The heat is on! Across the globe we're seeing reports of sizzling temperatures, melting Arctic ice, and scorching records. I can just imagine all the right wing Republicans putting their hands to their ears and chanting: "la, la, la, la, there is no global warming, there is no global warming." Oh really? Tell that to the Russians who are literally having their soles melt off their shoes while standing on the asphalt road! http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2010/07/hundreds-drown-in-russia-during-record.html Comrades are so hot they're jumping into rivers and lakes trying to cool off and some of those happy Vodka drinkers end up drowning. What a way to go. Teleport to the good ole USA we have record high temps cooking our good people throughout the Northeastern seaboard. Temperatures that have never been seen since, well since they first put a thermometer in NY city or DC. I won't stoop to poor science like the deniers do in pointing to record cold temps to disprove AGW, and so I'll point instead to the record loss in Artic sea ice...again. http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2010/07/nsidc-june-arctic-sea-ice-saw-lowest.html
Put it all together my fellow humans, and we have raped ourselves straight into hell. The equilibrium of the whole freaking planet is dangerously out of balance, we're talking about the very planet that we need to survive! Call me an alarmist all you want, but we've refused to listen to the scientists, and now mother nature has caught our hand in the cookie jar. Remember when your mama use to slap your hand? The last thing we should want is nature bitch slapping us....oh but I fear she's about to, and in a much bigger way than a few continental heat waves. I think we're setup to see planetary events we haven't seen for thousands of years. The bible says the greatest wisdom is fearing God. I'm not religious, but I'd take that to heart if I were you.
Oh, but there's more, especially in my neck of the woods - SE Louisiana - where I'm dealing with BP's mess everywhere. A couple of days ago oil showed up in Lake Ponchatrain and the Lake Borgne marshes, my favorite stomping grounds to catch redfish and speckled trout. Oil has also showed up in Galveston which makes every state that shares the Gulf of Mexico a equal partner in wallowing in toxic misery. The LA governor is trying to put up these ridiculous sand berms covering a mere 80 miles of coastline, and also a mere fraction of protection, and when every hydrological & marine scientists is warning him of how perilous and futile his efforts will be. But hey, it makes for great publicity to be out their screaming and cursing federal authorities for not doing enough while he stands in the foreground of a dredge building up this silly berm. http://www.desdemonadespair.net/2010/07/sand-berms-dubious-solution-to-gulf-oil.html
Although the dredging doesn't leave a visible change at the surface, it alters the subsurface profile of an area and reduces the bottom friction that formerly absorbed hydraulic energy during approaching storm surges.
On the basis of 22 years of academic training and experience in coastal science and 18 years of policy experience in the Governor's Office of Coastal Activities, I'm strongly opposed to the governor's sand berm project for the following nine reasons:
Oh, but Mr. Bobby Jindal you won't listen to people who have some knowledge regarding this, will you. Nothing like a politically charged atmosphere to get everyone screaming at everyone else while on TV. Meanwhile, the oil continues to roll in, and I'll be the first to tell my compatriots that it will continue to roll in all year long. That's right, all year long, despite any miracle that happens in BP's attempted August kill of the well. I'm sure mother nature will have her word in before then too as hurricanes - Alex being the first to stir things up - will show up to show coastal humanity how foolish they were in pursuing "drill baby, drill" at all costs - well not all costs, we know how cheap BP has been.
If you live on the gulf coast I urge you to plan to evacuate PERMANENTLY. I know I am just as soon as I get in from my current offshore project. I'm on the Fugro boat: the Enterprise and they call me "bones" (I'm the closest thing to a ships doctor). We've been headed down the Achafalaya river all afternoon after fleeing Alex earlier in the week. Oddly enough, I spotted a Navy PT boat headed up river towards Patterson. P-301 was pulling its rib boat on board at the stern when I took this shot.
Strange huh? Wonder what they're doing. I'll have to keep an eye out for other military vessels after we get out of the pass and to the open sea. I'm hoping to photograph some marine life, something other than this - thanks to BP.
Mega, wish there was anything I could say or do to help in your personal situation. I think most of us are just beginning to realize, despite the smokescreen and deception, that all is not well with our world.
ReplyDeleteThe most frustrating part of this is the utter blindness of people who could make a difference. Heads of households who say "this is only temporary." City and state goverment officials who say "We have a _____ plan and that is good enough, we don't need to think about anything else." Leaders of countries who are focused on expanding their own wealth and power who fail to order literally lifesaving measures because it would be a hit to their political reputations.
You've hit it. We can either start trying to pick up some of the mess we've made, or Mother Nature can bitch slap us into a better attitude. Trouble is, too few of us are willing to act until we feel the sting, and then it's too late.