Oil Spill

By Claire Vorster

'Individually men are inclined to tell the truth only when it benefits them' - John MacArthur.

When Steve and I lived in on the coast in South Africa, I used to spend one day a week helping out at the local veterinary surgery. My job was to feed the penguins who were there either because they got caught in fishing nets or had just managed to get confused about where they were! They were tough little customers, they liked fish but they didn't like people. By the end of my shift I would have been pecked (a lot) and would reek of fish.

Still it was hard not to fall in love with them. They were feisty, full of life and in the water they were amazing. Then one day penguins started arriving covered in oil. I don't know the exact circumstances but there was an oil spill along part of the coast near to us. So penguins were bought in, stranded on land, unable to swim, feed or keep themselves oiled and clean because they were covered in black tar. We had to tie their beaks carefully as they were frightened and on the defensive and then clean them with detergent. It took about two hours per bird. Eventually they would be returned to a safe part of the coastline. Some of them did not make it.

What struck me during that time was the dignity of these creatures. Here they were covered in oil through no fault of their own, struggling to survive, somehow dignified in their suffering.

Most of you will know about the devastating effects to human life, employment and to the natural environment as a result of the oil rig explosion and ongoing oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico. Here are some statistics:

60,000 barrels: The amount of oil believed to be gushing from the spill. That's twelve times more than the original estimate of 5,000 barrels a day. In all, 60,000 barrels a day means an estimated 2.5 million gallons a day is leaking into the Gulf (Source: Business Week).

127,000 barrels: Amount of oil BP's containment cap has collected since its installation on June 5 (Source: Press Association).

11,300 miles: The distance around the world the current amount of leaked oil would stretch if it was placed in milk jugs lined up side by side. To quantify, that's farther than New York to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and back (Source: New York Times).

11: Number of workers missing and presumed dead following the BP rig explosion (Source: Huffington Post).

Less than 4: The number of hours the millions of barrels of oil that have spilled into the Gulf of Mexico would have powered the U.S. Economy (Source: NPR).

Where is God in all this? Jon Stewart the host of US satirical news program 'The Daily Show' showed a diagram of how far this oil was buried beneath the sea and beneath the sea bed. Over 3 miles down. Stewart commented that he thought God had made a pretty good job of burying it out of reach.

Across the globe, we have developed a crazy addiction for consuming our God given natural resources at an unnerving rate so that we can shop, re-model our houses, own lots of cars and endless labour saving devices, the list is endless. This is the reason that we are now mining natural gas under New York State and drilling for oil in places that are increasingly difficult to get to.

Meanwhile we watch oil executives duck, dive and go sailing while oil still rushes into the Gulf. We read of dreadful safety records and corners cut by big corporations who are making obscene amounts of money but still cutting corners. Politicians and regulators saying one thing and then another. Who do we trust?

The truth is that this oil spill shows us yet again that we have to start finding new ways to live a more sustainable life. Change always comes from the people who realise that we have to find new solutions to old problems. We are responsible for our way of life on this planet and the legacy we leave our children. We have everything to play for.

Claire Vorster is a professional writer with 20 years successful Corporate writing experience, both in the US and the UK. She specialises in inspirational and motivational writing and editing for Corporate clients, magazines, newspapers and online markets.

Claire writes a daily inspirational Blog and is equally at home with WordPress, social networking including Facebook and Twitter, list building and SEO. Claire writes persuasive and precise motivational copy. With your voice, to your brief, to your deadline. For writing samples and to contact Claire, please visit http://www.clairevorster.com and http://www.clairesteaparty.com.

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