dolphins and sea turtles

is it wierd that i'm more upset about the recent oil spill than i am about losing my job again? and is it even more strange that i'm more sad about the hurt and dying animals in the Gulf area than i was about the terrorist attack on 09/11/2001?

i was doing some reading tonight on a couple different websites as to why this problem hasn't been remedied yet. per Weather.com: "An estimate from a government-led team in May put the leak at between 504,000 gallons to 798,000 gallons a day." and to use one of their easy to relate to graphs- thats enough to fill over 52 olympic sized pools. in one day.

and i guess i just find it ironic that our government as well as other countries, especially in the last 10-20 years, have been obsessed with the oil, the need of oil, and the lack of oil reserves. and of course oil spills happen quite often, but this is by far one of the most devastating one in a long time. people kill people for oil -> oil kills wildlife -> humans once again suffer at the upset of homeostasis. and even though accidents happen, it's just so depressing to me that all of this seemingly could have been avoided. the same article i mentioned above, stated, "So far, 29 dead dolphins and 227 dead sea turtles have been collected within the oil spill area." what did the dolphins and sea turtles ever do to us? i posted the link to a short slide show- only showing just a few scenes of the tradgedy. i liked this particular picture of the 3 clean pelicans next to the 4 dirty ones. it seems so symbolic in the way some people relate to one another, and react to devastation. sometimes we just stand by and watch the suffering, and do nothing. either out of ignorance or apathy, but mostly, because there is really nothing more we can do. http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/oil-spilll-animal-slideshow_2010-05-27?page=5

i've always thought it would be quite an experience if i could be apart of the clean up crew-i see those commercials about how purchasing the dish soap "Dawn" will contribute donations to help clean up the animals caught in oil spills. that makes me really wish i could somehow take an all expenses paid trip down to Louisiana to lend a hand. (and on another note- hasn't LA suffered enough lately? they're still recovering from Katrina!)

humans are often the biggest help in times of crisis, but we are also the one biggest threat to our earth. and it saddens me when i feel like it all seems pointless. even the volunteers who are working all non-stop to help, are just redoing the same work day after day until the oil stops leaking. its interesting how in the same pictures i saw of dirty beaches and these clean up crews, i saw people swimming, tanning, putting up their feet and vacationing as normal. and its not that people shouldn't be allowed to have some free time, but honestly, i don't think i could stomach being that apathetic only a few feet away.
http://photos.nola.com/tpphotos/2010/06/dauphin_island_oil_scenes.html

in another article on abc.com regarding the spill, (http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Politics/attorney-general-eric-holder-justice-department-investigate-bp/story?id=10805026&page=2) reporters Brian Winter and Kevin Johnson conclude: " 'They seem to be throwing up their hands,' said Carl Safina, an ecologist and founder of the Blue Ocean Institute, an environmental group. 'It seems like we're ruining the Gulf of Mexico, and there's nothing effective that can be done to stop it.' "

i believe there's still hope. but to anyone in the future who would demeaningly call me a tree hugger, i shake my head at you. i really, really do.