2010 - Year Of The Environment

Edition #133 — July 25, 2010

This year began with my watching daily African safaris over the internet and listening to the odd sounds of a baby bear snuggling with its mother in a bear den in Minnesota. Then I rescued a baby crow. Later I began documenting oil spills not realizing what epic destruction BP's greed and negligence would later unleash. And so for me this year continues to be about my awareness of nature and the natural environment. However, I know I'm not alone in this heightened awareness.

The Gulf Of Mexico BP oil spill could have been just another passing industrial lapse of consciousness had it lasted only a week and spilled only a few barrels of oil. But it wasn't long before we all knew that something was seriously wrong and that we had reason to worry. Three months later, the entire world remains rivetted by this ecological disaster, not just to see how it might finally end but also out of concern for the well-being of all the fish and wild animals being affected, not to mention that commonwealth we all share, which is the natural environment. Mother Earth has everyone's attention, now what?

It seems that we needed this disaster. That is not to say that it was something we should ever want to see again, but it has created a pivotal moment of awareness around the world for what we have long been ignoring or leaving in the greedy hands of business titans like Tony Hayward, who will soon be the ex-CEO of BP. We are now aware more than ever that we are being lied to in every sense about what business and government promises they can do to ensure our current and future safety while both profit from our consent. Furthermore, the US government has been lied to not only by its partners in big business but also by its own regulatory agencies who act with equal reckless abandon as those industries they are meant to be protecting us from. It is the best of the worst on display and there are few places to hide as the shit continues to hit the fan and the oil continues to reached the Gulf shores, ruining the fishing and tourism industry, poisoning the water, and killing innocent wildlife by untold numbers that we can neither see nor imagine.

As for the good news, there are sweeping changes under way that are long overdue. Furthermore, we are now more aware than ever of technologies that work and those that don't yet were promised to by oil companies. It has been a costly way to nudge our entire civilization a little closer toward perfection. Maybe just an inch, but at least we've lifted the anchor.

I don't think we've seen the last of these harbingers of change. We've had lots of events this year already, including a volcanic eruption that interrupted European air travel, earthquakes that wiped out cities, and sinkholes that have swallowed up homes as though the earth beneath them had never existed. It's a weird time and perhaps we will learn a few more valuable lessons if we use that time wisely.

Until next time...

Roland Kriewaldt


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