's motd Tues May 4, 2010

[Guest guest]

DISASTER AT SEA

Tuesday, 04 May 2010

I know you've been watching the news lately. And I know you're well aware of the terrible disaster with the oilwell off the coast of my home state, Louisiana. I was stunned by the news. In the first part of the disaster, 11 men lost their lives as a result of a massive explosion on an offshore oil well. That was tragic enough but, sadly, this tragedy comes in two parts.

The second part of the tragedy is that the oil is still leaking and spewing thousands of gallons of crude oil daily into the Gulf of Mexico just off the Louisiana coast. Experts are even predicting that this could end up becoming the worse oil spill in US history.Right now, Louisiana and Mississippi are really under the gun. And depending on the weather and the ocean currents in the Gulf of Mexico, Alabama and Florida could also see oil slicks washing up onto their shores as well.As a New Orleans native, believe me, I know how important the seafood industry is to many of the coastal communities along the Gulf of Mexico. In fact, lots of people have moved to the Gulf region from many Asian countries to make their fortunes in the fishing industry there. And now, their very livelihoods are at stake.

And there are other businesses that will eventually be threatened. I'm talking, of course, about the restaurants along the Gulf and especially in New Orleans that depend on locally caught seafood like shrimp, crab and oysters. In fact, some restaurant owners I know in New Orleans are worried because commercial fishing has already been halted along much of the Gulf.And the other part of this disaster is what all of that oil can do to the local environment. Southern Louisiana's bayous and other waterways are home to a number of this country's endangered species like pelicans, some turtles and many other animals, not to mention the exotic plant life that calls southern Louisiana home. Our state's barrier islands could also suffer severe erosion as a result of native plants root damage. And those same islands provide an important buffer for cities, like New Orleans, when a hurricane strikes. We all remember Hurricane Katrina and I'm so worried about what will happen to those islands and the fragile wetlands of Southern Louisiana.

Unfortunately, the BP oil company, which owns the well that sank, has not been able to reach the leak. And everyday it's not fixed, thousands of gallons of more oil seep into the Gulf of Mexico. The leak is 5,000 feet below on the ocean floor so you can see how difficult it must be to reach. A few weeks ago, I watched what happened at the coal mines in West Virginia. That was a devastating disaster, too. People lost their lives there and it's hard to even imagine how the families they left behind are affected.I don't know a lot about the safety measures these mine and oil companies implement. But to me, some of their mining and drilling techniques look almost antiquated. You'd think by now, in this high-tech age, they'd have found safer ways to retrieve the natural resources from those caves or the ocean floor.

I truly hope that both industries are working on more efficient and safer ways to achieve their goals. Because if they don't, then we can only expect more tragic disasters like the ones we have experienced over the past few weeks.I'm asking you all to please say a prayer for the people who lost their loved ones in these two American tragedies. And please pray for the future of our country's beautiful, shimmering coastline along the Gulf of Mexico.Love,