Of Wind Farms, Wind Storms and Big Oil

As most people now, I am both disheartened and perturbed by the lack of success by BP to shut off the oil hole, and the poor cleanup efforts by both company and country thus far. It is, unfortunately, not much of a surprise.

What I find most irritating is the language being used by BP employees: "We will clean it up." Not "We ARE cleaning it up." Not "We ARE fixing it," but "We plan to try to fix it." This language, in everyday speak, is harmless, but to me it is indicative of how companies like this generally tackle their environmental mishaps. Believe it, every word out of their spokespersons' mouths are carefully planned. So pay attention to their verb tenses. Pay attention to what they aren't saying.

Big companies approach the immediate disaster efforts slowly, and generally figure out that a delayed response and cleanup effort will cost them less. They always promise to cover all the cleanup costs down the line, but they never actually do. They always promise to be responsible and make sure every last bit is taken care of, but then... well, they don't.

Here in NW CT, GE still has not cleaned up or paid for the damage they caused by releasing massive amount of PCBs into the Housatonic River. Sorry folks, costs too much, you didn't want to eat those fish, anyway... Exxon did not pay for the full cost and efforts of the cleanup for Valdez that they were "required" to. These companies are allowed to get away with it, because their lawyers are better than the states' and their lobbies pay good money to Washington to hush things up.

And, meanwhile, WE THE PEOPLE are so enamored with oil and so fearful of wind and solar farms that we just can't seem to get anywhere. Really, seriously people, these things are NOT unattractive. They are NOT noisy. And while a few drunken birds may fly into a turbine here or there, the cost to wildlife is certainly minimal compared to drilling and spilling. On the cape, NIMBY (Not in my backyard) is threatening to stall real progress, because people like to sail and where the farms are. Get over it. Let the world evolve.

I think the most effective cleanup effort (certainly as much as anything being done by the officials) will be to create a giant wind and rain storm to drive the oil away from the coast and out to open waters where it can disperse more safely (b/c hey, the animals we can't see thousands of feet down don't really matter, anyway. It's not like we fish them.)

I'm putting on my feathers and starting a wind dance now.