Category: Gulf Oil Spill

Revisiting the Gulf Coast

Revisiting the Gulf Coast

By |

The longest I have been away from the Gulf Coast since the Gulf Oil Spill occurred in April 2010 has been from June 19th until now. And last time I re-checked the beaches, where I spent weeks documenting the spill, was April of this year. During my June visit I reconnected to the area in a different way, a playful and spirit-filled-joyous- celebration-of-life way to bring balance to the emotional heaviness that had dominated me as I worked to document the spill and recovery. And now? I’m ready to dig in again and see what’s happening.

During the year after the spill I documented seven areas from Fort Morgan, Alabama to Fort Pickens, Florida. It’s time to once again walk the sandy shoreline and become an observer, a listener and a witness to what is happening.

Many of you have followed my work at the Gulf and so I’d like to give you an opportunity to ask questions you may have about the places I visit. Please submit them in the comments section and I’ll do my best to provide answers.

Here are the places I’ll be visiting:
Fort Morgan, Alabama
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge–Near Gulf Shores, Alabama
Gulf State Park Pier–Gulf Shores, Alabama
Romar Beach–Orange Beach, Alabama
Alabama Point Bridge Area, Gulf State Park at the Alabama-Florida line
Johnson Beach–Perdido Key, Florida
Fort Pickens, Gulf Islands National Seashore–Gulf Breeze, Florida

What would you like to know about these areas? What thoughts do you have about the recovery of these ecosystems? What concerns do you have about the water and seafood safety?

Water Summer

Water Summer

By |

From the cool, quiet streams of the Smoky Mountains to the salty Gulf Coast, water has been ever-present in my life this season. And this summer is so much more enjoyable than last summer, where I spent weeks breathing the nasty smell of crude oil and walking in hiking boots on the beaches to avoid oiled shoreline. This year I have even fully submerged into Week’s Bay, Magnolia River, Perdido Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, bodies of water that I refused to touch last year much less put my body into.

In June I stayed with my friends Hans and Renee in Pensacola and paddled a few times–Perdido Bay, Johnson Beach, Fort Pickens. It felt weird to be on the water again, embracing the salty liquid of the Gulf, but it was time. I needed to connect with the Gulf Coast in a positive way so I could continue to heal the sadness and grief that originated with the devastation to the environment and communities along the coast. But I still wondered how much oil was really left in the water and what it was doing to the marine life and humans who interacted with it.

Even with doubts, I completely submerged myself in fun and celebration of this place of beauty. I saw flounder, rays, all kinds of fish and more jellyfish than I remember ever seeing (which made me especially careful to not fall off my board). I also paddled Mobile Bay, Week’s Bay and Magnolia River. And each one brought a sense of relief and gratitude to my weary spirit.

But the Gulf Coast isn’t the only place where I have submerged into water. I visited Lake Michigan, specifically Charlevoix and Mackinac Island. The cool, crystal-clear water of northern Lake Michigan was so delightful, so beautiful, so absolutely amazing that I vowed if the winter’s were not so extreme, I’d move there. Alas, I am a tropical gal and find Asheville winters pushing me to the brink of moving to a warm coast with salt water.

The water immersion this summer has been centered around paddle boarding. It has enriched my life and calmed my mind, as well as toned my body. And even though all this may sound corny, it really has positively changed my life. Did I really miss water that much? Has being land-locked for 16 years attributed to a sort of atrophy of my gills?

And another wonderful result of paddle boarding? I got to introduce it to my daughter and her boyfriend on Lake Charlevoix. What could be better than family, friends, wildlife, clean water and the sunshine smiling on you? I am grateful to have something that’s so simple, make such a huge impact on my life. What is impacting you in a positive ways these days?

To read about my adventures and learn about the Gulf Oil Spill visit my web site, Turtle Island Adventures.com, and check out my books. If you’ve read one (or more) I invite you to comment here.

Hope for the Earth…The “Untouchables” Start to Crumble

Hope for the Earth…The “Untouchables” Start to Crumble

By |

The past three mornings, while paddling my SUP board, I’ve had thoughts of hope for the Earth. A shift is occurring. Can you feel it? Excitement and joy filled me each morning as I thought of the old paradigm breaking apart to birth the new. Read on to find out why I’m feeling especially hopeful.

Mega-corporate entities seem to run our nation….maybe even the world. They dictate environmental policies, avoid paying taxes on things such as corporate jets, donate unlimited amounts of money to political candidates who will vote in their favor, tap private phones of unsuspecting citizens to get scoops, tell the USA government how many barrels of oil flowed into the Gulf of Mexico (not the other way around), determine which mountain top to remove for coal, ignore safety of communities…I could be here a while listing the ‘sins’ of some corporations. The point is this–corporations, with their profit-at-any-cost mind-set, are destroying the planet and anyone or anything that happens to get in their way. I’ve wondered how we move from this model of destruction and exploitation (Earth as commodity–Joanna Macy) to one of creative synergy.

I recognize the truth that what we hold in our minds, we bring into being. I was puzzled over how we could hold a collective vision of creating a better world when some of these mega corporations seem to have us all in a strangle-hold.

Enter the Rupert Murdoch empire’s struggle to stay afloat amid allegations of corruption that could destroy Mr. Murdoch’s castle, one newspaper at a time. Estimated to be worth over $7.6 BILLION, he was listed as the 13th most powerful person in the world in 2010. Owner of FOX News, the conservative television news channel that routinely (and outright) stretches the truth to undermine their liberal brothers and sisters, Mr. Murdoch is watching as CEO’s under him resign, get arrested, or worse. Illegal activities do not always go unnoticed and even corporations like Mr. Murdoch’s must abide by a moral, legal and ethical code…at some point. The breaking point seems to be when enough people say NO MORE!!

Both sides of the media report stories with their own bias. We tune in and swallow the hook. We collectively create our world based on what we see and hear and then….what we believe. Maybe this is a signal, a sign….a blazing star hovering over the planet…saying, “THINK FOR YOURSELVES!! Don’t believe everything you see just because it is on the news!”

Joanna Macy calls this time the Great Unraveling or the Great Turning. We are undergoing a shift from seeing the Earth as a commodity to understanding the Earth as a dynamic, living system–of which we are a part.

I’m not celebrating the crumbling of a mega-corporation; however, I am celebrating the absolute fact that even the wealthiest among us are not exempt from moral, ethical and legal codes (if enough of us say, no more!). For all the other reckless corporations…I’m sure we can think of many oil and gas companies, financial institutions and more…it’s a message: Shape up! And for those of us trying to envision a better world, we can use what Joanna Macy calls our moral imagination to see what isn’t here yet–the harmonious world we wish to create– as well as what is here–oil spills, violence, nuclear melt-downs, poisoned humans, wildlife, lands.

We CAN create a better world and it begins with our ability to use our imaginations to see this world of love, light, environmental balance, harmony, peace. We simply have to be able to envision this and recognize that the old choke-hold on our planet by mega-corporations is starting to crumble. It’s okay for the old, destructive ways to unravel. They have to go: greed, power, wealth at any cost. We can create something better. “Allow yourself to be surprised by what you can actually build within the shell of the old,” says Joanna.

This is a time of empowerment for the collective, a time of awakening and realizing that we really can develop our capacity to love life. This is not a time to remain quiet or sit in the background but rather a time to allow our voices to rattle the heavens with love for the planet, each other and all life on Mother Earth. As we build a unified vision of the positive, we will experience first-hand the shifting of paradigms. This is a wondrous time to be alive.

Toward an Open Dialogue

Toward an Open Dialogue

By |

I sat in my car listening to rain pound the windows and roof. I was overlooking the Gulf of Mexico where just last year oil coated the beaches. I reached over and picked up the children’s book that was birthed from the year’s work at the beaches. I held it in my hands, closed my eyes and said a silent thank-you to the Gulf and Her ecosystems and dedicated The Gulf Oil Spill Story to Her.

I slowly opened the cover and started reading the story aloud to the Gulf. The rhyming poem echoed through my heart and mind as I sent it out into the muggy, coastal air. With each image I remembered the exact place where the illustration and story lines were inspired. As I read I began to feel a mixture of grief and love and passion for this place to which I am deeply connected. Hours after my birth I breathed the salt air of this beautiful coast. And today, as a thank-you for the life I was graced with, I gifted Her with this kid’s book in the hope that future generations will be better caretakers than my generation.

Yesterday a guy that has worked for an oil company for over twenty years looked through the book. It was a surreal experience. While the story is not anti-oil, it does question the wisdom of choices we make regarding energy and drilling. He shared his ideas about the spill and so the book opened a dialogue between us.

My niece read the book and loved it. My mom especially liked the checklist at the end of the story that encourages families to be daily environmental stewards. A friend of mine sat mesmerized by the illustrations while another friend had tears come as she read it. All of these different reactions and yet the one common thread is the story opens dialogues between people. I can think of no more important intention of any project.

It’s easy to get discouraged with so many conflicting ideas about renewable energy, drilling, politics, religion, climate change…. But when we take the time to listen to other’s points of view without judgment, movement toward resolution can occur. Common ground can be found if we are willing to stand with one another, instead of against each other.

The Illusion of Separateness

The Illusion of Separateness

By |

I don’t understand the self-destructive war between humans and the Earth. It’s a fight picked by humans who continue to act as the aggressor. For years I have contemplated this question and have come to what I believe to be the root problem: We believe we are separate from nature, from each other. If we believe we are not connected to others, to the planet, we will act with destructive intentions for our own, self-centered goals irregardless of anyone or anything else.

In my own struggle to reach a place of peace and balance regarding the Gulf Oil Spill, I have uncovered within myself anger and frustration at humanity–not just to the oil companies or our government, but to all of us as consumers and uninvolved citizens. As I have done the inner work, read books by Joanna Macy and others, and explored the spiritual side of this disaster, I am convinced that it is our collective belief in separateness that allows violence toward each other and the Earth to continue.

How can we heal this belief that keeps us isolated, removed from a deep sense of belonging to our planetary mother? Without a soul connection to the Earth and each other, we experience profound loneliness and emptiness. We hunger for connection and try to fill the inner void by consuming more and more, thereby creating more destruction from our excessive demand for ‘goods.’ The vicious cycle will continue until individually and collectively we recognize and honor the interconnectedness we have with all life.

During one of my recent meditations I heard a question: Can you have compassion for the men that made decisions to continue drilling when the Deepwater Horizon Rig was malfunctioning? I pictured the corporate executives in a board room and I saw myself walking into the room. I breathed deeply and allowed my anger to dissipate. I saw them as my brothers, as part of the human family to which we all belong. I imagined animals from the Gulf in the room, not as judges but as part of our extended family. I recognized that only in seeing the connections we all have, can we begin to make a difference.

There’s no magic pill that will erase centuries of destruction nor is there a wand we can wave to erase our anger and frustration at the ongoing assault on the planet. Yet as more people recognize the interconnectedness of all life, our world can evolve and become a place that honors and respects all life. It begins within each of us and it takes daily practice.