Casa del Shai Tye-Die Bikini

When two people have a personality conflict that seems intractable, we say, “Like oil and water, they don’t mix.” That expression in one form or another is so old we don’t know its origins. However, its essential truth has become painfully obvious over the last two months since the Gulf spill began.  While one attempt after another fails, scientists and DIY inventors have made a cottage industry of uploading ideas to youtube to help the clean up. From clever to whimsical to crazy, those ideas are profoundly human. People are eager to do something because that’s what humans do.  For good or ill, it’s part of what makes us human.

Casa del Shai Capricciosa Dress

Not all of us can, or should, take a boat out on the Gulf and try to rescue birds and sea turtles. Still we want to do something. One thing we can do is help support cleanup efforts by established conservationist organizations with experience in ecological restoration.  Sadly, it’s been more difficult than usual to get support for those efforts because this disaster is man-made and has a villain who is expected to pay for the clean-up – assuming they don’t decide to file for bankruptcy reorganization. The idea that BP will pay for it all ignores that these groups are not waiting around for BP’s permission to begin wildlife rescue. They are already doing the work.

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