Oily Water

I'm guilty. Just like you. I drive a car. I love my car, some would say to the point of anthropomorphic obsession. MINI runs on gasoline. Her engine is lubricated by motor oil. So what's happening in the Gulf of Mexico is not my fault specifically, but it has come about because the world is full of people like me who rely on fossil fuels to keep things going in daily life. It's not just cars. Homes are heated with oil. Plastics are a petroleum product. The soda bottle on my desk next to me and the action figures on my shelf are all part of the fossil fuel economy. The one that results in giant oil corporations greedily drilling deeper and deeper for the Texas tea that keeps us running and fills their pockets.

A couple of weeks ago on Doctor Who, the two part episode which began with "The Hungry Earth" told of scientists drilling deep into the Earth in Wales. I don't remember how deep it was, 21 km or some really long distance. And it turned out that down at the Earth's core was another civilization. A race of lizard-like humanoids who thought the drill coming down into their oxygen pockets constituted an act of war.

President Obama used war as an analogy to describe the devastation caused by this spill; which after two months is still spewing oil into the water of the Gulf. It's killing animals and putting everyone in the fishing industry out of work. It's putting the lives of residents in jeopardy due to toxic beaches. Not to mention the loss of income from reduced tourism in the Gulf states. Unlike Hurricane Katrina, this disaster is entirely of man's making.

And still, on a 100 degree day in Las Vegas, I was out doing my errands, with the air conditioning cranked up in my car, despite the cost of lower fuel economy. I'm going to be using more oil this summer. Yes, I am guilty. And what should I do? The answer is not simple. Everything has a ripple effect. Change is difficult. It's uncomfortable. But it starts with one conscious act of trying to make things better. I hope I'm up for the challenge.