Just Because

I’m not a particularly political person. Oh, I have opinions, of course. Some of them are well thought out and researched, others not so much. Sometimes it’s just because. That’s one good reason you’ll seldom catch me in a debate. It’s pretty hard to defend your stance when the crux of your argument is “just because.” But the oil cataclysm in the gulf has left even me feeling vocal. No doubt that is due in part to my family having visited there early in April. We visited Fort Morgan Beach in Alabama. It was absolutely beautiful. We walked the white sand beaches and watched dolphins play in the waves. Behind the dolphins, interrupting the horizon, were oil rigs. Now, watching the endless billowing flow of underwater oil and the dazed and oil-doused wildlife on CNN, I feel a keener sense of loss, as though that ecosystem is somehow more “mine,” than I would have felt a year ago.

I don’t have the answers are as to how to rescue this area of water and land and its living organisms, including the people whose livelihoods are now obliterated. I’m not sure it’s possible. But one thing I feel especially sorrowful about is that the whole country is focused now and demanding action, but what about before? Why didn’t we demand more active formulation of alternative energy sources? Just imagine the strides forward we will make if we invest just a fraction of what will be spent on this recovery on promoting wind farms or use of solar energy instead. We are complacent, soaking up ever-increasing billions of gallons of oil and empowering those who will reap monstrous profits from our consumption.

I drive as much as the next person. I like my home warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I know it’s not going to be easy, and I know it’s not going to solve the big problem, but I’m willing to make some changes, including learning more about alternative energy sources. And if anyone asks me why, I’ll have more to say than, “just because.”