Category: Gulf of Mexico

To Eat or Not to Eat

To Eat or Not to Eat

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Today Brandon Sutton and I visited Bon Secour, Alabama where the fisheries industry has taken a huge blow from something other than a hurricane. The oil spill has crippled many businesses but possibly none continue to suffer so much as commercial fishermen and women.

Two of the three retail seafood outlets we visited had customers. The shrimp in Aquilla Seafood were so beautiful it was difficult to think of them as being tainted with anything. And the flounder at Billy’s looked great. How could anything so perfect-looking be anything but delicious. And that’s the dilemma many people face as they try to decide whether to buy Gulf seafood.

Our third stop was a random visit brought about by the sign, “Joe the Shrimp Man” seen on a county road as we were driving to the Gulf. I turned around and drove down a curvy road until it dead-ended into Joe’s small shop. His wife Cheryl greeted us. We asked her how business was going for them and she told us Joe was down the road working on his boat and might be willing to talk with us.

We drove back to the dock where the Miss Ashlee was being rigged for shrimping tonight. Joe shared the story that we’ve heard from so many commercial fishermen about no demand for Gulf Coast seafood and the trials that many of the shrimpers, oystermen, crabbers and gill netters have faced since the Deepwater Horizon exploded.

As I listened to his story, I felt torn about eating seafood. I have personally witnessed horrific petroleum pollution during the past year and have watched marine life struggle, so eating seafood was never really an option. But today, after looking at shrimp, oysters and fish at these retails outlets and after hearing Joe’s story, I felt torn. I want so badly to support these men and women by becoming a consumer once again. But what I’ve seen in the Gulf…what about that? Even with the smell tests done by safety checks on seafood….how can I be sure? How can anyone be sure that the seafood is safe?

I see the livelihood of families evaporating. Minh Le shared, in our visit to Coden, Alabama yesterday, that fishermen and others who work in the seafood industry are struggling to put food on their table. There is so much suffering, so much pain to endure for many who live on the Gulf Coast. How can we make reasonable decisions regarding purchasing seafood from the Gulf?

After an hour and a half visit with Joe and his crew, we got back in the car, eager to eat a late lunch. I looked at Brandon and said, “I know this is crazy, but I want fried shrimp.” He was in agreement so we back-tracked to a seafood restaurant where we enjoyed local shrimp, lima beans with andouille sausage and collards.

Because of what I’ve witnessed, I can’t eat seafood regularly. But the inner conflict within me is great.

Beyond the Anger, Beyond the Outrage

Beyond the Anger, Beyond the Outrage

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Fog sat softly on the surface of the bay as I paddled from the shore. I wanted to clear my mind this morning, this day that marks the Deepwater Horizon explosion and spill. Wind blew from the south, pushing my boat along broken pilings, skeletal reminders of Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina, where gulls, cormorants, and pelicans perched.

As I glided through the choppy, brackish water of Mobile Bay, images of the past year replayed in my mind. Beaches ankle-deep in crude, oiled birds, cleanup workers, children frolicking in oil-slick Gulf water….all this and more flashed by like a horror movie. But amid these traumatic memories, I looked around. Pelicans dove for fish, mullet splashed ahead of my boat, great blue herons stood in the shallows along the shore nabbing their breakfast. Cormorants floated in the waves and dove for food. Schools of tiny fish popped the water. All this life, this beauty, was evident in the moment.

I remembered the articles and posts I’ve read on Facebook. Many areas are still covered in oil. Marshes and shores sickened by the black death of sweet crude from MC252 reek of death. It’s not all beautiful. But there are areas that are recovering. And so we, too, must begin our recovery process.

When I worked as a psychotherapist many years ago, some clients got trapped in a cycle of anger over traumatic events of their past. Granted, part of the healing process involves recognizing the anger. But to get stuck in it perpetuates the cycle of re-wounding and re-traumatizing. So…how do we move beyond this emotion to a place of healing?

Given the enormity of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and the corporate dysfunction that created it, how can we swim out of the collective whirlpool of outrage and put the energy that perpetuated the anger into building solutions….together.

A friend of mine wrote a book called Simple Truth. In it, Thom Rutledge describes our relationship with anger as being something that we can huff and become intoxicated by or we can use it to fuel us forward into creative solutions and health.

When we close our hearts in rage, we greatly diminish our capacity to love the places, animals and people we care about most in the world. So why do we hold so onto our anger? It might be a way we cling to the event so we do not forget. But know this, we can forever remember and honor this tradegy by the good we put out into the environment, by the ways we care for our planet and each other. And mostly, by allowing our hearts to guide us to building a healthier world. To do this we must move beyond the anger, move beyond the outrage but use it to fuel our efforts.

For Our Children

For Our Children

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One year ago today we all went about our daily routines, not realizing the largest oil spill in US history was about to occur. Kids along the Gulf Coast enjoyed days of swimming and fishing, experiencing the delight of bountiful beauty the many resources of this region offered.

Then disaster struck, killing eleven men and unleashing an unrelenting gusher of crude oil originating from a deepwater oil rig a mile beneath the surface of the Gulf of Mexico. The nation, the world was in shock as this catastrophe unfolded. Remember the images of heavily oiled pelicans? Of red-brown slicks that stretched for miles? Do you recall the visions of planes spraying millions of gallons of toxic dispersant chemicals onto the Gulf?

All of these images stick in my mind but the most disturbing images that haunt me from my visits to the Gulf Coast over the past year are those of children frolicking in crude oil washing up in waves on the beaches of Alabama. I will never understand the morals that allowed local politicos to keep the beaches open. I heard the mayor of Orange Beach, at a town hall meeting last summer, respond with the following statement when moms expressed concern over kids swimming in the Gulf: “There is no law against stupid.”

I understand the pressure these local mayors were under to keep condos full, restaurants open and filled with tourists, but at what cost? When will the lives of our children matter more than money?

As part of my ongoing documentation of the effects of the oil spill I am interviewing kids about their experience last summer and what they think, now that we are a year away from the beginning of the spill. Yesterday, in interviewing two girls who live on Weeks Bay, I heard their concern.

“I wanted to swim and fish but couldn’t because of the oil.” “I was scared…we couldn’t get in the water because we didn’t know what was under us.” “I was scared because the waves were bringing in dead fish.” “I was worried about the birds and crabs.”

Why should our children have these worries? As children, my brother, cousins and I played on the pier at Weeks Bay and swam and crabbed. Our only concern was the icky, squishy mud on the bottom that kept our feet moving in the water column. Or as my cousin said, “My only concern was getting stung by jellyfish.” My heart ached for all children that are living with the environmental rape we, as adults, continue to allow. What is peace of mind for children worth? Why are we so unconcerned about these young ones that will inherit our messes?

Does this little boy realize that the sand he is digging in continues to be covered in tar balls that wash in with each tide? Is he aware that when the waves are high, air-born oily mist coats the sand in which he plays?

How much damage are we willing to inflict on our children–their mental, physical, and emotional health? Why is it okay to make their world a place where quality of life is no longer something they can depend on?

Are You Mesmerized?

Are You Mesmerized?

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It is blowing like crazy at the Alabama Gulf Coast and I have promised myself that until it calms down I won’t go to the wildlife refuge. Every time I’m there and the wind has the surf kicked up a mist of wind-blown water and oil coats everything. I am no longer willing to breathe the toxic soup…no matter how safe the EPA, BP, NOAA and other involved officials say it is.

I am sitting at my mom’s on Mobile Bay watching white caps pound the bulkhead. This momentary pause gives me an opportunity to write about some things pounding in my head.

While driving down I-65 yesterday I was listening to NPR and heard a story on advertising and marketing. Did you know some corporations are doing studies with volunteers who lay in MRI machines and have their brains mapped while watching commercials? The corporations can then see which images and other content activate the desire and craving centers of the brain. They are then able to apply this technology to selling more products. In other words…they zero in on what makes us want more. They can activate our consumer drive to purchase more products.

As I was listening, I thought of petroleum corporations and how they have drilled into residents (pun intended) of the Gulf Coast that they must have the oil industry present to survive. It is so ingrained within the consciousness of the populace and workers that these folks claim that to live without the oil industry, in places like Louisiana and Mississippi, would mean certain death of a way of life to communities.

These same energy giants tell us that drilling for natural gas (fracking or fracturing) in Pennsylvania is safe and causes less global warming. That injecting toxins into the Earth in order to force gas up through shale is safe. They ignore studies like Cornell University did concluding that 8% of methane escapes into the atmosphere during Fracking and could cause more global warming than traditional coal burning energy productions. Yes, they wave their hands in front of our faces, in front of our senators and representatives (along with a lot of smelly money) and say….”You are lost without this. It is safe.”

As we look further, we see that we are also told that we cannot live without nuclear energy and that it is safe. Their hands wave to cover their smurks and to distract us from the truth.

As I was listening to a panel discussion Thursday night sponsored by Spirit of the Gulf Coast, I thought that we, as a global community, roll the dice with the planet…with our lives and the lives of our children and grandchildren. Decisions are made to use these toxic processes, these risky energy productions all on the odds that the rare events such as the Gulf Oil Spill and the Japan Nuclear Meltdown won’t happen. Or if they happen the current policy-makers will be long dead so why be concerned?

This kind of irresponsibility must stop. We must look ahead to the future and make the difficult decisions NOW to switch to alternative forms of energy production. Instead of subsidizing the oil and gas industry, subsidize the solar energy production and wind energy production businesses. Instead of mass-producing toxic and dreadful energy sources that pollute and destroy, mass produce solar and wind energy components. Put the oil workers at the Gulf Coast in facilities that produce clean and renewable energy. Let them earn a living enriching the Earth instead of destroying it.

At some point we have to turn away from destructive, pollutive energy production. Why not now? What if we had done this in the 70’s when we had gas shortages? Just look where we’d be now.

Are you mesmerized? Are you awake? Are you willing to support clean energy now and stop believing the lies and waving hands that keep us in slumber and pose serious and real risks to the future of our kids and generations to come?

Breath of Spring

Breath of Spring

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The morning started with my usual walk down and back up the mountain. After breakfast, I was opening the door to the deck to add some orange peels to the ‘compost.’ I saw two turkey hens. Then four…no six….no eight! I ran and got the turkey call box my brother made. Just two tries and a resounding GOBBLE!!! came from another direction. WHAT?!!?! I tiptoed across the deck and beheld two beautiful, puffed-out tom turkeys strutting after the hens. All of this was happening within ten feet of my deck. I felt lifted by the beauty of the morning.

After bursts of energetic laughter, I came upstairs to work. But my thoughts turned to a beautiful connection I have made recently, another soul on the path of service to the Earth… and then to Joanna Macy’s words that I heard last night on the radio. It felt as if doors were flying open in my heart and mind with the fresh, warm, spring breezes.

I reflected back to last Sunday. I sat at my computer working on prints for an upcoming exhibit. I received a notice on FaceBook that Malidoma Patrice Some was speaking in five minutes at a local bookstore. After two minutes of arguing with myself about whether to go, it felt like hands pushing me out of my chair, away from my desk. I ran downstairs, leaving the printer working.

I arrived 15 minutes late but just in time to see him stand and begin his teaching. Many things he said spoke to me, especially about ancestors and remembering the help we have from the realm of Spirit. He said by virtue of becoming aware of Spirit, we are qualified to do the work we came here to do. We have to ask for help and be specific.

During the past year of documenting the oil spill and recovery, I knew that I was doing the work, was on task and fulfilling my purpose. But how far did the Work reach out into the world? Was anybody listening? So I decided to put into practice what Malidoma suggested and ask for help. I was specific about needing doors opened so the Work could move out into the world. That was a week ago.

Yesterday, in Atlanta, I met with two of the guys that are participating in the Spirit of the Gulf Coast project. I thought I heard echos of universal laughter as we shared ideas about creating Work that moves out into the world to help people recognize the beauty of Earth and love our planet more. The two meetings we had caused me to return to Asheville later than usual. Because of this ‘divine timing,’ I heard an interview on NPR, while driving, with Joanna Macy that grabbed my attention. She said some of the EXACT words that Brandon and I had shared at our meetings. And to bring this story full circle, this morning I dove into Joanna’s website with an appetite like a starved soul. She shows the way to put into action what I have dreamed of and prayed for over the past year.

I feel as if I can breathe again. Spring has entered into my consciousness. I asked the ancestors to open doors and they were ripped from their hinges with joy and light! Joanna Macy says that we are experiencing The Great Turning, a point where people are awakening and turning toward caring and loving the Earth and each other. We are alive during this wondrous shift of consciousness. We are aware of the horrors being done to the planet now, and in the past, and we are coming together to make a difference. We are collectively beginning to realize, in the web of life, everything is interdependent.

For the doors that are opening, I am grateful. For new connections with kindred spirits, I am grateful. People are hearing the call to help the planet and we are finding each other. We are becoming catalysts for each other. Joanna said that this is a time to join with others of like-mind, to do what we cannot do by ourselves, to understand with others what we cannot understand by ourselves. I find peace in knowing just how true those words are as they echo through my mind, my heart, the depths of my being.