In the coming days and weeks and decades, we will see the true casualties and the destruction of our once pristine beaches, ecosystems and wildlife.
Floridians and Americans from elsewhere are talking about a boycott of BP and other oil companies. It is important to realize this: BP PAYS for barrels of Dawn dishwashing soap that it donates to the local wildlife sanctuaries for cleanup after accidents such as this latest one in the Gulf of Mexico. It is merely part of the payoff exchange plan for doing business and the unsuspecting public is unaware of these connections. But the problem goes even deeper than that...
We now know that the blame cannot be put squarely on the shoulders of the oil company, BP and others. Our current leadership has acted irresponsibly and candidates and members of our government, representatives, leaders, etc., took money as contributions and donations from these oil companies and contractors in payoffs for legislation to allow for over 3,700 operational oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. And this has been going on for years! See:
http://www.cccarto.com/gulf_platforms.htmlTexas and Louisiana had legislation voted into place to allow for the oil platforms to operate closer to their shorelines. The latest legislation would have simply lifted the ban near Florida's coast and allow for oil platforms within 3 miles of shorelines. Texas and Louisiana have lost tourists and if the ban was lifted here in Florida, we would have lost them too. Florida's only industry is tourism, to the tune of 65 billion dollars a year! On February 13th, 2010, in a direct action that was statewide, thousands of Floridians joined hands to form a line in the sand and tell Tallahassee a firm and resounding NO to any lifting of the drilling ban. See more at:
http://www.handsacrossthesand.comOver the past 30 to 40 years, our leadership has sold us completely flawed energy policies. It was known back then that there would eventually be a greedy grab for oil from anywhere our leadership could arrange to get it. That is why our government developed alliances with Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Middle East and we included military protection by our own troops with our status of forces agreements, thus, paid for by our tax dollars. But instead of prices being made lower for us at the pump, we paid more and the companies and our representatives and lawmakers exchanged the profits with each other.
Green energy initiatives should have been developed and brought online and operational way back then! The technology existed and it could have been made affordable to us.
And the propaganda continues as even now, Floridians are being assaulted nightly during prime time programming with all kinds of slicked up, expensive ads promoting the pros of natural gas, clean gas, energy that we can get right here, right now! But we now know that natural gas in any form is not clean, not safe and according to the most recent studies, will not lower our prices at the pump! With 3,700 oil rigs operating out there, if the oil is being pumped and is available as the corporations told us in their ads, our prices should have been lowered already! See a pattern here? We, the consumers will always be made to pay the highest costs in the way of jobs, our homes, our livelihoods and our environment.
So now, what do we do about it? First of all, find out where your representatives stand on energy policies. If they have not approved responsible energy policies in the past, VOTE THEM OUT OF OFFICE! Find out what to do and how to get involved in "greening" your neighborhood. Volunteer at a community garden. Buy from local businesses. Promote and hold workshops on Solar, Wind, Geothermal. Learn more about DIY (Do It Yourself). Stop buying useless junk. Use glass instead of plastic. Carpool or ride a bike! Reduce your carbon footprint and reduce your gas cost. Network with others that are doing the same things. Communicate with neighbors, you might learn a lot! Get together and think of solutions and resolutions to bring us all into a new paradigm of energy independence and energy that is safe and does not damage or kill anyone or anything. As a community, support candidates who align with responsible energy policies and promote renewable energy. When we all work together, the possibilities could be endless!
***As an interesting postscript: the FIRST DUDE, Sarah Palin's husband, Todd was a consultant for BP. This fact is not even being mentioned by any of the mainstream media outlets. He worked for them for 18 years! I think Sarah Palin can tell us much about energy policies and how her family has profited from them. See:
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/10/03/2009-10-03_todd_palin_resigns_from_oil_job_.htmlAnita Stewart
May 2nd, 2010
Tampa, Florida
Candidate for Hillsborough County Soil and Water Conservation Board
http://www.anitastewartsoilandwater.comanitasoilandwater@gmail.com
anitastewart@gmail.com
