The BP oil spill last year was a huge reminder of the perilous problems oil has been causing in the Gulf Coast and elsewhere.  The fact that even this catastrophe is only part of the ongoing problem is graphically brought home in the maps and data offered by the National Response Center Incident Reports for Louisiana in 2009 available at http://www.southernstudies.org/2011/04/chronic-exposure.html.

So what does an individual do?  Well, one step my husband and I have been striving to take is to reduce our gas consumption in cars.  Unfortunately, we’re finding that even that meager step is not easy as residents of the greater New Orleans area.  Our shopping revealed that the available choices offered us either gas efficiency or space and clearance:

Space–there was an appealing car that would decrease our consumption by 37% and its interior was relatively spacious considering the gas-efficient cars.  Unfortunately, the trunk is rather small in order to accommodate the hybrid’s battery and cooling system.  Why the emphasis on space?  Have you evacuated since Hurricane Katrina?  Since that event we even think about space in the car when we consider adopting a pet—would we have room to take it and its food, et. al.?

Trapped in a Neighborhood Flood

Clearance–we also noticed that the fuel-efficient cars are all low to the ground.  If you read my blog  An Ironic Confirmation of Water Vulnerability  you know this photo of our Subaru and the water surrounding it was taken after an everyday storm in New Orleans.

For so many reasons, I remain a strong advocate against expanded oil drilling.  I also know that this car shopping reflects only a minute example of the complexity of our nation’s dependency on oil.

Thursday morning my husband and I were in the French Quarter which was packed with workers. They were setting up the huge stage and other preparations for the concert, parade, and NFL season opening game that evening between the Saints and the Vikings. In town for research we were doing for our roles as volunteer tour guides, we were glad to see the excitement building and were looking forward to watching the opening ceremonies from the comfort of our home at 7:30 P.M. The universe apparently had other plans for us.

We figured we had enough time to catch the matinee of Harry Shearer’s documentary, The Big Uneasy, which we had heard was nothing like other New Orleans documentaries and was well worth seeing. We drove to the last one-screen movie theater in the New Orleans area, located Uptown amidst nice homes.

While the film methodically, convincingly, and comprehensively presented the facts of poor engineering that resulted in the devastation related to Hurricane Katrina, we became aware of loud, persistent, thunder outside the theater. It seemed to punctuate the stark message that the new pumps for taking water out of the city during hurricanes do not work.

About three-quarters of the way through the film, as we absorbed the film’s warning, we got another from a theater employee: “It’s raining pretty heavily outside and flooding. You might want to check on your cars.”

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At Boat Launch

After Hurricane Katrina and before a new marina was built, Lake Pontchartrain shrimpers moored their boats at a nearby boat launch. I loved to visit in the evenings to see the pelicans hanging out and waiting to be fed leftover fish.

I took many pictures of them there and in other locations, like the one at West End on pilings. The pilings are all that’s left of seafood restaurants that used to be out over the lake until they were washed and blown away in 2005.

Remains of Restaurants

As big as the hole is inside me when I view the remains of the places where so many memories were made and good food enjoyed, I now have another perspective. At least the lake and the pelicans remained after that last disaster. I wonder about what will be left of the one going on now in the Gulf.

Shortly before the April 20, 2010 oil rig explosion we had had a series of articles that now seem ironic. We were being encouraged to return to swimming and enjoying the lake, because, with the help of the Lake Pontchartrain Basin Foundation and residents’ efforts, the lake had been cleaned and was deemed a healthy environment. About the same time, we were pleased at the announcement that Pelicans had been removed from the endangered species. Now we see the images of pelicans and other animals dying in oily muck, and we worry about that same black muck destroying the Gulf, being at the Mississippi river’s mouth, and inching toward Lake Borne which goes into Lake Pontchartrain.

Hope for the Future

It’s easy for me to become mired myself in the oil catastrophe – hours reading, discussing, and worrying about what’s happening. Fortunately, I have excellent friends, mentors, and family who help me move forward in positive ways. One of these is my daughter who, believe it or not, is named Katrina. Yesterday she sent me written and video versions of a meditation for the Gulf that was, of course, just what I needed at the moment. The last picture on this blog is one I took before this spring, when the water and the pelicans appeared quite healthy. It and the meditation help me focus on the possibility of the Gulf returning to some form of health in the future. You are welcome to check out the meditation yourself at Healing Meditation for the Gulf.

The title of this post is not mine.  It is  from an article by Dr. Timothy Haney out of Alberta, Canada.  If you want a break from the finger-pointing blame game dominating coverage of the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, I recommend you read it to find out why he asserts, 

 ”we owe the people of Louisiana and of the Gulf Coast both an ecological and economic debt.”

Wondering about  the term “ecological debt?” Do you consider the Gulf Coast an “industrial sacrifice zone” or a “resource-rich hinterland?” Dr. Haney clearly explains these with a sound summary of relevant environmental and economic events since oil arrived in the Gulf Coast region, including the hurricanes Katrina and Rita periods and the current realities and implications of this 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.  He also makes specific suggestions as to how to repay the debt, including the responsibility of the average citizen/consumer.

I think you’ll find it well worth reading whether you agree or disagree with him.  You can access the article at:  http://www.truthout.org/the-2010-oil-spill-and-our-ecological-debt-louisiana59386

Five years ago we Gulf Coast residents watched a circular spot grow larger by the day, held our breath watching its path, readied our houses and ourselves to the extent that past experience had prepared us, evaluated our options, and planned our course of action as the threat came closer, unable to forsee the magnitude of the disaster to come, and in the case of the New Orelans area, some of the reasons for it.  Now we watch as the large black spot gets larger on the map, the oil sheen spreads on the top of the water, the black clumps appear on the marshes, and another devastating, “never been anything like it before” event unfolds. 

Like five years ago we realize the domino effect of the devastation.  Not only were people killed in or displaced from their homes in the flooding, but those houses once needed postmen to deliver mail, grocery stores to provide food, doctors, schools, and so on, all of whom were affected by the loss of each area.  Similarly, not only did eleven men die, countless fishermen and people working the Gulf lose their jobs, and damage or destruction of wetlands and animal life begin, but people across the nation who drink coffee, eat shrimp, like fruit, plan to buy a new set of tires, or export grain, and those who supply these items, could also feel the effects of this oil incident.

Some things have changed in five years.  There have been a lot more more disasters worldwide and people have become much more proactive, much more connected, and have heightened their expectations.  Volunteers line up to help with booms, debris, and wildlife.  Fishermen, who are prevented from doing what generations of their familes have done, quickly sign up to help because they desparately want the solution and so that they may have some income.  Networks of interested groups communicate with their constituents to mobilize needed support, pressure, and action for a quick response at all levels.

We’ve also learned to stay informed, and to distinguish facts from the damaging misconceptions and generalizations surrounding the event, so we don’t compound the effects of the catasrophe.