What we have done? More importantly, what are we going to do?

[kambriel]

The terrifyingly heartbreaking images of Gulf coast shore birds are starting to surface:
http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/06/caught_in_the_oil.html

This kind of suffering isn't going to stop anytime soon as the oil continues to gush every minute of the day and night. Even if/when they do get the source of the leak under control, what's already been put forth will leave a legacy we'll be dealing with ~ and more importantly, the animals of the affected areas will be dealing with ~ for many years to come.



For weeks now, I've helplessly wished I could tell the birds, the fish ~ all the wildlife in the area to swim, crawl, fly and get out of the way... to ~please~ not take a drink or a swim or a dive in that oily/sheen covered area. To try not to ingest any of those dispersed bits floating amidst the depths of the waves through their fragile gills. But for all of Nature's wisdom, we simply don't have the capability to "tell" them and give them that kind of potentially life saving warning. They're simply left to their own devices, and when faced with something they've likely never had any experience dealing with before, well... this simply isn't something that they tend to get to get a second chance to learn from once wings are coated and beaks are filled.



I remember when "spills" (though this isn't so much a finite spill as much as a continuous, ongoing gush) happened in the past and birds needed help, volunteers rose to the occasion. Like when the penguins had to have oil cleaned off of them, but that stripped their natural protective coating such that it no longer properly insulated them, so volunteers around the world made and donated miniature handknit wool sweaters en masse for them to wear in the interim, and it saved lives. Why has there been no such "call to action" yet with this disaster? Are volunteers being kept away because of toxicity levels? Does this have anything to do with the massive amounts of chemical dispersants which are being used? Is it tied in to stories of the hearty fishermen in the area who were hired for official clean-up purposes that we are now hearing of apparently falling ill with breathing difficulties, chronic coughs, nausea, etc... (from the oil, or again, perhaps the unprecedented amount of dispersants)?



Is there a reason we don't have a massive volunteer effort underway? Do we just passively wait for this to "be handled"? Because I believe if we were welcomed/allowed/called forth to do what we could, we as a people would. It's just so hard to sit back and "let" a tragedy happen, and know that lives are being and will continue to be lost, before our very eyes.



Updated post here w/info on how to help: https://kambriel.dreamwidth.org/229377.html

Comments

[doomjunkie.livejournal.com]

I am truly disgusted at the lack of dexterity of their ROVs. I sat and watched some of the work being done down there.
If they can not even be prepared for disasters like this or have the technology to deal with it, then the should be put completely out of business.

Several individuals came up with safer way to clean up the surface and no one has even considered these techniques. Instead they chose to use chemical dispersant.
BP needs to be shut down or banned from working on land or water in this country.

[miss-adventure.livejournal.com]

Have you seen this video about how BP is failing the Fail of a Thousand Fails in their so-called "cleanup efforts"? (There is a lot of profanity in the video, so it's NSFW, but it does make some very valid points.)

[wolfsilveroak.livejournal.com]

Several individuals came up with safer way to clean up the surface and no one has even considered these techniques. Instead they chose to use chemical dispersant.


Last I heard, BP had turned down offers of help. Matter of Trust has thousands of hair booms just waiting for BP to say, yes, we want them. As of the last thing I heard, they had turned them down. Sure they asked about them, but that was it.