I gotta tell you, the more the oil spreads from the BP Gulf oil spill, the more discouraged I become (side note: why is it being called the Gulf oil spill, and not the BP Gulf oil spill?).It was a photo released on Friday of a little gull covered in oil that really got me. Maybe it's 'cause that is how I feel when I see the extent of the devastation. Covered in heavy, black, viscous liquid, and paralyzed to do anything about it.
Today I found one photo (above) that cheered me up. A combo of before and after photos of an oiled Brown Pelican washed at the Fort Jackson, LA Oiled Wildlife Center from the IBRRC Flickr photostream. IBRRC=the International Bird Rescue Research Center.
Amazingly, I also found a link to an NPR story, A Little Bird Mired in Oil Illuminates a Big Problem, on the IBRRC Facebook page about the photo I saw on Friday, and the little gull is alive. Yay!
You can follow the IBRRC's work on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and their blog.
If you come across any other pick me up photos, or heartening bits of news regarding the BP Gulf oil spill, please pass them on.
Absolutely amazing!
ReplyDeleteIt's the Gulf Spill because it was more than just BP on this one: There is at least Trans Ocean and one other subcontractor contributing to this mess. Plus, the name drives home the what and the where of the impact. Heck, by the end of it all, every gulf in the world will be impacted when you consider there's no border patrol set up for each ocean and bay.
ReplyDeleteHi mymagritte,
ReplyDeleteI get what you're saying, but I feel like calling it the Gulf Spill makes it sound like a natural disaster. I would like a name on it that indicates that it is man-made.
As soon as you say "Spill" it is clear that it is human-generated. Nature doesn't "spill."
ReplyDeleteI think tagging it with "BP" would actually reduce the focus by pointing a finger at a single target - a comfortable illusion. The circumstances that allowed this ecological nightmare to happen are far bigger than a single company.