I still remember the Exxon Valdez oil spill. I remember watching the nightly news in our kitchen, seeing the footage of animals covered in oil, getting beached on the shore, and struggling to move. Those images were haunting and they stay with me to today. It was at this time that I first fell in love with sea otters and my lifelong interest in marine wildlife began in earnest. I remember thinking at the time, there is no way that the powers that be would allow another disaster like this to happen.
Cut to 21 years later, almost to the month, and another disaster struck. We watched it in the office and wondered how far the impact would spread. For almost six months, the oil flow was continuous and we sat horrified - worried that it wouldn't end and that we were powerless to stop it. Now, however, it's been almost a year, and I don't hear much about it anymore.
How can things be so powerful and then lose their impact? Do we become desensitized when no longer faced with the immediacy of the threat. Or perhaps, if the threat isn't in our backyard, it's easier to forget? Well I for one, don't want to see this happen again.
We worked on a video with Defenders of Wildlife last summer. If you visit Defenders of Wildlife's Gulf Page you can sign a petition urging President Obama to reinstate the ban on offshore drilling. Defenders still needs 75,000 signatures, so please consider signing up. It takes less than a minute.
Thanks!
Alicia
From the Defenders website -
Experts say that the spill threatens at least 400 species, at least 19 vital wildlife refuges and communities dependent on the Gulf’s multibillion dollar commercial and recreational fishing and tourist industries.
President Obama has ordered a temporary moratorium on offshore drilling in new areas, but Big Oil and their political allies remain committed to industrializing our coasts… even at the cost of another ecological disaster.
Help save the lives of the whales, sea turtles and other wildlife that could be lost to the next drilling disaster. Urge President Obama to reinstate the moratorium on drilling off our coasts.
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