I would suggest that those in power who make decisions about the use of the resources that Mother Earth freely gives us for our survival should read “Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed” by Jared Diamond. In his book, the author states, “The processes through which past societies have undermined themselves by damaging their environments fall into eight categories, whose relative importance differs from case to case: deforestation; habitat destruction; soil problems (erosion, salinization and soil fertility losses); water management problems; overhunting; overfishing; effects of introduced species on native species; human population growth; increased per capita impact of people; human-caused climate change; buildup of toxic chemicals in the environment; energy shortages; and full human utilization of the Earth’s photosynthetic capacity.”
Diamond makes a powerful statement when he says, “Will modern technology solve our problems or is it creating new problems faster than it solves the old ones? When we deplete one resource (e.g., wood, oil or ocean fish), can we count on being able to substitute some new resources, e.g., plastics, wind and solar energy or farmed fish?”
President Barak Obama is certainly not the cause of the current , horrific oil leak disaster, and yet there are those who wish to lay this on his soul. One must look at previous administrations that failed to create regulatory oversight for offshore drilling or the mechanisms to handle a disaster of such magnitude that it has shaken the confidence of the people of the world who explore the earth and its oceans for oil deposits.
I recall a passage in the book of Revelations 21:1 that states, “Then I saw a new earth” (with no oceans! And a new sky, for the present earth and sky had disappeared.) Revelations 22:1-2 continues, “And he pointed out to me a river of pure Water of Life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb, coursing down the center of the main street. On each side of the river grew Trees of Life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month; the leaves were used for medicine to heal nations.”
The following verse is my attempt to express the awesome, climatic devastation that has occurred on our planet:
Reflection on the Turmoil of Soul, Soil and Oil
Deep in the earth and oceans below
Black liquid gold is ready to flow
It’s been waiting and captured a million years
It waits patiently for men who toil
To hit pay dirt which will deliver the oil
However for a moment when things are not right
An unexplained explosion took place at the site
The life of men and oceans had been sacrificed
And the ocean and coastal reefs and barriers
SUFFERED DEEPLY
I recall an old hymn that our slave ancestors sang called “Wade in the Water.” It goes like this: “Wade in the water/Wade in the water children/God’s gonna trouble the water/See that band all dressed in white/God’s gonna trouble the water/The leader looks like an Israelite/God’s gonna trouble the water.”
With the grace of God and our prayers, this planet will survive!