Brief Thoughts On The Oil Spill

Today was a gift.  Steve had one nest and I only had a false crawl.  We were both done by 830.  While it's exciting to have 4+ nests, we're pretty tired.  We spent the rest of the day lounging.  I managed a 3.5 hour nap, although I admit it was a bit excessive.  We had talked about going on an adventure with all the spare time, but in the end, the couch won.

Aside from turtle nesting in Georgia, Steve and I can't seem to get the oil spill off our minds.  We hear about it with NPR in the morning, and read about on the internet through the day.  The impacts on the wetlands and the wildlife are a drop in the bucket compared to what will happen in the future.  We'll be suffering from this decades to come.  Although not very surprisingly, BP continues to deny what scientists warn are worse conditions below the surface.  I can't imagine how the Gulf will ever recover.

My sympathies to Florida who never opened their coast to offshore drilling and now have deal with the ramifications of Louisiana's rig.  And to the brown pelicans, who only 6 months ago were taken off the endangered species list.  And to the Kemp's Ridley sea turtles, who finally rebounded from the Ixtoc oil spill 30 years ago.  And to the blue fin tuna who use the Gulf of Mexico to spawn.  And to the population of sperm whales who now have no home.   And to the millions of fish that will die.  And the deep water coral ecosystems only recently discovered.  And to marsh and swamp that continue to disappear.

I have no idea what Steve and I will be doing after this adventure is over, but I'm sure, one way or another, then or later, we'll be involved in the oil spill.