writeaboutwarming

May 24, 2010 – Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano announced today that the government will ascertain the amount of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico by means of its own efforts. This is obviously in reaction to BP’s ongoing headscratching whenever the subject comes up. We already know it’s a whole heck of a lot. The question I want answered is, when will it stop? What in God’s name do we do if it never stops? If it cannot be stopped, what happens to BP? What happens to offshore drilling? How much will the American people sacrifice to stop another Deepwater Horizon from happening? Would they be willing to swap their SUV’s for Volt’s? Would they give up their cars for mass transit? Could they be talked into telecommuting? I think they’d be willing to give up a lot. Someone just has to ask them. That someone could take an enormous hit, politically. Then again, they just might earn the admiration and – oh, what IS the word? respect? - of the American people. ...

May 17, 2010 – I have to say I’m amazed the oil spill is still getting as much media coverage as it is. It began to slink off in the direction of No News is Good News, but has come back strong. The most worrisome part of the continuing coverage is the insistence, on the part of analysts outside the oil industry, that far more than 5,000 barrels of oil a day is leaking from the exploded well. See the New York Times of May 14 for further information. That, and Anita Burke’s contention that there is only a 40% chance that the well will ever be shut down. Listen to the Radio Ecoshock program of May 6 (“From the Deepwater Horizon”) to learn more. Speaking of which, Alex Smith’s latest program featured a discussion of the idea of Degrowth, i.e., negative economic and population growth. Be sure to catch this latest edition of the Radio Ecoshock Show. For a stellar introduction to the subject, read Wikipedia’s article. Being a librarian, I’m not always a Wikipedia fan, because students use ...

May 10, 2010 – The Gulf Oil Spill continues unabated. The attempt to lower a containment device down over the well failed because of hydrates crystallizing on the inside of the dome, around the opening. The dome has been moved off to one side, to make room for the next attempt at closing off the leak. Thus far, it is conservatively estimated that three and a half million gallons have leaked into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. (The Exxon Valdez spilled 11 million.) On May 5, British Petroleum “officials” told a Congressional committee that the oil spill could grow by as much as ten times current estimates. No wonder they had that “deer in the headlights” look. No wonder they keep telling Americans they’ll pay all related costs. No wonder we won’t know the day has arrived when they refuse to do so; it will be months from now, and our attention will have been diverted elsewhere. When the Valdez’s hull split, it happened very far away, in Alaska. This oil spill is taking place ...

May 5, 2010 – Flooding in Rhode Island. Flooding in Boston. Flooding in Tennessee. Tornadoes in Mississippi and Tennessee. Once upon a time, this would have been considered a thoroughly miserable confluence of events. That, of course, was before British Petroleum decided to do for oil exploration what Goldman Sachs did for banking. Come to think of it, this darn business of Climate Collapse was taking too long, anyway. Who needs all that suspense? Let’s get it done with, once and for all! Think I’m kidding? Here’s an email that was sent to a friend of mine by her nephew-in-law. She thought it was important enough to share, and he has graciously agreed to let me post it. Don’t bother thinking “I’m glad I’m not him.” We’re ALL him. “HI all Thanks for the concerned letters and Facebook notes. The progression of the oil spill drama has gotten rather scary. We were first told the oil was only from the platform itself. At that point we thought we might be able to help in some way....

May 3, 2010 – Stephen Leahy writes very informative articles for the Independent Press Service (IPS). In fact, I’ll be drawing upon an article he wrote on March 5th for my blog today. Stephen takes it upon himself to make sure citizens of the English-speaking world know about the latest developments happening to our climatically changing planet. I believe what Stephen and other members of the Independent Press Service do is so important, I’ve made a contribution to the Environmental Journalism Support Fund. Without this fund, Stephen and his colleagues will find themselves without the wherewithal necessary to research the truly significant climate change stories. May I suggest that you do the same? Just google “Environmental Journalism Support Fund,” and give what you can. Thank you. (Want to read Stephen’s article for yourself? Go to http://ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=50565.) The research results upon which Leahy’s article is based first appeared in the March 5th issue of the...

May 1, 2010 – Special Edition. The Gulf Oil Spill. 210,000 gallons a day. The height of migration. Dolphins coated in oil? It’s a certainty. Estuaries irretrievably lost? It’s looking that way. Untold numbers of fish killed. The height of migration. Senator Mary Landrieu declaring she will not turn her back on offshore drilling. The oil companies have Mary bought and paid for. What are Mary’s constituents saying to her? Check back in a few weeks ….. I am a bird watcher. My heart aches. My head pounds. My tears fall, unbidden. Louisiana. Mississippi. Alabama. Florida … ? When, oh when, will we realize that the changes are coming, whether we’re ready or not? We have traded our birthright for a mess of pottage. This, our Garden of Eden. How much more of it will we destroy outright? This is the last warning. We have been called to account. Governments can ignore citizens. The created cannot ignore their Creator. What exactly, I wonder, will be the breaking poi...