A Sheen That isn't Charlie--But actually Could signal a Problem

This is just a heads-up, because I don't know that it's anything yet, but this story about a possible really big-ass oil slick should remind us that it was just about a year ago that the BP/Deepwater Horizon spill became one of the worst environmental disasters in recent memory. We're closing in on another Earth Day, and although I point exactly no fingers of blame in any direction whatsoever regarding the nuclear problem unfolding in Japan--I do want to indicate that mankind really does impact the world we live in, to the extent of being responsible about the waters we drink or fish in, and the air we breathe. We aren't lords of the manor--we are stewards of an estate. We only hold this planet for the time we live, hopefully preserving it for posterity. Sometimes I get pissed that people talk about the deficit as an undue burden to our children and grandchildren and think about, say, slashing EPA funding, or killing the Department of Energy, as being for their monetary benefit, never realizing that their real inheritance is the sky, the water, the land.  If we're screwing that up, it won't matter what is going on economically. You can't eat or breathe or drink money.

We need clean air, water, and food. That's the bottom line. We're human, not cash registers. Clean water, safe fishing, are both priceless, and  things we could totally find affordable if we were adult enough to recognize our responsibilities as good stewards of the land and sea. We think this energy is cheap--we don't figure in the real costs, and this makes me feel really disappointed in people. We should learn from bad things. We should try to aim for better things. We don't, though.