Pelican Brief

Pelicans, Florida

Photo by Jack

Today, as I watched a flock of pelicans diving into the fish rich Atlantic Ocean at Tybee, I felt a deep sorrow and sense of loss at the thought of similar beings dying in the oil and corexit soaked marshes and sea of the Gulf of Mexico. I wonder if the Gulf Stream will carry the poisons this far away, around Florida and up the coast. It seems impossible, just as the vastness of the Gulf and the millions of gallons of poison are also beyond comprehension. The level of destruction of the wildlife and habitats and beaches is yet to be grasped by the country, not to mention the rest of the world. Only the first dominoes in a chain thousands of miles long have toppled.

Savannah feels like an outpost. On the way to Tybee, there are Confederate flags and signs mocking Obama and Hope. On the drive, most of the cars I saw were huge SUVs. The BP stations were brimming with them. The link below to Naomi Klein's take on the Gulf disaster is as foreign to the mindless people here as the oil itself is to the pelicans. And so tonight I dined on a platter of shrimp...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2010/jun/19/naomi-klein-gulf-oil-spill