What a mess

Sea creatures flee spill, gather near shore: Scientists say phenomena may signal polluted habitat, loss of fish

This is probably the single most devastating oecological disaster of my lifetime so far--maybe bigger and far reaching than Chernobyl--(and may there be none worse); unfortunately, so much of it is 'hidden' by being in the deep ocean that we may never truly understand its impact.

I feel for the people of the Gulf, but states such as Louisiana are reaping some of what they sowed by giving oil companies access to their mineral reserves. In the Shreveport area where I grew up, the petrochemical business was huge, and any dip in it meant recession in general for everyone.

They're not alone in this, of course. Here in Kentucky, people have given away their mineral rights for pittances for over a century, allowing strip mining and deep mining of resources. Not surprisingly, both Louisiana and Kentucky have a history of dirty politics.

And of course we all rely on oil, coal, and other non-renewable resources of energy to heat our homes, run our cars, etc. So we're all at fault, in a way, for what's happening to the creatures of the Gulf, the environment, and to those whose livelihoods depend upon them. This dependence on non-renewable energy must change; we need to put more resources into energy that will eventually be less costly (in so many ways) than petroleum and coal.