A Personal Issue–A Question

I realize I am taking the oil flow/spill and the resulting environmental catastrophe very personally. I was discussing this with a friend over the weekend. I suppose the best response I have is, ‘How can I not take it personally? I feel a part of the ocean.’

Walking upright doesn’t separate me from the ocean in the deepest sense. Every time I slip under the water while scuba diving I feel as if I am finally home. I am comfortable and at ease and greet the sea turtles, tiny blennies and other ocean creatures with gratitude and delight. When I hover in stillness and calm, different fish and even sea turtles will approach me and stay around me. I always feel a communion happening between us.

So yes, I do take it personally that this is happening as I feel it is home to me and in a very real sense it is home to creatures I consider part of my family.  But I do not want to get stuck in a blame game. Yes, there are people responsible and they will pay for their mistakes from a financial level and in other ways I am sure. But I want to ask one simple question: What can I do to make a difference? Rather than point fingers outward I want to challenge myself to be involved in the solution, whatever my role in it is.

I believe this is an opportunity for humans to learn to work in partnership with each other and with Earth. Latest figures show that there are 10,000 employees working on this crisis. There are 275 vessels working and one million feet of boom being used. 3.5 million gallons of oil/water mix have been recovered.

For today, here is what I can do to make a difference….ask one question to the ‘powers that be.’ Given the fact that the toxic effects of the dispersant are unknown on the marine environment and the toxic effects of oil are known, why have 325,000 gallons of dispersant been used? That’s a lot of toxic waste to dump into the marine environment with unknown side effects. And why would consideration be given to using the other 500,000 gallons of dispersant that is available? There was already a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico before the spill. Are we not running the risk of creating a monstrous dead zone that would wipe out an entire ecosystem by using this chemical with unknown toxic effects?

Is is possible for us to pay attention to how the ocean naturally deals with toxins, such as oil, and work within the same model? I believe there are answers to be discovered by simply watching, observing the natural way the ocean cleanses itself and them assist it in its own, natural process. I heard one scientist comment, when asked about the dispersant being toxic and what her concerns were….she said, “I guess it depends on whether you are a sea bird or a fish.” If the oil floats, it is more likely to get on birds. If it sinks due to the dispersant, fish and the underwater environment are more likely to be affected.

Sometimes we have the idea if something is not visible then everything is okay. But let us remain vigilant and remember that oil in the marine environment is toxic whether it is a slick on the surface, or in billions of particles coating everything underwater.  Let’s ask questions and keep this a personal issue because ultimately we are all connected to everything in this web of life–this web of light. And ultimately each of us has to be part of the solution.