There is almost nothing I enjoy more than a relaxing day at the beach. Just about any sandy beach will do but I have a great one in my backyard. As I gaze at the deep blues that gradiate to crystal clear tourquise at the shoreline and breath in the pure air that has traveled across the Atlantic my mind tries to envision this peaceful scene dotted with oil rigs. It seems certain folks in this country with their band leader Sarah Palin, for one,think that is the answer to all the countries woes. I can mention Governor Perry from Texas as well as I heard him say "why does the environment have to get in the way of drilling and American jobs?"
There are a lot of folks that feel the same way, of course most of them live in pristine areas where there has been no oil found. It is always OK as long as it is in someone else's backyard! They seem to be the loudest backers of this plan. If it was 1942 and the sensibilities were the same I would understand this but in 2011? Are we so reckless that the environment doesn't matter-really? No seriously really!?
As a kid in Miami Beach I well remember beach signs at every hotel saying "clean tar off feet before entering". That beautiful beach was covered in tar bubbles from ships that were allowed to empty their bilges into the sea back then. After that was banned-guess what? No more tar and clear water. I haven't seen one of those signs or a tar blob in decades. Imagine what clusters of oil rigs would do sitting off a beautiful tourist dependant beach?
Has anyone that says drill baby drill ever visited a land based drilling field? Go see one, an oil field is in no way meadow like. As a matter of fact everything near them is dead, barren and basically a waste land.
That is not the America I hope to have in my future.
Comments(17)