All right, I’ve been trying so hard not to simply rant on and on about the Oil Spill and its impacts, considering it has not (YET) reached my own shoreline. But this is a great video clip that was released by CNN yesterday regarding this infamous spill:
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/us/2010/05/05/am.mattingly.oil.wildlife.cnn
... and hey, anyone who knows me understands I'm a sucker for sea turtles...
RATING: ~~~~ (4 out of 5 waves) hey, it is a short first-hand clip; there really is no excuse not to watch it (unless you have dial-up, and even then it is worth the wait)
One of the most important things to note about this piece is the “treatment” of the oil spill. This process causes the oil to break into small (relatively speaking) droplets that are still just as dangerous as the large slick itself to the marine environment. Animals ingest it, get coated in it, and breathe it in… all with bad results. To give you some information on the behavior of oil in the water, I found a website that explains everything clearly and accurately based the knowledge I have (which isn’t bad I dare say). The only disclaimer I have is at the end where it states, “oil in the marine environment rapidly loses its original properties and disintegrates into hydrocarbon fractions” – define rapidly, okay? But there is a notation about the amount of oil released, so remember that too.
http://www.offshore-environment.com/oil.html
I promise that I am making a sincere effort to approach this incident without the emotional diatribe that I break into in real life, but anyone who is unaffected by the impending tragedy that will befall Florida’s shores is a nimrod that deserves to be publicly flogged. So there. In addition, I am EXTREMELY annoyed at the shock and awe of the media’s reaction to the “it could reach Florida” … uh, every heard of the Gulfstream? Geez.
I also find it fascinating, although I don’t know whether that is positive or negative, that Deepwater Horizon created a response page on Facebook. How public relations in a time of instant feedback is changing the world. All I can say is- beware of propaganda. When information is so freely provided to the public, odds are it is a watered-down version of the truth (if truthful at all). Even as you read this blog, understand it all amounts to one human providing information to another. No matter what I read, I will not blog about it based on one lone source or other blog. Information must come from somewhere – which is why I try to give you useful links to get to the real goods as fast as possible.
Oh, one last POSITIVE note… I have not heard anything from the media, but I have a friend whose father works for the Colgate company, which has donated “tons of soap” to be used to help clean animals affected by the spill. A spot check via Google left me without corroboration on that one, however.
Take care and use a water purifying system at home instead of bottled water every time, okay?
-Callie
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