Memorial

NASA photo of Gulf Oil

Twenty years ago I wrote a Memorial Day letter to my local newspaper (Bellingam Herald) to commemorate Prince William Sound. Exxon had dumped 10.8 million US gallons of crude oil into Prince William Sound on Good Friday and I thought we needed to include the Sound in our memories that May.

Back then, after the "clean up" we hoped we would never see another oil "spill" of that magnitude. I spent the summer after the Exxon spill working on the Sound, so I saw first-hand the effects the oil had on the fisheries and the wildlife.

My heart bleeds and I cry daily tears for the Gulf of Mexico and the oil still erupting into the ocean there. So, this Memorial Day, I am including the Gulf--the ocean and seashore, the people who live and make a living there, the fish, the plankton, birds, sea mammals--all sea and shore life---in my memorial prayers. I am sending prayers to them, like I do for the men and women who have died or been maimed in senseless wars.

If you are reading this please take a quiet moment to hold the Gulf---in its entirety---in your thoughts and prayers. We have wounded this part of our nation, and it may be maimed forever. If we had a Memorial Day just for the Exxon Valdez "spill" every year---would this current oil disaster in the Gulf still have happened?

Most of use know we must switch from an oil economy to a more sustainable and healthy-for-the--planet energy economy---time to start NOW. I believe each little action each individual can take does help, so go ahead! Drive your car less, ride a a bike, turn off your lights more--better yet, put some solar panels on your house. You know what to do.

If we ALL WORK TOGETHER toward healing our planet, we can make a difference. Here is one place to start: 350.org