60+ Days of Deepwater: Karma Comes to America?

Today, is the 62nd day since the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico. Two months of a tragedy that will leave Planet Earth devasted for a very long time, not to mention its impact on Homo sapiens, which has for a long-time been headed down a cataclysmic path paved by greed, aquisitiveness, and self-absorbtion.

Ever since the parade of colonizers first came to the shores of America, there has been a series of nightmares perpetrated upon the indigenous peoples living here. Whether it be the British invasion of the Eastern coast at Plymouth, the French invasion of Canada and Louisana, the Spanish in Florida, California, Mexico, Central and South America, and there has often been a bloody path of decimation by fire, sword, and disease of epic proportions. The missionaries sent to "Christianize" the natives were oftentimes as bad as their military counterparts, but that's another story.

For those who extol the United States of America for its freedom, opportunity and might, lest we forget, it was the U.S., as well as other colonizers, that stole or fought for one parcel of land after another from the Native Americans. The U.S. broke almost every treaty it initiated with the Native Americans and pushed them further and further from their native lands, and into oftentimes desolate pieces of "junk" lands and territories. The infamous and pathetic "Trail of Tears" was one of the most brutal and heartbreaking periods of U.S. betrayal.

The slave/indentured trade from the colonial period until the Civil War, with it's in your face "slavery," displayed how this species attacks, plunders and abuses others of its own species. No other species on this planet treats its kindred as this one does.

And, was it such magnominity upon the part of President Abraham Lincoln to free the slaves, or was it the fact that the North was losing the war and needed more troops to fill its ranks? Little known to most Americans is the fact that President Lincoln, had he lived, was preparing to ship all the former slaves back to Africa, to the U. S. inception known as Liberia.

The concept of karma may be defined as the total effect of actions and conduct during the successive phases of an entity's existence, regarding as determining the entity's destiny. So, is there, indeed, karma at work here? Is the U.S., and world, finally getting a "payback" for all the damage it has done to the planet and itself? Is the Deepwater Horizon event the tipping point that will lead to a Doomsday scenario for the U.S. and mankind?

If the "hammer of karma" is indeed coming down upon these United States and the world, what other circumstances might have contributed to it, especially since the Gulf is in our very own backyard? Here's an abbreviated outline of some of our ignominious history.

• 1838-39 the Trail of Tears whereby Native Americans were stripped of their rights and relocated. The Cherokee nation was made to give up their lands East of the Mississippi. Approximately 4,000 Cherokee died as a result of their removal.

• U.S. Annexation of Texas 1845.

• Mexican-American War of 1846-1848, which was a result of the annexation of Texas.

• Convention of Kanagawa 1854, which compelled/coerced the Japanese into opening trade with the U.S. by Commodore Perry and his Black Fleet.

• U.S. Civil War, 1861-1865.

• Spanish-American War which occurred between the U.S. and Kingdom of Spain in 1898 as a result of the Battleship Maine being sunk in Havana Harbor. The alledged reason for U.S. involvement in Cuba, being Cuban independence. The U.S. gained temporary control over Cuba and indefinite control over Puerto Rico, Guam and the Philippines.

• WWI

• WWII included the U.S. and its allies fire bombing Dresden, Germany, and the U.S. fire bombing Tokyo, Japan, in 1945, with explosives and incendiary devices. It is reported 100,000 people died in Tokyo. The U.S. Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was responsible for more wounding, maiming, and killing of numerous civilians in 1945.

• The Korean War, 1950-1953, was a conflict between North and South Korea. South Korea was supported by the United Nations, and in particular the U.S.

• Iran, 1953, the U.S. plays a significant role in the overthrow of Iran's popular Prime Minister and restores the Shah of Iran to power.

• The Vietnam War, was a cold war military conflict which occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia between 1955-1975. The U.S. became involved first, in the early 1960s with military advisers, then in 1965 U.S. combat troops were deployed. The capture of Saigon in 1975 put an end to U.S. involvement in Vietnam. It was during the Vietnam War that the U.S. used Agent Orange, which was an herbicide and defoliant contaminated with TCDD (a dioxin with a carcinogenic effect).

• Persian Gulf War, (Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm) 1990-1991. A Coalition of nations led by the U.S. began over a dispute between Iraq and Kuwait, which lead to military intervention to restore Kuwait's sovereignty. A feature of this war was "Gulf War Syndrome" affecting civilians and military personnel who were near conflicts or were downwind of chemical depot demolitions.

• Afghan War 2001-present, is an ongoing military initiative in response to the attacks on the World Trade Center, on September 11, 2001. It is now the longest ongoing war in United States history.

• Iraq War 2003-present. The U.S. and several allies invaded Iraq based upon a false and misleading premise that Iraq had Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and Iraq's "supposed" connection to the September 11, 2001 incident; hyped by the Bush administration to substantiate a preemptive attack on Iraq. Features of this war were the "shock and awe" bombarding of Baghdad, Massive Ordinance Air Blasts (MOAB), also known as the Mother of All Bombs which were of 21,000 lbs of ordinance, cluster bombs, as well as the debated use of White Phosphorus (WP), and their use against insurgents.

Karma? Karma also alludes to the concept of actions and deeds, and results in the entire cycle of cause and effect. Interestingly, this blog was stimulated by several articles I have read, and one in particular by Maryann Tobin entitled, "North America faces years of toxic oil rain from BP oil spill chemical dispersants."

It has been becoming more and more evident over these past 60+ days that the oil spill catastophe is not going away, nor is it going to be cleaned up. It is going to spred far and wide in the Gulf and other areas of the planet by wind, wave, air and water. We have been getting the proverbial "smoke and mirrors" from BP as well as our own administration. This eco-disaster is only the cherry on top of a cake of deception and lies we the people have been fed, from the recession/depression, to Wall Street shysters, to the bank robber barons, "Don't Ask Don't Tell," GITMO, landmines, universal health care, transparency, and on and on.

Karma? Yes, I think we're in for some big ass karma caused by the oligarchs of this nation and the world! Some points from the article by Maryann Tobin:

• When you pour millions of gallons of toxic chemical disperants on top of an oil spill, it just doesn't disappear.

• BP's oil spill dispersant (Corexit9500) has been banned in Europe, as it is one of the most environmentally enduring toxic chemical dispersants.

• As the water in the Gulf warms the dispersant goes through a molecular transition and changes from liquid to gas, which is readily absorbed by clouds and eventually released as toxic rain. This chemical-laden rain then falls on crops, reservoirs, animals, and of course people.

• What makes "Corexit rain" so freightening are the carcinogens it leaves behind on everything it touches.

• Is it futile to belive we can keep "Corexit rain" from occurring - it has already been released and the molecular tranisiton has begun. We have set off an unprecedented chain of events in nature that we cannot control.

Source: Maryann Tobin http://tinyurl.com/36oyk5p

Karma? Methinks it's coming our way, and in my humble opinion, it won't be simply North America. This is a planet where everything is connected and interconnected; as is everything in the universe. Unfortunately, mankind has lost sight of its connection with all things on this planet. Earth changes? Yup, lots of earth changes on the way! Species changes are on the way too! Hopefully, the next hominid group to inhabit this planet will be more wise than this one has been.

© Roger Allen Baut

USA Titanic

The world thought the HMS Titanic was unsinkable, it sank! The world thought the USA was invincible after WWII, it wasn't and Viet Nam proved that! Now, after a series of many foolish mistakes, one right after another, the mighty USA is crumbling, as did the Roman empire in 410 A.D.

Faced with incredible debt incurrred from misbegotten wars, greed, failed foreign policy, pollution of air, land and sea, the USA Titanic is poised, as was the HMS Titanic, to slide into the icy depths of the sea.

Each day new headlines confirm this, in "America's Most Polluted Cities," MSN brings the information collected from Forbes.com to the forefront, and shines a light on ozone pollution and how it is affecting people in various parts of the country. Forbes also lists the 25 worst cities for ozone pollution. Personally, I knew ozone was bad, but not as bad as this, "...inhaling ozone is akin to 'getting a sunburn on your airways,' says Dr. Norman H. Edelman, the ALA's (American Lung Association) chief medical officer." Source MSN/Forbes http://tinyurl.com/22jm4k3

Listed as Forbes #1. "worst city" is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA; followed by #2. Bakersfield, CA; #3. Visalia-Porterville; CA #4. Fresno-Madera, CA; and #5. Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, CA & NV. For the other 20 cities and various medical problems related to them please go to http://tinyurl.com/2aftaas

Also, the oil rig catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico continues in the headlines, along with its tragic consequences. On Saturday, May 15, MSNBC quoted the New York Times (NYT) that reported scientists had found giant oil plumes in the Gulf, one of which was 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick! "...the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse than estimates that the government and BP have given." says the NYT. No surprise here with the BP and government estimates!

The NYT goes on to say, "The plumes are depleting the oxygen dissolved in the gulf, worrying scientists, who fear that the oxygen level could eventually fall so low as to kill off much of the sea life near the plumes." Full article http://tinyurl.com/29vhbnb

Today, the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) reported, "Coast Guard officials have found nearly two dozen tar balls on Key West shores but have not determined if they came from the Gulf of Mexico's massive oil disaster." So where else might the tar balls come from? Are there other leaking undersea wells we're not aware of? Hmmm, very interesting! NWF article http://tinyurl.com/2aj7jb4

In another article from the NYT, relative to the plumes, it reported that, "Dr. Samantha Joye [University of Georgia] 'said the oxygen had already dropped 30 percent near some of the plumes in the month that the broken oil well had been flowing. “If you keep those kinds of rates up, you could draw the oxygen down to very low levels that are dangerous to animals in a couple of months,'" she said Saturday. "That is alarming!"

Alarming indeed! We may be witnessing one of the greatest eco-tragedies in recorded history, as well as its affects on the United States and the world! Is it possible there may be a glimmer of hope, somewhere, for the USA Titanic? Is it possible that it's citizenry will wake-up, before the Great Ship of State takes its final plunge into the icy seas? Is it possible?

Oil Spill Eco-Tragedy 2010!

The question now becomes, "What is it going take to wake people up?" Almost every day there is some new problem for people and the planet. Not to mention, all those ecological and societal problems that have been created by mankind over the past years.

As Naomi Wolf has so aptly said, we have reached several "tipping" points as a nation, and once that tipping point has been reached it is difficult going back, and/or correcting whatever has occurred. If you are not familiar with her work, I would suggest you to go to: http://www.endofamericamovie.com/ and find out what she has to say about the "End of America."

Environmentally, we have also reached a tipping point with our latest oil spill disaster. America has been on a collision course with an eco-tragedy for many years; it looks like it may be here now. As our esteemed caesar now says, "...we are dealing with a massive and potentially unprecedented environmental disaster." Well, yeah! Wake-up for God's sake and smell the coffee (see full article: MSNBC) http://tinyurl.com/2ckqrfq

No amount of clean-up is going to restore the Gulf of Mexico to its original pristine condition. Water, fish, plants, birds, et cetera are all being affected. As a matter of fact, there is already "dead" zone in the Gulf. Yup, a dead zone, check this out from smm.org http://www.smm.org/deadzone/ on the Gulf area that cannot support aquatic life.

As the old cliche goes, this is a "train wreck in slow motion," except the train wreck has been going on for years. Planet Earth has been turned into a polluted garbage dump by Homo sapiens moronus! The list of atrocities that mankind/governments have perpetrated on this planet is a long one. I need not go into all the gory details, but I am always reminded about the 10,000 +/- pieces of debris floating around our planet by our glorious space program.

So, who's responsible for all of this mess? None other than American people, who have NOT demanded accountability, responsibility, or transparency from their elected officials/administration. It is the American people, for the most part, have allowed their government to do whatever it wants. Why? Because they're often too busy being self-absorbed with their phoney baloney celebrities, junk television, junk food, junk beverages, and lost inside some computer screen either self-stimulating themselves mentally, or physically. When the USA Titanic goes down, it's gonna make a BIG splash folks!

No need to tell you what can be done to SOS (Save our Ship)! You already know, but if you don't, it's simply this: if you want to make a difference and stop the eco-tragedies and loss of our civil liberties from happening, you just have to get up and take a stand, and STOP the insanty and the greed.

Return our government to one that is really a representative one, and one that is, "...of, by, and for the people." This government was set up to provide for the necessities of its people, not vice-versa! It's now up to all of us to STOP the mismanagement of this nation, or we will all suffer the consequences, and those consequences will impact us forever!

The tipping point has been reached!

Of oil spills and E. coli

The latest piece of big, "bad news," is the oil spill which occurred in the Gulf of Mexico from the Louisana oil rig disaster of April 20th. Now, 9 days later, it's become a real crisis as the spill has moved toward the Mississippi River, Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Breton national Wildlife Refuge, and rich oyster grounds.

One fisherman was quoted as saying, "The oil come in everywhere, the shrimp die, the crabs die, the fish die. What do I do?"

MSNBC reports that, "If the well cannot be closed, almost 100,000 barrels of oil, or 4.2 million gallons, could spill into the Gulf before crews can drill a relief well to alleviate the pressure." The size of the oil spill is now, "...600 miles in circumference and about 23 miles offshore." Think about the ecological significance of this event.

A "...decision to burn some of the oil came after crews operating submersible robots failed to activate a shut-off device that would halt the flow of oil on the sea bottom 5,000 feet below." Now where do you think all those toxic fumes are going? Correct! Right into the atmosphere.

Late yesterday, Wednesday, a lawsuit was filed that, "...seeks at least $5 million in compensatory damages, plus an unspecified amount of punitive damages against Transocean, BP, Halliburton Energy Services Inc. and Cameron International Corp." Hmmm, Halliburton, doesn't that name sound very familiar? Why yes, come to think of it, this administration is still playing "patty-cake" with them, in a number of different ventures? Yes, siree!
It will be interesting to see what transpires with this latest environmental situation as it progresses. Unfortunately, no amount of money is going to eradicate, or return the Gulf or animal life to what it was before the spill. Sources: The Baltimore Sun http://tinyurl.com/2bfmx2c and MSNBC http://tinyurl.com/24tyhay

Now, on to another topic: food! It was announced today that the State of New York is now linked to an E. coli O145 Outbreak in Michigan and Ohio! It is reported that as many as 47 have now sickened in three States, in the Marler Blog http://www.marlerblog.com/ The Marler Blog is an excellent resource for finding out about what food/health-related challenges are presently occurring.

So, what is E. coli? Well, for the most part, it's the name of a type of bacteria that lives inside the intestines. Most types of E. coli are quite harmless. However, some types can cause illness and diarrhea. One type causes travelers' to have diarrhea. The worst type of E. coli causes bloody diarrhea, and may sometimes result in kidney failure and even death. Needless to say, it's something that one doesn't want to contract.

How do People contract E. coli? Well, one may contract it by drinking contaminated water, eating fruit or vegetables that have been watered with contaminated water, drinking unpasteurized milk, or eating undercooked ground meat. An E. coli infection may also be caught by coming into contact with others who are infected with it, or by working in environments where one might come into contact with human or animal feces.

At this point in time, it is not known for sure, whether or not this outbreak is from hamburger or some leafy green vegetables such as lettuce, or spinach.

So, there you have it, some new issues that are causing a bit of havoc for the planet and Homo sapiens! It seems to be an ongoing saga. Hmmm, I wonder what the final outcome will be?

Oh, by the way, here's a recommendation for some late night reading, for you: The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman, a fascinating book that asks us to envision the Earth without us. Think about it!

April 22, 2010: un-HaPpY EARTH DAY!

Yes, here we have the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day! 40 years and what do we have to show for it? Air and water that's more polluted than it was 40 years ago! Chemicals and additives in foods that mess with the bodies biological systems. Sugar coated this, sugar coated that! Cola, M & Ms, deep fried twinkies, doughnuts, you name it! It's all garbage concocted to make money for some greedy shyster who cares nothing about the environment or the people people who consume it. Children's toys that are dangerous, either from construction or from the toxic paint that is applied to it! Red dye this, blue dye that! Mad cow disease! Oh you think it's gone, well if you do, I've got a bridge to sell you!

Here's a nice little piece from MSNBC: Plastic, sweat pants and more found in dead whale: http://tinyurl.com/y6sy5wm

At this point this is a relatively short blog, but how much needs to be said about things we already know, that this species, Homo sapiens, has done more than any other species to mess things-up on this planet! About a species that not only destroys itself, but trashes the planet that sustains it. Nuclear waste, human waste, garbage, islands of plastic floating in the oceans, and every day there's more and more of it.

Note: As of today's date, a report was released by MSNBC regarding the Louisana oil rig disaster of Tuesday, April 20th. Approximately 100 workers made it to safety at a nearby supply boat, after their rig exploded. A number of workers were injured, with 11 still missing. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Mary Landry said that crews saw a 1 mile by 5 mile sheen of what appeared to be a crude oil mix on the surface of the water.

"The well could be spilling up to 8,000 barrels of crude oil a day," the Coast Guard said, and the rig carried 700,000 gallons of diesel fuel." Needless to say, occurances like this are devasting to human as well as marine life, and toxifies the water. For further information on this, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/29x38cu

I'm well aware there are people and organizations who "try" to make a positive difference for our planet and environment, but there need to be more! I am constantly reminded about the number of careless, lazy, and lackadaisical people there are, everytime I go out on a photoshoot, or hike. Today was no different; empty plastic bottles, food wrappers, you name it, and in places one wouldn't expect to find litter. The planet is fast becoming the garbage dump of the solar system! Oops, and let's not forget while we're at it the 10,000 +/- various pieces of debris circling our planet from various "space exploration" projects.

Is it too late? Only time will tell!