The Latest on the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill Disaster

The first bird covered in oil from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was spotted Friday.  People working Deleware based Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research, are using Dawn blue dish washing soap to clean the oil off the young northern gannet.  The bird was found off of the Louisiana shoreline and not on the coast but more wildlife is expected to be in need of cleaning as the days progress.

The winds in the Gulf are not helping the efforts to contain the spill and there is no guarantee that the oil will not reach the Florida coast.  The Governor of Florida, Flip Flop Charlie, has declared a State of Emergency in 6 coastal counties.  President Obama will be visiting the LA Gulf coast Sunday.

The Gulf oil spill covers  a few hundred square miles in area, and continues to grow. The oil is moving in a  northerly direction, toward the northern Gulf Coast of Florida and some of the oil has already started to wash ashore in Louisiana.  It is estimated that Louisiana fishermen could lose $2 Billion in this disaster which is being called the worst environmental disaster in American history.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates the oil is spilling at 5,000 barrels (210,000 gallons) a day which exceeds BP's estimate from yesterday...which exceeds their worst-case scenario.  Is it time to start bashing BP or is it time to take a look at how our collective and personal consumer choices contributed to this disaster or does that feel too personal and hurt too much?

How many personal care product do you purchase that contain petroleum based ingredients?  How much gas do you use each day?  Are you still using Petroleum Jelly? Are you even aware of all of the things that we as consumers are purchasing each day which help to feed this type of offshore drilling?  Of course for most of us it is not practical or possible to eliminate all of these things from our lives...yet.

Still, do not think that because you are not ready to go and live on an Amish farm that you have an out on becoming informed and making different and better consumer choices when it comes to your purchases.  Let's not give only lip service to this disaster and play the blame game with BP,  let's all put our money where our mouth is.

The photos are courtesy of GREENPEACE and HERE are more pictures that you probably haven't seen yet.
 
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