Wednesday, April 20, 2011

One year ago....

It's been one year since the Deepwater Horizon exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, which resulted in 11 deaths and 206 million gallons of oil spewing into the waters.  Since then, the local economy as well as the wildlife in the Gulf have been devastated.  Yet somehow, life goes on in the US with little thought about what happened only one year ago.

The immediate urge to conserve energy and look for renewable energy began to wane by Christmas.  Americans are still going about their lives as if nothing happened, regardless of the energy we are so dependent on that is still very limited.  And that's not mentioning the wars in which we get involved because of this oil crisis.

I've had to make a few small changes since the spill.  I refuse to get gas from BP stations, which used to be my station of choice since it was the only gas company to tout itself as environmental.  I also don't eat fish or seafood from the Gulf, even though reports have claimed that there is no trace of carcinogens nor oil in these products.  I'm not taking any chances, especially because they haven't tested the effects of the dispersant they placed into the waters in order to clean up the oil chemically.  Dolphins, sea turtles and other wildlife in the Gulf have come up dead---mysteriously, is what they say in the news.  I'm not buying it.

Our addiction is destroying the world. The effects of drilling for oil, the pollution from refining the oil, and the waste from consuming this oil is not sustainable.

Our addiction to oil is directly affecting us.  Our soldiers are dying unnecessarily in needless wars just to satisfy our oil needs.  Oil prices are at $4/gallon and keep rising.  It's time to change this pattern of energy use.

I've always been an avid environmentalist but since the oil spill I have been more motivated to spread the word about conserving energy and doing our part to not be a problem on this planet, to share this Earth with other animals, and to leave something for future generations.

Please do your part to be a responsible and considerate citizen of the planet.  Conserve where you can, be conscious of your impact on the environment, and take baby steps to go green.  Visit my site every week for more tips on how to do this, a little bit at a time.  And please visit the eco-mami Facebook page for 30 days of eco-tips in honor of Earth Day.

Happy Earth Day!

5 comments:

  1. Hey stopping by and following from the hop. I also wanted to invite you to link up with my Wordless Wednesday hop. http://hisperfectpromises.blogspot.com/2011/04/wordless-wednesdays-adelaide.html

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  2. Followed you on GFC via Terrific Thursday Blog Hop.

    Life Below Zero
    http://casinofreebies3.blogspot.com/

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  3. Here from the hop!

    www.wheresdusti.blogspot.com

    I'm a almost-homesteading mom trying to reduce our dependency on oil and other things. Good post and I look forward to reading more now that I'm following <3

    Dusti

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  4. Thanks to all of you for checking out my blog! I'll be returning the favor shortly. Hope my tips can help you all go a little greener. :)

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  5. Not hopping...just dropping by. :) I can't believe it's been a year since this disaster. Sad how time puts it in the backdrop of current events. Thanks for the reminder.

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