idiot” I can attest to that).
To Jessi’s parents (and I use the term in the biological sense only): buy her a gift-set of all the banned and “challenged” books in the US. Pull the plug on your daughter’s computer and read with her between therapy sessions. You may save her life, your own… and the lives of those who may, someday, be the victim when she “pops a Glock and makes a brain slushy.”
Apparently insanity, violence and corruption are only a click away. How I wish that one had to be of legal voting age and sound mind before they touched a keyboard.
(What's the bet that little Jessi and her "parents" get an appearance on Oprah and their very own "reality show" within a year?)
Monday, July 19, 2010
Kerry
Santa, me, my father and Kerry.Today I was informed that my two-year-older sister, Kerry Lynne Scott, had died suddenly. Now all that I can do is try to write my way through the numb pain of this latest blow (in the past four years I have lost my father, mother, sister…how many tears does the human body hold?).
When heartache brings me to my knees I reach for words - a life-long habit that has been my salvation – and so I will now. Then I will send it out into the ether to go where it will: hopefully, somehow, to my sister.
Kerry was, from birth, a force of nature. A slender, golden-haired child of stunning beauty, she was diagnosed with a congenital dislocated hip and subjected to new and innovative operations – over and over again. They would cut into her small body (this was ground-breaking science at the time) and then place her in a cast that extended from her waist and down over both limbs in what was called a “frog-leg” formation. I cannot even imagine the pain that she experienced throughout the years from 5 to 11.
My father created a large board with huge hooks on it. He would lift Kerry and affix the cast to the massive construction so that she could watch television and eat upright – and Kerry gleefully referred to it as her “throne”. I was her willing and loving servant. She pulled herself up the stairs, dared anything and conquered everything. She humbled me with her determination.
I remember watching her on her bicycle when half of another of the countless body-casts was removed leaving one thin leg free: flying down the hill on the street in Toronto where we lived as I raced behind her (and my mother wrung her hands in fear) Kerry would sing out in sheer joy.
My early years were spent walking my sister to school as she leaned heavily upon me and then I would beat senseless the cruel children who taunted her by calling her “Gimpy” and “Crip”. This lasted until high school when she blossomed and reigned as the Beauty Queen in situ. Slender, brilliant, charismatic and beautiful beyond belief, Kerry had finally come into her own.
After graduating from high school she attended Trent University and excelled in her chosen field of philosophy. And then the dark monster that had been lurking throughout the years finally inserted its talons into her and would not relinquish its victim.
We had known, during those tumultuous teen years, that Kerry was “volatile” and easily given to rages, obsessions and inexplicable thoughts. But only in her 30s was the beast finally named: paranoid schizophrenia.
One can no more blame the prey of this devastating disease than one can blame a cancer victim. Kerry fought back and fought back hard. Repeated institutions, episodes and relapses drained my parents as they stood by her every step of the way. As a mother I can only, in my worst nightmares, touch the iceberg tip of their sorrow and helplessness.
Kerry had times, still, of stunning brilliance, an unparalleled wit and extraordinarily gentle love. She was a deeply spiritual woman, a “rock-chick“, a strong-willed warrior and a poet.
If life-force alone is any measure, then my sister, Kerry, will have blown a hole through the heavens with her arrival. Be prepared, God: she will entrance you, best you in any argument and make you fall in love with her all over again.
And so I am left with the memories of this wild-child woman. Our lives and loves were as tightly entwined as the threads of DNA and I will miss her each day of my life.
To my younger sister, Hilary – fellow keeper of our parent’s flame – I love you. To my daughter, Erin – you are everything and more.
Friday, July 16, 2010
In Libris Veritas Est
Few people seem to be aware that school boards and libraries throughout this country are still banning a vast number of books. Apparently I, too, am naive for until I began to look into the subject, I didn’t know the full extent of this most heinous of practices.
http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/ Check the lists and the map on this site – it is mind boggling.
Then peruse this brief list (from Adler & Robins Books) of literary works that are banned in various locations: http://www.adlerbooks.com/banned.html
This is by no means a comprehensive list. While no one would, of course, recommend that a ten-year-old child read One Hundred Years of Solitude or A Clockwork Orange, I fail to see what damage A Wrinkle in Time, To Kill A Mockingbird or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn could possibly do. I read those extraordinary books before I was ten and am quite confident that it did not result in the destruction of my moral character or the loss of sanity.
Consider the relative merits of what a child or teen absorbs (on a daily basis) through television watching. So-called “reality TV” shows proliferate like maggots on rotting meat: scene after scene of sex-saturated, casually violent, crude and useless offal.
Listen to the lyrics of much of today’s popular music: explicit sexuality, racial hatred, misogyny and more. And what, one wonders, is the level of toxicity of internet sites, chatrooms and “social networking” forums?
Sure, let the innocent young flowers stare fixedly at “Real Dirty Girls” on television as hate-rap pounds into their brains and their fingers quiver in anticipation of typing “OMG! Did u like C wut that slut ws wearing???” but protect them from the corrupting horrors of Steinbeck, Atwood, Blume and Shakespeare.
Apparently children would be irreparably harmed by exposure to artfully written words that explore the human condition. God forbid that they should read of the tragedies of racial intolerance, religious bigotry, the struggles of those living through a crushing financial depression or the soul-searing costs of war.
And what of A Wrinkle in Time with its biblical and scholarly quotes? What possible justification could there be for banning this book? It is on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most frequently challenged books due, in part, to L’Engle daring to include Jesus Christ’s name among the names of the world’s great philosophers, scientists, artists and religious leaders. http://ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm
The greatest violation of free thought is not found within the pages of a book. It is found in the misguided censorship of books. Let our children read it, read it all. Let knowledge fill and strengthen them so that they can separate life’s chaff from its grain.
http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/ Check the lists and the map on this site – it is mind boggling.
Then peruse this brief list (from Adler & Robins Books) of literary works that are banned in various locations: http://www.adlerbooks.com/banned.html
This is by no means a comprehensive list. While no one would, of course, recommend that a ten-year-old child read One Hundred Years of Solitude or A Clockwork Orange, I fail to see what damage A Wrinkle in Time, To Kill A Mockingbird or The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn could possibly do. I read those extraordinary books before I was ten and am quite confident that it did not result in the destruction of my moral character or the loss of sanity.
Consider the relative merits of what a child or teen absorbs (on a daily basis) through television watching. So-called “reality TV” shows proliferate like maggots on rotting meat: scene after scene of sex-saturated, casually violent, crude and useless offal.
Listen to the lyrics of much of today’s popular music: explicit sexuality, racial hatred, misogyny and more. And what, one wonders, is the level of toxicity of internet sites, chatrooms and “social networking” forums?
Sure, let the innocent young flowers stare fixedly at “Real Dirty Girls” on television as hate-rap pounds into their brains and their fingers quiver in anticipation of typing “OMG! Did u like C wut that slut ws wearing???” but protect them from the corrupting horrors of Steinbeck, Atwood, Blume and Shakespeare.
Apparently children would be irreparably harmed by exposure to artfully written words that explore the human condition. God forbid that they should read of the tragedies of racial intolerance, religious bigotry, the struggles of those living through a crushing financial depression or the soul-searing costs of war.
And what of A Wrinkle in Time with its biblical and scholarly quotes? What possible justification could there be for banning this book? It is on the American Library Association’s list of the 100 most frequently challenged books due, in part, to L’Engle daring to include Jesus Christ’s name among the names of the world’s great philosophers, scientists, artists and religious leaders. http://ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/index.cfm
The greatest violation of free thought is not found within the pages of a book. It is found in the misguided censorship of books. Let our children read it, read it all. Let knowledge fill and strengthen them so that they can separate life’s chaff from its grain.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Holding our breath...again
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/gulf-oil-spill-bps-cap-success-oil-stops/story?id=11173330
Things appear to be going "well" at this point but there will be no cheering in the Gulf for decades to come:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/07/14/2010-07-14_bp_oil_spill_has_already_altered_the_food_web_putting_future_of_gulf_marine_life.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/science/earth/15necropsy.html
Things appear to be going "well" at this point but there will be no cheering in the Gulf for decades to come:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2010/07/14/2010-07-14_bp_oil_spill_has_already_altered_the_food_web_putting_future_of_gulf_marine_life.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/15/science/earth/15necropsy.html
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Re-cap, Delays and Incompetence
Re: delays with the new capping attempt -
Kent Wells, a senior vice president with BP, said at a news conference this morning that the company, at the command of the USCG, would delay drilling on the relief well by as much as 48 hours (translation of 48 hrs: 5,040,000 more gallons of oil) so that they could perform more extensive seismic mapping of the area. Wells said that he hadn't heard what the results were thus far, but he felt "comfortable that they were good."
What would lead Wells to, without having "heard" the results, "feel comfortable"? Is that the same blind assumption that allowed BP et al to "feel comfortable" that the well would never blow? The same incompetence that originally led them to state that it was only spewing 5,000 gallons per day? The same hubris that caused them to claim, 80 days ago, that it would be sealed off quickly? The same mindless corporate attitude that led them to state that dispersants were the answer?
The disagreement over the tests centers on the risks involved: they could actually further damage in the wellhead, allowing oil to gush into the Gulf from locations where it could not be halted. It's a massive roll of the dice and (right now) the US govt. is erring on the side of caution. Scientists are worried that the sinking of the rig after the April 20 explosion may have damaged cement-well walls below the blownout "blowout preventer" at the bottom of the Gulf. The possibility of a crater forming on the sea floor around the well head - with oil flowing from several areas - would magnify this catastrophe beyond all measure.
Many local boats continue to sit idle even as BP pays the captains up to $3,000 per day. (The rate for smaller boats (less than 26') is only $1200/day plus $200/day for each deck hand). There were over 500 boats out on patrol when the oil reached the Mississippi coastline - and they didn't see it. Why? Because BP failed to provide any direction about search patterns, routes, sectors etc. There is no instruction, organization or sanity.
Meanwhile, due to lack of funding, local marine laboratories are prevented from thoroughly investigating the effects of the oil. Mississippi alone spent approximately $15 million on tourism advertising to counter the economic impacts of the "spill" but can't seem to find the funds to support research concerning the effects of the oil on the food-chain and marine species in the Gulf.
If the Powers That Be who hold the purse strings in each state think that lack of tourists will crucify their economies then they will be stunned by the financial impacts of a fishing industry that has been destroyed, thousands upon thousands of unemployed citizens and a Gulf that is dead for decades...or longer.
Kent Wells, a senior vice president with BP, said at a news conference this morning that the company, at the command of the USCG, would delay drilling on the relief well by as much as 48 hours (translation of 48 hrs: 5,040,000 more gallons of oil) so that they could perform more extensive seismic mapping of the area. Wells said that he hadn't heard what the results were thus far, but he felt "comfortable that they were good."
What would lead Wells to, without having "heard" the results, "feel comfortable"? Is that the same blind assumption that allowed BP et al to "feel comfortable" that the well would never blow? The same incompetence that originally led them to state that it was only spewing 5,000 gallons per day? The same hubris that caused them to claim, 80 days ago, that it would be sealed off quickly? The same mindless corporate attitude that led them to state that dispersants were the answer?
The disagreement over the tests centers on the risks involved: they could actually further damage in the wellhead, allowing oil to gush into the Gulf from locations where it could not be halted. It's a massive roll of the dice and (right now) the US govt. is erring on the side of caution. Scientists are worried that the sinking of the rig after the April 20 explosion may have damaged cement-well walls below the blownout "blowout preventer" at the bottom of the Gulf. The possibility of a crater forming on the sea floor around the well head - with oil flowing from several areas - would magnify this catastrophe beyond all measure.
Many local boats continue to sit idle even as BP pays the captains up to $3,000 per day. (The rate for smaller boats (less than 26') is only $1200/day plus $200/day for each deck hand). There were over 500 boats out on patrol when the oil reached the Mississippi coastline - and they didn't see it. Why? Because BP failed to provide any direction about search patterns, routes, sectors etc. There is no instruction, organization or sanity.
Meanwhile, due to lack of funding, local marine laboratories are prevented from thoroughly investigating the effects of the oil. Mississippi alone spent approximately $15 million on tourism advertising to counter the economic impacts of the "spill" but can't seem to find the funds to support research concerning the effects of the oil on the food-chain and marine species in the Gulf.
If the Powers That Be who hold the purse strings in each state think that lack of tourists will crucify their economies then they will be stunned by the financial impacts of a fishing industry that has been destroyed, thousands upon thousands of unemployed citizens and a Gulf that is dead for decades...or longer.
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Message from the Gulf
I received the message below from Don Abrams (Mississippi) and thought that I should share it. This is the reality "on the ground". Money is either being squandered through mismanagement or it is disappearing into the great maw of state and local bureaucracies.
With restrictions on the media and BP’s interminable PR spin efforts, we must rely on the reports of those who live (and once worked) in the Gulf region. Their descriptions are discouraging, maddening and tragic.
http://dwabrams.com/gulfshores071210.html "Photos from Gulf Shores on 7/12/10.
"There was an extensive cleanup effort in progress but while there was much activity, little progress was being made. Crews were dabbling with sargassum remnants while ATVs ran up and down the beach grinding the small nuggets of oil into the sand.
We walked down the beach to the east and found a layer of buried oil where the waves were eroding recently deposited sand at a small 'bluff' by the water's edge, just a couple of hundred yards from the tent. Just before noon none of cleanup crews had been there that day - no tracks.
We tried to locate a supervisor to report the oil and none was in the area. There was a strong oil smell from the sand and the water. A tan/brown 'bathtub' ring was present where the waves stopped on the beach. The ATVs seemed to be respecting the red flags marking the beginning of the dunes. With a simple screen sifter and a shovel I estimate that we could have filled a five-gallon bucket with oil nuggets with 30 minutes of easy work.
It was disheartening to see all the money being spent on a poorly organized and poorly supervised effort. A two hour snapshot - lots of activity, little result. And possibly more harm than good was being done. That oil in the ATV track would probably have been relatively simple to recover before it was ground into the sand. I am horrified at the idea of having this sort of disjointed and poorly directed work done on our barrier islands."
With restrictions on the media and BP’s interminable PR spin efforts, we must rely on the reports of those who live (and once worked) in the Gulf region. Their descriptions are discouraging, maddening and tragic.
http://dwabrams.com/gulfshores071210.html "Photos from Gulf Shores on 7/12/10.
"There was an extensive cleanup effort in progress but while there was much activity, little progress was being made. Crews were dabbling with sargassum remnants while ATVs ran up and down the beach grinding the small nuggets of oil into the sand.
We walked down the beach to the east and found a layer of buried oil where the waves were eroding recently deposited sand at a small 'bluff' by the water's edge, just a couple of hundred yards from the tent. Just before noon none of cleanup crews had been there that day - no tracks.
We tried to locate a supervisor to report the oil and none was in the area. There was a strong oil smell from the sand and the water. A tan/brown 'bathtub' ring was present where the waves stopped on the beach. The ATVs seemed to be respecting the red flags marking the beginning of the dunes. With a simple screen sifter and a shovel I estimate that we could have filled a five-gallon bucket with oil nuggets with 30 minutes of easy work.
It was disheartening to see all the money being spent on a poorly organized and poorly supervised effort. A two hour snapshot - lots of activity, little result. And possibly more harm than good was being done. That oil in the ATV track would probably have been relatively simple to recover before it was ground into the sand. I am horrified at the idea of having this sort of disjointed and poorly directed work done on our barrier islands."
Sunday, July 11, 2010
Who Will Claim Twain?
My, oh my…can open, worms emerging. Dear Samuel Langhorne Clemens is creating quite a stir: the man who was born a curmudgeon and raised cynicism and tongue-in-cheek wit to a mighty and enduring American art-form. Now his autobiography is to be released – the first version to enter the public forum without being sanitized beyond all recognition.
Twain himself instructed his publishers, in 1906, “From the first, second, third and fourth editions all sound and sane expressions of opinion must be left out. There may be a market for that kind of wares a century from now. There is no hurry. Wait and see.”
And now, apparently, it is time.
Who will claim Twain? Will the Tea Party leap to mangle and prostitute his thoughts? Will the Republicans bleat that he is anti-American and should be banned from schools? (Given the vast number of educational institutes bearing his name this could well employ thousands of out-of-work sign painters).
Will the Democrats mount a campaign to have his likeness on the one-dollar bill?
Will Sarah Palin/Glenn Beck/Rush Limbaugh et al bellow that they knew that he was a namby-pamby-artsy-immoral-commie all along?
Although a one-time rabid imperialist (Twain described himself as “a red-hot imperialist”) he later reversed course and became the vice-president of the American Anti-Imperialist League. He had little tolerance for, as George Carlin put it, “nailing souls on the feet of the natives.” That might irk the more jingoistic among us.
Twain was the self-proclaimed pacifist and yet he wrote “I am said to be a revolutionist in my sympathies, by birth, by breeding and by principle. I am always on the side of the revolutionists, because there never was a revolution unless there were some oppressive and intolerable conditions against which to revolt.” (Yo, Tea Partiers, there’s some nifty copy for you to co-opt…just ignore the rest of his writings).
But wait, there’s more! Twain was also a passionate advocate for black civil rights and women’s rights. (Gasp! – he supported the suffragette movement). That could prove a bit tricky for the uber-right-wing “take our country back” faction who may want to adopt him (in some altered and expurgated form) as their new Voice. Clemens is, after all, widely viewed as the epitome of the “honest American”.
I suppose that his statements about religion could be a bit of a PR dilemma too: “If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be – a Christian” and “There is one notable thing about our Christianity: bad, bloody, merciless, money-grabbing, and predatory. The invention of hell measured by our Christianity of today, bad as it is, hypocritical as it is, empty and hollow as it is, neither the deity nor his son is a Christian, nor qualified for that moderately high place.”
Uh oh, now the “sex issue” comes into play. Twain wrote “It is not immoral to create the human species–with or without ceremony.” (Letters from the Earth) and “Of all the delights of this world man cares most for sexual intercourse. He will go any length for it-risk fortune, character, reputation, life itself. And what do you think he has done? He has left it out of his heaven! Prayer takes its place.” (Notebook, 1906).
Such a conundrum. Now that we are to, finally, hear from the man himself, what shall we do with this American icon? It’s probably naïve of me to hope that he will be even more celebrated for his brutal honesty, passion and prose for there seems to be a tsunami of intolerance that is building in this country. The right to carry firearms incurs more rhetoric and passion that the right for our children to be well educated and healthy. People gather to talk about “taking our country back” (“from whom?” one might ask and “to what?”)
Who will claim Twain? We shall see.
Twain himself instructed his publishers, in 1906, “From the first, second, third and fourth editions all sound and sane expressions of opinion must be left out. There may be a market for that kind of wares a century from now. There is no hurry. Wait and see.”
And now, apparently, it is time.
Who will claim Twain? Will the Tea Party leap to mangle and prostitute his thoughts? Will the Republicans bleat that he is anti-American and should be banned from schools? (Given the vast number of educational institutes bearing his name this could well employ thousands of out-of-work sign painters).
Will the Democrats mount a campaign to have his likeness on the one-dollar bill?
Will Sarah Palin/Glenn Beck/Rush Limbaugh et al bellow that they knew that he was a namby-pamby-artsy-immoral-commie all along?
Although a one-time rabid imperialist (Twain described himself as “a red-hot imperialist”) he later reversed course and became the vice-president of the American Anti-Imperialist League. He had little tolerance for, as George Carlin put it, “nailing souls on the feet of the natives.” That might irk the more jingoistic among us.
Twain was the self-proclaimed pacifist and yet he wrote “I am said to be a revolutionist in my sympathies, by birth, by breeding and by principle. I am always on the side of the revolutionists, because there never was a revolution unless there were some oppressive and intolerable conditions against which to revolt.” (Yo, Tea Partiers, there’s some nifty copy for you to co-opt…just ignore the rest of his writings).
But wait, there’s more! Twain was also a passionate advocate for black civil rights and women’s rights. (Gasp! – he supported the suffragette movement). That could prove a bit tricky for the uber-right-wing “take our country back” faction who may want to adopt him (in some altered and expurgated form) as their new Voice. Clemens is, after all, widely viewed as the epitome of the “honest American”.
I suppose that his statements about religion could be a bit of a PR dilemma too: “If Christ were here now there is one thing he would not be – a Christian” and “There is one notable thing about our Christianity: bad, bloody, merciless, money-grabbing, and predatory. The invention of hell measured by our Christianity of today, bad as it is, hypocritical as it is, empty and hollow as it is, neither the deity nor his son is a Christian, nor qualified for that moderately high place.”
Uh oh, now the “sex issue” comes into play. Twain wrote “It is not immoral to create the human species–with or without ceremony.” (Letters from the Earth) and “Of all the delights of this world man cares most for sexual intercourse. He will go any length for it-risk fortune, character, reputation, life itself. And what do you think he has done? He has left it out of his heaven! Prayer takes its place.” (Notebook, 1906).
Such a conundrum. Now that we are to, finally, hear from the man himself, what shall we do with this American icon? It’s probably naïve of me to hope that he will be even more celebrated for his brutal honesty, passion and prose for there seems to be a tsunami of intolerance that is building in this country. The right to carry firearms incurs more rhetoric and passion that the right for our children to be well educated and healthy. People gather to talk about “taking our country back” (“from whom?” one might ask and “to what?”)
Who will claim Twain? We shall see.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
I have always found that one’s birthday eve is more conducive to reflection than New Year’s (that traditional time of summation and resolution). Birthdays tend to be more poignant as the years pass and time seeps into the bones and creases the skin.
As of 7:05am tomorrow I will have breathed the air of this earth for 53 years and have far less time left to me than I have already survived.
And what have I accomplished thus far?
If I check within myself, dispassionately, I believe that I can say that I was a good daughter: that I loved, honoured and cared for my parents throughout their lives.
Am I a good mother? Only my children can answer that but they are extraordinarily accomplished and loving people of supreme integrity so I assume that I didn’t bugger it all up too badly. And they like me – a huge plus for any parent.
Am I a good friend? Yes – I would go to the mat for them and have maintained close ties with some for over 40 years.
Have I given more than I have taken? I think so. I hope so.
Have I felt and created joy? Oh, yes: so many moments of “glad grace” shared.
Have I defended my beliefs while being willing to bend and adapt? To the former, a resounding “yes”. To the latter (given my travels throughout disparate worlds) I believe so or I would have been, metaphorically, tarred and feathered upon countless occasions.
Time is unkind to women. We know, from a young age, that beauty and youth is our stock in trade. Oh yes, we are told that the world is our oyster and all things are possible but when the alluring blossom fades it’s every man for himself. How else do we explain the eternal fascination with the Sean Connerys and Harrison Fords even as billions of dollars are spent by women on anti-wrinkle creams and fountain-of-youth injections?
I am not without vanity and I often stand before the mirror and, inwardly, scream, “What the hell is that???” as portions of my body seek southern climes. And I live in a society that is unfamiliar to me: a world of hair-dye, “mani-pedis”, Botox, and other arcane and costly acts of youth-seeking. I am considered an enigma.
I'm more used to a mind-set where hair goes grey, the hiking boots go on and one just embraces (and rejoices in) the fact that age is its own triumph. I thank my grandmother and the members of a farm-family that I was a part of for almost a quarter of a century for that priceless gift of knowledge and confidence.
Okay...so tomorrow I will be 53 years old. Time is a feeble man made construct. Were it not for the calendar and the mirror I would say that I am 27 – but, thank God, far wiser than those meager years allowed. “Bring it on”, say I, “Bring it on.”
*Tomorrow has arrived. Yup...still the same me :)
As of 7:05am tomorrow I will have breathed the air of this earth for 53 years and have far less time left to me than I have already survived.
And what have I accomplished thus far?
If I check within myself, dispassionately, I believe that I can say that I was a good daughter: that I loved, honoured and cared for my parents throughout their lives.
Am I a good mother? Only my children can answer that but they are extraordinarily accomplished and loving people of supreme integrity so I assume that I didn’t bugger it all up too badly. And they like me – a huge plus for any parent.
Am I a good friend? Yes – I would go to the mat for them and have maintained close ties with some for over 40 years.
Have I given more than I have taken? I think so. I hope so.
Have I felt and created joy? Oh, yes: so many moments of “glad grace” shared.
Have I defended my beliefs while being willing to bend and adapt? To the former, a resounding “yes”. To the latter (given my travels throughout disparate worlds) I believe so or I would have been, metaphorically, tarred and feathered upon countless occasions.
Time is unkind to women. We know, from a young age, that beauty and youth is our stock in trade. Oh yes, we are told that the world is our oyster and all things are possible but when the alluring blossom fades it’s every man for himself. How else do we explain the eternal fascination with the Sean Connerys and Harrison Fords even as billions of dollars are spent by women on anti-wrinkle creams and fountain-of-youth injections?
I am not without vanity and I often stand before the mirror and, inwardly, scream, “What the hell is that???” as portions of my body seek southern climes. And I live in a society that is unfamiliar to me: a world of hair-dye, “mani-pedis”, Botox, and other arcane and costly acts of youth-seeking. I am considered an enigma.
I'm more used to a mind-set where hair goes grey, the hiking boots go on and one just embraces (and rejoices in) the fact that age is its own triumph. I thank my grandmother and the members of a farm-family that I was a part of for almost a quarter of a century for that priceless gift of knowledge and confidence.
Okay...so tomorrow I will be 53 years old. Time is a feeble man made construct. Were it not for the calendar and the mirror I would say that I am 27 – but, thank God, far wiser than those meager years allowed. “Bring it on”, say I, “Bring it on.”
*Tomorrow has arrived. Yup...still the same me :)
Thursday, July 8, 2010
A Brave New World
And so I begin a new journey. Last week I signed a contract with a literary agent who received my novel and wishes to represent me. I had sent the first 10 pages (as per the usual instructions) of the manuscript "Pilgrim Souls" to four carefully selected agents. Each one then asked to see 50 more pages and then the full manuscript (again, the usual procedure for such things). All four wished to represent me - but after hours of speaking to all of them at length, my choice was clear: Christopher Ferebee of Yates & Yates.
He, alone, spoke of matters beyond the “marketability” of the book. He told me that he read it and immediately went home to his wife and said “Do you feel like this?” We then enjoyed a two-hour conversation about marriage, women, children, men, society and “lives of quiet desperation” interspersed with moments of “glad grace”. He just got it.
It’s a fragile thing, this book writing. You carefully nurture the unformed child for months or years, finally give birth to a fully developed creature and then, at some point, you must decide to either shelter it at home in your heart or send it out into the world to make its own way.
I remember seeing my name in print for the first time, then on a masthead, then (of course) smeared across the cyber-sphere. It is exhilarating and terrifying. There are your words, “out there”: no chance of revisions or second thoughts. Articles are one thing – a book is an entirely different creature.
The people who move across the pages of a fiction novel are constructs of the Self. They are the amalgamation of the author’s experience, regrets, hopes, dreams and deepest veiled thoughts. In my case I simply sat down at the keyboard one day, during a painful and tumultuous period of my life, and began writing. The characters came to me fully realized, with histories and clamorous voices. They crowded in upon me as I slept, showered, made meals, went about the days of ailing parents and children and work.
For six months I lived in two disparate but oddly connected worlds as I bounded between my reality and theirs. At times they led me into places that I would rather not go – dark realms of painful realization and honesty – and at times they shone a very bright light of understanding, compassion and humour. They spoke to me in the ancient voices of women and the babble of today’s expectations. And sometimes they allowed me to intertwine my story with theirs.
I feel a weight of responsibility to this motley crew as I enter a new realm of “contracts, proposals, selling points, bidding wars, cover art” and other scary-ass stuff. There is a need to fight on behalf of the voices that wished to be heard and long to be free to whisper in other ears. Admittedly, there is also a compelling drive to have them on the shelves and out of my head.
(By the way, I realize that only a writer would understand all of this: non-writers may consider it the first signs of schizophrenia or dementia).
It is another new journey and I find myself torn between trepidation and excitement. Perhaps that is a product of being told, “be careful what you wish for.” I have always considered that a heinous thing to say to a child for it translates into a dire “don’t trust your dreams” message. I taught my own children to wish for it all, reach for it all, hunger for it all and joyfully accept it all. (So often the parent teaches what the parent has yet to learn. Mea culpa).
As my grandmother would say "We shall see. It'll aye be someway."
He, alone, spoke of matters beyond the “marketability” of the book. He told me that he read it and immediately went home to his wife and said “Do you feel like this?” We then enjoyed a two-hour conversation about marriage, women, children, men, society and “lives of quiet desperation” interspersed with moments of “glad grace”. He just got it.
It’s a fragile thing, this book writing. You carefully nurture the unformed child for months or years, finally give birth to a fully developed creature and then, at some point, you must decide to either shelter it at home in your heart or send it out into the world to make its own way.
I remember seeing my name in print for the first time, then on a masthead, then (of course) smeared across the cyber-sphere. It is exhilarating and terrifying. There are your words, “out there”: no chance of revisions or second thoughts. Articles are one thing – a book is an entirely different creature.
The people who move across the pages of a fiction novel are constructs of the Self. They are the amalgamation of the author’s experience, regrets, hopes, dreams and deepest veiled thoughts. In my case I simply sat down at the keyboard one day, during a painful and tumultuous period of my life, and began writing. The characters came to me fully realized, with histories and clamorous voices. They crowded in upon me as I slept, showered, made meals, went about the days of ailing parents and children and work.
For six months I lived in two disparate but oddly connected worlds as I bounded between my reality and theirs. At times they led me into places that I would rather not go – dark realms of painful realization and honesty – and at times they shone a very bright light of understanding, compassion and humour. They spoke to me in the ancient voices of women and the babble of today’s expectations. And sometimes they allowed me to intertwine my story with theirs.
I feel a weight of responsibility to this motley crew as I enter a new realm of “contracts, proposals, selling points, bidding wars, cover art” and other scary-ass stuff. There is a need to fight on behalf of the voices that wished to be heard and long to be free to whisper in other ears. Admittedly, there is also a compelling drive to have them on the shelves and out of my head.
(By the way, I realize that only a writer would understand all of this: non-writers may consider it the first signs of schizophrenia or dementia).
It is another new journey and I find myself torn between trepidation and excitement. Perhaps that is a product of being told, “be careful what you wish for.” I have always considered that a heinous thing to say to a child for it translates into a dire “don’t trust your dreams” message. I taught my own children to wish for it all, reach for it all, hunger for it all and joyfully accept it all. (So often the parent teaches what the parent has yet to learn. Mea culpa).
As my grandmother would say "We shall see. It'll aye be someway."
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
From Reuters - http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN069191320100706
(My comments in brackets and bold)
“TOP DEVELOPMENTS
· BP ruled out a share issue and talk persisted of sovereign wealth fund interest in the British oil major, boosting its shares on Tuesday even as its Gulf of Mexico oil slick spread to the Texas coast.
· The first of two relief wells seen as the most promising way to plug the leak is close to its target but drilling will be slow and precise in coming weeks, the U.S. official overseeing the spill response said. (If BP predicts August then I will predict November).
· Energy traders are watching two tropical weather systems that have potential to disrupt BP's clean-up of its massive spill. (‘Tis the season, boys. The news is, of course, filled with BP’s financial woes and money-wrangling efforts. Someone pass me a Kleenex, please. There are fewer stories about the people of the Gulf who now stand in food lines to feed their families).
MARKET IMPACT/COMPANIES
· BP shares traded in New York rose nearly 7 percent on Tuesday, while its London shares climbed 3 percent.
· BP shares had lost around half their value since the spill started after an oil rig exploded in the Gulf in late April.
(BP’s first quarter profits for 2010 were approximately $61 million...per day. I think that they’ll be okay).
POLITICS/POLICY
· The Obama administration expects to announce a revised deep-water offshore drilling moratorium in the next few days, the White House said on Thursday.
· The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to eliminate limits on liability oil companies would face for oil spill damages. The measure now goes before the full Senate. It would also need to win passage in the House of Representatives before becoming law.
· Bipartisan lawmakers on Friday sought tax breaks for mostly small businesses in Gulf states to help cushion the economic blow.
(Do something and do it now and do it right).
ENVIRONMENT
· Initial tests of the dispersant BP is using to break up oil in the Gulf of Mexico show it does not harm endocrine systems in aquatic life, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. (Complete and utter bull but, what the heck, NALCO likes it. Of course, they also make it.
http://lmrk.org/corexit_9500_uscueg.539287.pdf )
· Environmental groups, BP and the U.S. Coast Guard reached tentative agreement on a plan allowing biologists or other trained wildlife observers to accompany oil-incineration vessels at sea to remove as many turtles as possible from designated areas before burning starts.
(Oh now, there’s a thought. Nice that y’all came to some accord. Sucks to be the countless turtles – and others - already incinerated).
· The spill's toll on birds is set to get drastically worse, scientists say. (Ya think?)
CAPTURE/CONTAINMENT/CLEANUP
· Tests on a supertanker adapted to skim large quantities of oily water from the Gulf of Mexico surface are inconclusive because of high seas, ship owner TMT Shipping Offshore said on Monday.
· BP said on Tuesday that its oil-capture systems at the leak in the Gulf of Mexico collected or burned off 24,980 barrels of oil on Monday. (And we would believe them…why?)
· An undetermined amount of oil continued to billow out from under the containment cap and through vents on top into the sea. A team of U.S. scientists estimate the leak is gushing up to 60,000 barrels a day. (That’s 2.5 million gallons to us non-oil PR people).
SPECIAL REPORT
· A nuclear fix to the leaking well has been touted online and in the occasional newspaper op-ed for weeks now. Washington has repeatedly dismissed the idea and BP execs say they are not considering an explosion -- nuclear or otherwise.”
(Oh…no nuclear explosions beneath the Gulf? Gee, why not? It would get rid of those pesky marine species that so irk Rush Limbaugh – he has to turn out his beach-facing lights during nesting season, poor guy).
Forgive me my sarcasm - it's all that left to us these days.
(My comments in brackets and bold)
“TOP DEVELOPMENTS
· BP ruled out a share issue and talk persisted of sovereign wealth fund interest in the British oil major, boosting its shares on Tuesday even as its Gulf of Mexico oil slick spread to the Texas coast.
· The first of two relief wells seen as the most promising way to plug the leak is close to its target but drilling will be slow and precise in coming weeks, the U.S. official overseeing the spill response said. (If BP predicts August then I will predict November).
· Energy traders are watching two tropical weather systems that have potential to disrupt BP's clean-up of its massive spill. (‘Tis the season, boys. The news is, of course, filled with BP’s financial woes and money-wrangling efforts. Someone pass me a Kleenex, please. There are fewer stories about the people of the Gulf who now stand in food lines to feed their families).
MARKET IMPACT/COMPANIES
· BP shares traded in New York rose nearly 7 percent on Tuesday, while its London shares climbed 3 percent.
· BP shares had lost around half their value since the spill started after an oil rig exploded in the Gulf in late April.
(BP’s first quarter profits for 2010 were approximately $61 million...per day. I think that they’ll be okay).
POLITICS/POLICY
· The Obama administration expects to announce a revised deep-water offshore drilling moratorium in the next few days, the White House said on Thursday.
· The U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee voted to eliminate limits on liability oil companies would face for oil spill damages. The measure now goes before the full Senate. It would also need to win passage in the House of Representatives before becoming law.
· Bipartisan lawmakers on Friday sought tax breaks for mostly small businesses in Gulf states to help cushion the economic blow.
(Do something and do it now and do it right).
ENVIRONMENT
· Initial tests of the dispersant BP is using to break up oil in the Gulf of Mexico show it does not harm endocrine systems in aquatic life, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said. (Complete and utter bull but, what the heck, NALCO likes it. Of course, they also make it.
http://lmrk.org/corexit_9500_uscueg.539287.pdf )
· Environmental groups, BP and the U.S. Coast Guard reached tentative agreement on a plan allowing biologists or other trained wildlife observers to accompany oil-incineration vessels at sea to remove as many turtles as possible from designated areas before burning starts.
(Oh now, there’s a thought. Nice that y’all came to some accord. Sucks to be the countless turtles – and others - already incinerated).
· The spill's toll on birds is set to get drastically worse, scientists say. (Ya think?)
CAPTURE/CONTAINMENT/CLEANUP
· Tests on a supertanker adapted to skim large quantities of oily water from the Gulf of Mexico surface are inconclusive because of high seas, ship owner TMT Shipping Offshore said on Monday.
· BP said on Tuesday that its oil-capture systems at the leak in the Gulf of Mexico collected or burned off 24,980 barrels of oil on Monday. (And we would believe them…why?)
· An undetermined amount of oil continued to billow out from under the containment cap and through vents on top into the sea. A team of U.S. scientists estimate the leak is gushing up to 60,000 barrels a day. (That’s 2.5 million gallons to us non-oil PR people).
SPECIAL REPORT
· A nuclear fix to the leaking well has been touted online and in the occasional newspaper op-ed for weeks now. Washington has repeatedly dismissed the idea and BP execs say they are not considering an explosion -- nuclear or otherwise.”
(Oh…no nuclear explosions beneath the Gulf? Gee, why not? It would get rid of those pesky marine species that so irk Rush Limbaugh – he has to turn out his beach-facing lights during nesting season, poor guy).
Forgive me my sarcasm - it's all that left to us these days.
A Step in the Right Direction
I first discovered St. Marys, Georgia, through a Google search. At the time I was living in an area near East St. Louis and was horrified by the crime rate, the damp, cold winters and having to lock my door for the first time in my life. One evening I entered “small coastal cities in Georgia” and came across St. Marys, the second oldest continuously inhabited city in the United States. It looked and sounded extraordinary.
Built on the banks of the St. Marys River, surrounded by salt marsh and offering the only access to the breathtaking Cumberland Island National Seashore – the largest of Georgia’s barrier islands – St. Marys appeared to be idyllic.
One quick trip down to reconnoitre and the decision was made: we sold the house in Illinois, packed up and moved within two months. In my four years here I have never regretted that choice.
Change can be slow in coming, and when I arrived I was shocked to find that there was no curbside recycling program. Thus was born the St. Marys EarthKeepers, Inc. and now the recycling program has a city-wide compliance rate of twice that of the national average, junior EarthKeepers in all of the schools and a large and growing membership.
Today I passed by the lovely Riverview Hotel on the harbor. Built in 1916, the hotel has been owned and operated by the Brandon family since the 1920’s. It recently underwent a massive update: floors restored to their original lustre, eco-friendly products, environmentally-savvy fixtures and plumbing and more.
Now the venerable Riverview Hotel is to be the first hotel in Georgia with solar-assisted air conditioning. I spoke with the gentlemen of Sedna Aire Americas and Energy Specialty Source and they informed me that it is estimated that the solar devices will produce up to 50% of the energy required to air condition the hotel.
With the field of eco-tourism leading the way in Georgia, the Brandons made a wise and economically-rewarding choice when they decided to commit themselves to “going green”. If this small town and this old building can take such a massive step into a more sustainable future then it is doable for us all.
Unlike many bloggers, I do not advertise on this site. These are my observations and if any chose to view them as an endorsement, feel free to do so. Consider the tourism numbers in Georgia:
•$20.8 billion in direct expenditures
•241,500 jobs
•$6.3 billion in resident wages
•$1.557 billion state and local tax revenue
http://www.georgia.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/Industries/Tourism/IndustryResearch/State%20Economic%20Report/Tourism%20Economic%20Impact%20Presentation_Jan_10.pdf
That is a very big pie and eco-tourism is becoming a larger and larger portion of it. St. Marys is uniquely situated to take full advantage of that largess.
Built on the banks of the St. Marys River, surrounded by salt marsh and offering the only access to the breathtaking Cumberland Island National Seashore – the largest of Georgia’s barrier islands – St. Marys appeared to be idyllic.
One quick trip down to reconnoitre and the decision was made: we sold the house in Illinois, packed up and moved within two months. In my four years here I have never regretted that choice.
Change can be slow in coming, and when I arrived I was shocked to find that there was no curbside recycling program. Thus was born the St. Marys EarthKeepers, Inc. and now the recycling program has a city-wide compliance rate of twice that of the national average, junior EarthKeepers in all of the schools and a large and growing membership.
Today I passed by the lovely Riverview Hotel on the harbor. Built in 1916, the hotel has been owned and operated by the Brandon family since the 1920’s. It recently underwent a massive update: floors restored to their original lustre, eco-friendly products, environmentally-savvy fixtures and plumbing and more.
Now the venerable Riverview Hotel is to be the first hotel in Georgia with solar-assisted air conditioning. I spoke with the gentlemen of Sedna Aire Americas and Energy Specialty Source and they informed me that it is estimated that the solar devices will produce up to 50% of the energy required to air condition the hotel.
With the field of eco-tourism leading the way in Georgia, the Brandons made a wise and economically-rewarding choice when they decided to commit themselves to “going green”. If this small town and this old building can take such a massive step into a more sustainable future then it is doable for us all.
Unlike many bloggers, I do not advertise on this site. These are my observations and if any chose to view them as an endorsement, feel free to do so. Consider the tourism numbers in Georgia:
•$20.8 billion in direct expenditures
•241,500 jobs
•$6.3 billion in resident wages
•$1.557 billion state and local tax revenue
http://www.georgia.org/SiteCollectionDocuments/Industries/Tourism/IndustryResearch/State%20Economic%20Report/Tourism%20Economic%20Impact%20Presentation_Jan_10.pdf
That is a very big pie and eco-tourism is becoming a larger and larger portion of it. St. Marys is uniquely situated to take full advantage of that largess.
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Farewell to the First
Let us all spare a moment to bow our heads in silence as we consider the fatal blow that has been dealt to the first amendment. While this cornerstone of democracy sinks beneath the oleaginous waves of the Gulf, we can only mourn its loss – and ours.
According to CNN reports, the government has issued a new edict that would make it a felony crime for any journalist, photographer or reporter to even approach any oil cleanup operation, personnel or equipment in the Gulf. Anyone who violates this draconian law is subject to arrest, a $40,000 fine and prosecution for a federal felony crime.
CNN reporter Anderson Cooper: "A new law passed today, and back by the force of law and the threat of fines and felony charges, will prevent reporters and photographers from getting anywhere close to booms and oil-soaked wildlife - just about any place we need to be. By now you're probably familiar with cleanup crews stiff-arming the media, private security blocking cameras, ordinary workers clamming up, some not even saying who they're working for because they're afraid of losing their jobs."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXsmLMV1CrM I suggest that you watch the entire clip.
As Cooper reported, "Now the government is getting in on the act. Despite what Admiral Thad Allen promised about transparency just nearly a month ago."(Thad Allen: "The media will have uninhibited access anywhere we're doing operations.")
Anderson Cooper: "The Coast Guard today announced new rules keeping photographers, reporters, and anyone else from coming with 65 feet of any response vessel or booms out on the water or on beaches. What this means is that oil-soaked birds on an island surrounded by a boom, you can't get close enough to take that picture. Shot of oil on beaches with booms? Stay 65 feet away. Pictures of oil-soaked booms uselessly laying in the water because they haven't been collected like they should? You can't get close enough to see that. Believe me, that is out there. But you only know that if you get close to it, and now you can't without permission. Violators could face a fine of $40,000 and Class D felony charges."I don't know about you, but I find this both sickening and frightening. The Coast Guard has stated "The safety zone has been put in place to protect members of the response effort, the installation and maintenance of oil containment boom, the operation of response equipment and protection of the environment by limiting access to and through deployed protective boom."
This does little to explain the gag order imposed on all volunteers and employees or the fact that reporters and photographers are repeatedly strong-armed from any operation areas on the land or the water. Some of the most reliable and comprehensive information that I am receiving is from the local residents in the Gulf states. Unless BP intends to evict them and confiscate their cameras and computers, information will continue to be disseminated around the world.
Here's an article that sums up the situation - and the frustration http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georgianne-nienaber/facing-the-future-as-a-me_b_634661.html
This is certainly not the first time that BP has done this. In 2005 a photographer taking pictures of a BP refinery in Texas City, Texas (after a blast there killed 15 workers in 2005 and released vast amounts of toxic gases into the atmosphere) was detained by a BP security official, local police and a man who said he was from the Department of Homeland Security (that all-purpose law-making machine).
The photographer, Lance Rosenfield, said that the officials confronted him shortly after he arrived in Texas City. Rosenfield was released after officials pored over the pictures he had taken and took down his personal information (date of birth, Social Security number etc). The information was then turned over to the BP security guard who said that this was “standard procedure”. Rosenfield, a freelance photographer, said that he was followed by a BP employee after taking a picture on a public road near the refinery and then cornered by two police cars at a gas station.
This is BP's modus operandi - but it is unconscionable for the Dept. of Homeland Security and the USCG to support such an egregious violation of first amendment rights.
According to CNN reports, the government has issued a new edict that would make it a felony crime for any journalist, photographer or reporter to even approach any oil cleanup operation, personnel or equipment in the Gulf. Anyone who violates this draconian law is subject to arrest, a $40,000 fine and prosecution for a federal felony crime.
CNN reporter Anderson Cooper: "A new law passed today, and back by the force of law and the threat of fines and felony charges, will prevent reporters and photographers from getting anywhere close to booms and oil-soaked wildlife - just about any place we need to be. By now you're probably familiar with cleanup crews stiff-arming the media, private security blocking cameras, ordinary workers clamming up, some not even saying who they're working for because they're afraid of losing their jobs."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXsmLMV1CrM I suggest that you watch the entire clip.
As Cooper reported, "Now the government is getting in on the act. Despite what Admiral Thad Allen promised about transparency just nearly a month ago."(Thad Allen: "The media will have uninhibited access anywhere we're doing operations.")
Anderson Cooper: "The Coast Guard today announced new rules keeping photographers, reporters, and anyone else from coming with 65 feet of any response vessel or booms out on the water or on beaches. What this means is that oil-soaked birds on an island surrounded by a boom, you can't get close enough to take that picture. Shot of oil on beaches with booms? Stay 65 feet away. Pictures of oil-soaked booms uselessly laying in the water because they haven't been collected like they should? You can't get close enough to see that. Believe me, that is out there. But you only know that if you get close to it, and now you can't without permission. Violators could face a fine of $40,000 and Class D felony charges."I don't know about you, but I find this both sickening and frightening. The Coast Guard has stated "The safety zone has been put in place to protect members of the response effort, the installation and maintenance of oil containment boom, the operation of response equipment and protection of the environment by limiting access to and through deployed protective boom."
This does little to explain the gag order imposed on all volunteers and employees or the fact that reporters and photographers are repeatedly strong-armed from any operation areas on the land or the water. Some of the most reliable and comprehensive information that I am receiving is from the local residents in the Gulf states. Unless BP intends to evict them and confiscate their cameras and computers, information will continue to be disseminated around the world.
Here's an article that sums up the situation - and the frustration http://www.huffingtonpost.com/georgianne-nienaber/facing-the-future-as-a-me_b_634661.html
This is certainly not the first time that BP has done this. In 2005 a photographer taking pictures of a BP refinery in Texas City, Texas (after a blast there killed 15 workers in 2005 and released vast amounts of toxic gases into the atmosphere) was detained by a BP security official, local police and a man who said he was from the Department of Homeland Security (that all-purpose law-making machine).
The photographer, Lance Rosenfield, said that the officials confronted him shortly after he arrived in Texas City. Rosenfield was released after officials pored over the pictures he had taken and took down his personal information (date of birth, Social Security number etc). The information was then turned over to the BP security guard who said that this was “standard procedure”. Rosenfield, a freelance photographer, said that he was followed by a BP employee after taking a picture on a public road near the refinery and then cornered by two police cars at a gas station.
This is BP's modus operandi - but it is unconscionable for the Dept. of Homeland Security and the USCG to support such an egregious violation of first amendment rights.
Saturday, July 3, 2010
A Little Truth...Please
"In early June we aggressively increased our focus on skimmers to combat the oil leaking from BP's well," said Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who heads the federal spill response team. Adm. Allen said Friday there are 550 skimmers of various sizes working in the Gulf today, up from 100 large skimmers at the beginning of June." http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704699604575343230185357188.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
And this:
"The new boats bring to 220 the number primarily working the Alabama coast, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials. There are another 158 in Mississippi and 112 in nearby areas of Florida. " http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/more_skimmer_boats_deployed_to.html
And this:
“Meanwhile, more than 2,000 smaller boats have signed up for oil-spill duty under BP's Vessel of Opportunity program. The company pays boat captains and their crews a flat fee based on the size of the vessel, ranging from $1,200 to $3,000 a day, plus a $200 fee for each crew member who works an eight-hour day.
Rocky Ditcharo, a shrimp dock owner in Buras, La., said many fishermen hired by BP have told him that they often park their boats on the shore while they wait for word on where to go. "They just wait because there's no direction," Ditcharo said. He said he believes BP has hired many boat captains "to show numbers." "But they're really not doing anything," he added. He also said he suspects the company is hiring out-of-work fishermen to placate them with paychecks.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/02/national/main6641907.shtml
Meanwhile, amid all of these conflicting reports, I received this message from a trusted and highly knowledgeable source who lives on the Mississippi coast:
“There are not these numbers of skimmers in Mississippi. I know of no one who has ever seen a single one. What are they calling a skimmer boat? Are they calling a boat that can pull boom a skimmer, even if it has no means of removing oil from the water?
There is no doubt that the Vessels of Opportunity program is a hush money program. It neutralizes the voices of everyone who signs up. They have to swear not to talk to the media (or to anyone for that matter) about their experience. They're told that they will be fired if they do.
So, they can't fish. The BP money is the only game in town and that will be taken away from them if they complain. I don't blame the commercial boat operators; most have no choice but to participate. BP isn't trying to get much useful value from the program. The fleet of 500 boats they claim in Mississippi didn't spot the oil before it arrived despite the fact that BP said they were actively patrolling. Problem is the boats were given no direction, no sector to search, no search pattern, no reporting...just leave the dock and don't come back until your shift is over.”
“Billy Nungesser, president of Louisiana's hard-hit Plaquemines Parish, said BP and the coast guard provided a map of the exact locations of 140 skimmers that were supposedly cleaning up the oil. But he said after he repeatedly asked to be flown over the area so he could see them at work, officials told him only 31 skimmers were on the job. "I'm trying to work with these guys," he said. "But everything they're giving me is a wish list, not what's actually out there." A BP spokesman declined to comment.”
http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/article/bp-disaster-may-now-be-worst-spill-in-gulf-history/902564/Jul-01-2010_7-37-pm/
Lies, rhetoric, confusion, obfuscation and despair seem to the order of the day in the Gulf.
There are heroic efforts throughout the Gulf as workers and volunteers fight to save their world and the countless species that inhabit the region. Inland fields are being flooded to encourage birds to settle in safety and then there’s this extraordinary project:
“As the oil spill coats Gulf Coast beaches, rescuers are hatching a daring plan to save as many as 70,000 sea turtle eggs from the disaster.”
It is a massive undertaking with no guarantee of success. In the next few weeks 700-800 nests will be painstakingly excavated, the eggs carefully packed and FedExed to the Atlantic coast of Florida. It is a gamble – but if nothing is done then the sea turtles face death and possible extinction.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128276036&ft=1&f=1025
As the rest of the nation celebrates this weekend, there is little light, hope or faith for the people in the Gulf states. All they ask is the truth. All they want are honest answers to such questions as “where did the money go?” Mississippi alone received two block grants of $25 million each for spill preparation and response - and $15 million for tourism promotion. But what, exactly, has been done with those funds in that there is no tangible evidence of equipment and action on the Mississippi coast? Who is accountable for the spending of the monies? Has it simply entered the great sinkhole of state and local bureaucracies?
The people in the Gulf need answers – not more “spin” from politicians and BP.
And this:
"The new boats bring to 220 the number primarily working the Alabama coast, according to U.S. Coast Guard officials. There are another 158 in Mississippi and 112 in nearby areas of Florida. " http://blog.al.com/live/2010/06/more_skimmer_boats_deployed_to.html
And this:
“Meanwhile, more than 2,000 smaller boats have signed up for oil-spill duty under BP's Vessel of Opportunity program. The company pays boat captains and their crews a flat fee based on the size of the vessel, ranging from $1,200 to $3,000 a day, plus a $200 fee for each crew member who works an eight-hour day.
Rocky Ditcharo, a shrimp dock owner in Buras, La., said many fishermen hired by BP have told him that they often park their boats on the shore while they wait for word on where to go. "They just wait because there's no direction," Ditcharo said. He said he believes BP has hired many boat captains "to show numbers." "But they're really not doing anything," he added. He also said he suspects the company is hiring out-of-work fishermen to placate them with paychecks.”
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/02/national/main6641907.shtml
Meanwhile, amid all of these conflicting reports, I received this message from a trusted and highly knowledgeable source who lives on the Mississippi coast:
“There are not these numbers of skimmers in Mississippi. I know of no one who has ever seen a single one. What are they calling a skimmer boat? Are they calling a boat that can pull boom a skimmer, even if it has no means of removing oil from the water?
There is no doubt that the Vessels of Opportunity program is a hush money program. It neutralizes the voices of everyone who signs up. They have to swear not to talk to the media (or to anyone for that matter) about their experience. They're told that they will be fired if they do.
So, they can't fish. The BP money is the only game in town and that will be taken away from them if they complain. I don't blame the commercial boat operators; most have no choice but to participate. BP isn't trying to get much useful value from the program. The fleet of 500 boats they claim in Mississippi didn't spot the oil before it arrived despite the fact that BP said they were actively patrolling. Problem is the boats were given no direction, no sector to search, no search pattern, no reporting...just leave the dock and don't come back until your shift is over.”
“Billy Nungesser, president of Louisiana's hard-hit Plaquemines Parish, said BP and the coast guard provided a map of the exact locations of 140 skimmers that were supposedly cleaning up the oil. But he said after he repeatedly asked to be flown over the area so he could see them at work, officials told him only 31 skimmers were on the job. "I'm trying to work with these guys," he said. "But everything they're giving me is a wish list, not what's actually out there." A BP spokesman declined to comment.”
http://www.wkrg.com/gulf_oil_spill/article/bp-disaster-may-now-be-worst-spill-in-gulf-history/902564/Jul-01-2010_7-37-pm/
Lies, rhetoric, confusion, obfuscation and despair seem to the order of the day in the Gulf.
There are heroic efforts throughout the Gulf as workers and volunteers fight to save their world and the countless species that inhabit the region. Inland fields are being flooded to encourage birds to settle in safety and then there’s this extraordinary project:
“As the oil spill coats Gulf Coast beaches, rescuers are hatching a daring plan to save as many as 70,000 sea turtle eggs from the disaster.”
It is a massive undertaking with no guarantee of success. In the next few weeks 700-800 nests will be painstakingly excavated, the eggs carefully packed and FedExed to the Atlantic coast of Florida. It is a gamble – but if nothing is done then the sea turtles face death and possible extinction.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128276036&ft=1&f=1025
As the rest of the nation celebrates this weekend, there is little light, hope or faith for the people in the Gulf states. All they ask is the truth. All they want are honest answers to such questions as “where did the money go?” Mississippi alone received two block grants of $25 million each for spill preparation and response - and $15 million for tourism promotion. But what, exactly, has been done with those funds in that there is no tangible evidence of equipment and action on the Mississippi coast? Who is accountable for the spending of the monies? Has it simply entered the great sinkhole of state and local bureaucracies?
The people in the Gulf need answers – not more “spin” from politicians and BP.
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