Oil and BP and the Gulf of Mexico - again

I urge you to read this article on the God's Politics blog - Attention must be Paid, by Jennifer Kottler:

http://blog.sojo.net/2010/08/05/attention-must-be-paid/

Just because the oil leak and BP are out of the news and other items crave our attention, this does not mean that the oil problem has gone away - in spite of what the papers imply; Far from it!

Oil and BP and the Gulf of Mexico

The CEO of BP, Tony Hayward, is reported as saying that the ocean is big and the oil doesn't amount to much! What a gaffe!

To help you understand the real and awful truth behind the Oil leak have a look at this Infographic on the PlanetThoughts.org site.

And join their site for continual updating on environmental issues.

Oil

I cannot believe what I have just heard on the news. We are watching helplessly whilst the most appalling environmental disaster is unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico, and who knows what the final extent will be of the damage to our planet and our wild life. And all the news item could concentrate on was the billions of pounds wiped off the share price for British Petroleum, the effect on the value of pension funds, and the effect on the stock market generally!! Where should our priorities be?

Then I heard someone describing his experiences in Antarctica - one of the most beautiful places on earth, and one of the last places on earth to be unspoilt by human activity, but for how long?

And remember that BP wanted to drill for oil in the Arctic!

When are we going to learn and curb our greed and our madness and secure some sort of future for mankind? Because rest assured, as James Lovelock has reminded us more than once, Gaia can survive quite happily without us. We should remember this as we continue to destroy our habitat.

Global Warming, Peak Oil, Resource Depletion, and Sustainable Living

I don't know why on earth I didn't post this when I first found it in the course of my surfing. It is such an important  commentary from BBC Four in a film of four heavy weights in the environmental debate, David Attenborough, Jane Goodall, Richard Dawkins and Richard Leakey. Watch them in serious discussion as to what we have to do to save our planet, threatened as it is by environmental catastrophe, alarmed by global terrorism and disfigured by global poverty. And these three are all inextricably linked.

I would urge anyone who shares my concerns for the future of the world to watch this film in full. It lasts one hour and some very powerful comments and observations are made. Indeed if you are still sceptical about climate change and environmental issues, it is even more important that you spare the time to watch the film. I have jotted down a few thoughts and ideas from the panel:  We must level the world's population, we must alleviate poverty, and in some way persuade the developing parts of the world that they should not yearn for what we have, as we indeed and at the same time must reduce the perception of our own needs.
Dr Jane Goodall reminded the panel that Costa Rica has abolished the military - and the money thus saved goes to social issues. If we all did that, she pointed out that all the world's problems would be solved!! But of course we have national boundaries and coveted resources and greed and fear.
David Attenborough emphasised the need for everyone to accept the natural world as precious.

The one glaring omission in my view is the unanimous failure to recognize any spiritual element in the solution - I guess perhaps hardly surprising with atheist polemicist Dawkins on the team.