By Michele Spector
This, our precious planet,
Whose seasons I knew well,
Protects itself from us,
The mad human virus.
Outside the wind bellows,
And the rooftops quiver,
From weather now altered,
To voice a discontent,
The degree to which I,
Only begin to guess.
Who knows how human habitation and disregard for the many ecosystems of the world already affect the weather patterns as we know them today. I contemplated this as a storm system passed through the area where I live. I don’t remember winds so strong at that time of year. I observe many strange changes in the weather I can’t explain.
In light of all this, my poem is a memorial for the Gulf Oil Disaster. It’s a disaster that continues today because the same practices causing it are in place. Its affect on the people of Louisiana, its economy, and wildlife, are all but forgotten by the President who proclaims “significant progress” has happened. I don’t see that if you consider that according to a court clerk, 62,000 forms are now filed against BP by business owners, rigworkers, and family members of men killed in the Deepwater Horizon blast.
Even as dead marine animals and oil continues to wash up on shore, and residents suffer from serious health issues, a new permit for drilling was just issued. So much for a moratorium till a better procedure for cleanup is found. There is none to date and the blowout preventer just doesn’t work, period.
Underwater plumes of oil and the dispersant Corexit are worse beneath the surface. It hasn’t gone anywhere, just settled on the gulf floor, and the toxins penetrated the food chain. The true number of dead marine mammals may never be accounted for. To BP it’s merely burying the evidence. Many believe the same fate awaits them as those who suffered in the wake of the Exxon Valdez spill, because the Government is unwilling to do what’s needed to prevent this from happening again.
Anyone wanting to learn more can go to The Center for Biological Diversity’s website for their April 2011 report: