Beaches vs Oil

I’m a beach person. I love the beach, listening to the waves crash, the smells, the vast open space of the water, and the beauty of the sunset as it hits the water. I love seafood – grilled shrimp, crab legs, lobster, etc. I see it as a thing of the past – who wants seafood drenched in oil?


I know I’ve been going on and on about this oil spill. But the beaches I love are in my southern states. I enjoy going to Orange Beach, San Destin, Pensacola, and Dauphin Island. I’m wondering how long it will be before these areas will ever be the same. Will wildlife recover? Marshes survive? Marine life survive? I don’t know, and I know no one else does as well. The news reports are saying it’s the worse oil spill in U.S. history and the sad thing is it’s not over.


Seeing the pictures of seagulls, hermit crabs and birds covered in oil, brings tears to my eyes. These creatures have no idea what is going on and why it’s happening to them. I’m sure they sense fear and are bewildered wondering why and how.


I don’t know what it’s going to take to fix this mess, stop it, clean it up, and make sure it NEVER happens again. Every group, every force we have, every environmental group, governmental group, needs to make sure there are laws, regulations, fines, etc enforced to make sure our beaches, waters, wildlife, marine life, etc is never in this position again. Preparedness – where was it?


I hope the other companies drilling for oil in our Gulf learn from this bad situation. Take preparedness action, take your job seriously, and make sure we never have this happen again. I don’t have the answers or the solutions; I just know the fallout of this spill will carry on for a long time.


I want to walk on the beach, feel the sand beneath my feet, the breeze on my face, white seagulls diving for fish, hermit crabs crawling on the beach, and the smells of the ocean without the burning sensation of oil all around me.