“As people alive today, we must consider future generations: a clean environment is a human right like any other. It is therefore part of our responsibility towards others to ensure that the world we pass on is as healthy, if not healthier, than we found it.” - The Dalai Lama
The oil spill that keeps spilling off the coast of Louisiana is disturbing enough. From the images of birds with oil slicked wings and unable to fly to the testimony before congress of family members who lost loved ones on the oil rig...But just as disturbing is the fact that this spill - up until this point at least - is an almost mirror image of one that occurred in June 1979 when the Ixtoc exploratory oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico blew and the platform caught fire then collapsed. This spill too involved a failure of the preventative shut-off valve. Efforts to place caps to stop the gushing oil...as today....failed. They tried shooting junk down the pipe (as is being discussed now). Failure. They tried filling the pipe with mud/cement as is being done now with the top kill...didn’t work. The only thing that stopped the geyser of oil was a relief well that took 10 months to drill. There is a relief well drilling operation underway today and the estimates are that it will at least be August before it is complete. In the end approximately 3 million barrels of oil were released into the Gulf of Mexico and devastated the ecosystem of the area (including much Texas coastline) for decades. Apparently, the only technological advances that have been made in oil drilling involve the ability to drill more and deeper wells and thus make more money. The response to catastrophic failure is unchanged except that since we are in deeper water it is only more difficult. WHEN WILL THE HUMAN RACE STOP THE INSANITY?
Anyway....I can’t move to a different topic of purrs this week. The cries of suffering from the gulf are just too strong.
Week 49 of Purrs 4 Peace details are as follows:
* Week forty-nine’s appointed time is Sunday, May 30, 2010.
* Participants should purr for three minutes commencing at 3 p.m. Eastern (U.S.) which is 8:00 p.m. (20:00 hrs.) in the U.K.
* The cat’s human staff should assist their cats with the project by stroking and nuzzling the cat at the appointed time. Please post your cat name and the country you purr in at www.confuciuscat.blogspot.com as a COMMENT if you are participating in this historic project. (posting a link to your own website-if you have one-is encouraged.) Or let me know by message on twitter or facebook. Posting purrs on facebook ( Acolytes of Confucius Cat or as friend to Alley Mason) and twitter (@ConfuciusCat) is encouraged, since it inspires purring in others, but not required. On twitter please use #purrs4peace in your tweets.
Peace * Paix * Frieden * Vrede * Pace * Paz * Shalom * Fred * Salaam * Om Shanti * Heddwch * Siochan
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5 comments:
My sisters and I will be there!!!
It's so sad. Last night the news was showing ALL of the oil companies and how many violations they had for the last 3 years. A few had 2, one had 3, two had 8, and BP???
780~!!!
That's absurd!
MC will Purring at 3pm in the USA
We can tell you did your homework on this subject. I did not remember 1979 until you brought it up. Apparently we haven't learned anything in 31+ years. Thanks CC & mama. We'll be purring.
We're a little late (although still purring!) but thank you so much for posting about this! Our humans are so upset about it that they won't even read the news. We hope that something can be done ASAP (although we are not holding our breath).
Purrs!
Franklin, Dobby, and Tasha
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