Sunday, June 13, 2010

Oil is Gross

I am praying hard today for the people of the gulf coast.

For the past 48 Salt Lake City has been dealing with an oil spill that is like knocking over a dixie cup compared to the mess in the gulf. Roughly 500 barrels (21000 gallons) of oil spilled out of a broken pipeline in one of the canyons and into a stream yesterday morning. That stream runs through my neighborhood, and into the biggest park in Salt Lake City. That stream is now totally toxic, filled with dead fish, leaving an oily residue on the banks and plants for a five mile stretch. The pond it empties into is now a sludge pit. It is so bad the entire park has been closed while they put in absorbent booms to get the oil off the water. The geese and ducks living in the pond, who were in the middle of nesting, have all been taken to the zoo to be cleaned. Oh, wait, not all of them, dozens of them are on their way to the landfill after being suffocated by the oil.

The air smells disgusting. It's better today than yesterday, and there is a breeze blowing that helps, but most of the time it smells like a gas station. At it's worst you could actually taste the fumes. It was gross.

And this was only 500 barrels.

More than one point six MILLION gallons of oil have already spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. And that leak isn't capped yet. This one is.

I can only imagine what Louisiana smells like right now.

So, I'm praying.

Maybe you should too.

12 comments:

sage said...

Sorry to hear about the oil spill, the desert and Great Salt Lake eco-system is fragile and even that amount of oil an do great harm...

I cam to your site from Ily's... after reading your idea of a gift of salt and Mormons. I had to laugh, having lived 10 years in Southern Utah.

As for the Great Salt Lake, have you read "Refuge" by Terry Tempest Williams?

J said...

Wow, that really puts it in perspective how big this BP mess is. So sorry you're going through something so nasty in your community. I wonder if the geese and the other birdies will find their nests again or have to start over.

Heather said...

And to think no one has a clue what to do about the Gulf leak? It scares the shit out of me, in addition to making me feel overwhelmed with helplessness. I wonder how many other oil platforms out there are at similar risk, with similar idiots at the helm? God help us all.

Sorry, Mother Earth. We're such greedy bastards we had to go and ruin you. Sorry.

Anonymous said...

It makes me SERIOUSLY question our energy policies!

She Said said...

Greg's cousin and his wife live in New Orleans, and they can totally smell it. They said it is terrible. :(

Unknown said...

This is horrible. Never heard about this on the news.
Our energy policies seem hell bent on destroying the Earth bit by bit.

Kim said...

Did you see the bit about the Dutch island that achieved total green energy in less than 10 years? I mean, yeah they have questionable taste in shoes, but they knew what they were doing with those big ass windmills.

Jen said...

Hear hear.

Elizabeth said...

It's all such a nightmare. My grandfather lives on the Gulf Coast in Florida, and he says he's never been more afraid of anything in his life.

rachaelgking said...

We all should.

Have you seen this?

http://www.ifitwasmyhome.com/

LL Cool Joe said...

The whole situation is tragic.

Riot Kitty said...

This whole thing make me sad and mad at the same time - alternating between which one I feel more.