There's Oil Friggin Everywhere!!!!

The most frustrating thing about watching the news and reading the newspaper is hearing about all the awful things going on in our world that we cannot control. The main reason I began this blog was to spread the idea that we are not always helpless when it comes to world events. There is no purpose in the information we receive daily from the Internet, magazines, television etc. if it is not put to good use. Awareness is important because it is the first step before action is taken. If I read about the oil spill and just sit with the idea that it is happening, the information has done nothing to benefit the cause. I believe this is the main problem with the information we get from the media today. A lot of information, very little solutions. It is our responsibility as citizens of our state, our country, and of the world that we put our knowledge of current events to good use. What better place to start than the oil spill?

Instead of standing by and watching there are many things we can do as individuals to help this environmental crisis, but before we enter into that subject I feel I should give you a brief explanation on what is going on in the Gulf of Mexico. When most of us think of this man-made disaster we think of fish and turtles being covered with slick oil. Obviously, the oil poses a huge danger to wildlife in the region, but the problem is far greater than that. The last great oil spill comparable to this one took place off the coast of Alaska more than 20 years ago. In that time petrol companies have not taken the necessary steps to finding solutions for plugging up leaks caused by drilling. While technology used to clean up the oil in the ocean has been created, nothing of importance has been created to fix the leak itself. With the amount made each year by oil companies there is no excuse for the tiny amount of research done both to prevent and put a stop to oil spills. The practice of praying and crossing our fingers is simply inexcusable.

And poor Louisiana! As if the state has not been through enough these past five years since Hurricane Katrina hit, fisherman are losing their livelihood to this disaster. The unemployment rate in the US is now past 9%, the last thing we needed was a catastrophe that literally wiped out the income of hard working men and women. Thus, this problem goes beyond an environmental issue. It's affecting our fragile economy as well.


BP has tried several strategies to plug up the well. One was a giant dome designed to siphon the oil from the leak. After a few failures the infamous "top kill" was tried. This basically involved pumping gallons upon gallons of mud into the well in order to plug up the flow of oil. If this would not work bits of tire and plastic would also be added to the clay to seal it indefinitely. Unfortunately, this plan seems to have failed miserably. Now we are even thinking of dropping chemicals into the ocean that may help the oil spill but be toxic to the wildlife. Great idea.... People have been complaining that the problem has been left in that hands of BP for far too long already, and expressed the desire for our government to take bigger steps in solving the problem.

President Obama, as usual the burden of millions rests on your shoulders. :/

As a result our president made a visit to the Gulf on Friday and stated that he takes full responsibility for finding solutions to this issue. However Ladies and Gentlemen, this doesn't mean you get to close your eyes, sit back, and let the king of hope solve everything for you. We are a democracy, and supposedly our government is run primarily by us. So lets take some action! I'm tired of Louisiana getting butt raped all time!

Ways You Can Help:

1. Be like yo mama and write a letter when something pisses you off. Contact your local congressman, state senator. Hell..write to the White House! The more we continue putting money into oil drilling, the higher chance there is to something happening like this again. If you are one of Palin's "Drill baby drill!" darlings, I may think your wrong but I have a solution for you too. You may not be an advocate for renewable energy but you can at least write and let the oil companies know more money needs to be spent on research for preventing and stopping oil spills. They can't just drill and hope for the best. There needs to be a back up plan. Writing letters and emails may not be an immediate solution but it can urge our government and petrol companies to prepare for and prevent future oil leaks. That way we don't experience this scrambling "What the hell do we do now?" attitude all over again.

2. Collect your hair, pet fur, and nylons! Believe it or not these three things can be used trap oil found in the ocean. Salons and pet owners around the country have been collecting these items and sending them off to help clean up the mess. To sign up visit www.matteroftrust.org

3. Visit www.nwf.org to donate money which helps save the the wildlife affected by the oil spill.

4. If you are able to commit your time to volunteer you can visit www.lagulfresponse.org which is advertised by the World Wildlife Fund as a safe source for donations as well.

Hope this Helps!


XO,

MIMI

P.S. Watch this Video!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHmhxpQEGPo