Oil Spill Apocalypse

I’ve been spending a lot of time getting caught up on blogs since we returned earlier this week. Too much time really. I'm embarrassed to admit that the other night I stayed up past midnight, 1, 2, reading. I will never get this time back, I thought as I crashed into bed. And time was so plentiful when I was on vacation from home and the internet. (Synchronicity to read Elizabeth Foss's reflections on her mixed emotions about blogging and then evologia's similar conclusions.)

But what I really had a hard time pulling myself away from that night were articles about the possible repercussions of the BP oil spill. Being newly returned to the coast, I was eager to get updates on its status, especially the happy news that the leak is capped.  The beach here is still open. I saw a jetskier enjoying a sunny day on the water as I drove down Highway 90.  And a neighbor's son is taking sailing lessons which have only been cancelled one day.  Even the least terns are still around in their roped off "Nest in Peace" area. But there are no pelicans on the pier where we used to see sometimes a dozen or more roosting.  And every morning cleaning crews are out scouting for tarballs on the beach.

It was my brother-in-law who alerted me to some web pages (Helium being one of them. Reputable or not?) that give a rather gloomy, if not downright apocalyptic, view of some of the possible repercussions of oil and methane leaking into the ocean and preparing to split apart the ocean floor causing catastrophic, world-crushing tsunamis. Another mentioned cancer causing amounts of benzene already in the air around New Orleans. Add to this, we watched 2012 while at my in-laws last week. Full of flaws, but I’ve loved John Cusack since The Journey of Natty Gann, (one of the first things I noticed about my husband when we first started dating was that his upper lip resembles JC’s), so I enjoyed watching it, but now all that information blackout business is coming back to me. We will be told of our impending death before the tsunami hits? Will we have time to prepare?

I could very easily get drawn into conspiracy theories. But in the back of my mind, I know that death is always imminent. And I know I’m unprepared. Time to get to confession. Time to get back to a routine that includes more conversation with God and less with myself.