“When I asked him what has stayed in his mind most . . . . he\u00a0 said that when they were burning the oil off the surface of the sea, he remembers on the edge of the flames seeing a pod of dolphins, side by side by side by side, watching, simply watching the ocean burn.”<\/p>\n
It’s been six months since the BP Deepwater Horizon oil platform explosion in the Gulf of Mexico.\u00a0 This morning I heard a shocking episode of the DemocracyNow show, which included an interview with Terry Tempest Williams, who had a lot to say about the condition of the water and wildlife in the Gulf of Mexico.<\/p>\n
After the BP oil leak stopped, the Obama administration was quick to claim that most of the oil was “gone” and in the process of being cleaned up by some magic natural process.\u00a0\u00a0 They were not being honest, to say the least.\u00a0 The DemocracyNow report today contained the information that there are no fish in the water there for the fishermen, an entire fishing industry is disappearing, whales and dolphins have died in large numbers and been hacked up to hide their bodies; and more.\u00a0 Illnesses from the chemicals and from the oil are being reported, including pneumonia. Whether that will get worse or better is anyone’s guess.\u00a0 The point of the story is that though the oil is no longer leaking, the danger from toxic chemicals to people is far from over. This is still a public health hazard and it’s a very serious problem, as is the fact that so much of the wildlife and megafauna (like whales) have just disappeared.<\/p>\n
The Gulf has been declared “open for business” by people in the government.\u00a0 But there is very little media coverage of this, except the kind that emphasizes the positive, the “recovery” of the Gulf, while ignoring the deep and lasting wound this oil leak has inflicted on the area.\u00a0 So leave it up to DemocracyNow to report on this from a totally different angle and tell the truth about the current conditions of the Gulf:\u00a0 on life support.\u00a0 No one knows if the fish will return. No one knows if the way of life of anyone on the Gulf Coast will return.\u00a0 The environmental damage cannot be measured — teams of workers are still removing large amounts of oil from the beaches at night so the media doesn’t notice.\u00a0\u00a0 It’s really disgusting how this is being covered up.\u00a0 And while this is ongoing, the Obama administration lifted the moratorium on deep-water OIL drilling, so this can all happen again some day.<\/p>\n
Here is a large excerpt from the story today at DemocracyNow.\u00a0 If you want to watch the video, it’s here.\u00a0 This was an interview with activist and author\/writer Terry Tempest Williams.\u00a0 Her latest article on the BP Oil Leak can be found at Orion Magazine.\u00a0 Her main question is, “Where is the outrage?”\u00a0 I’d like to know that, too.<\/p>\n
JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, Terry Tempest Williams, this [...]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
“When I asked him what has stayed in his mind most . . . . he\u00a0 said that when they were burning the oil off the surface of the sea, he remembers on the edge of the flames seeing a … Continue reading