The morning news reported a massive oil spill up and down the coast around Santa Barbara. The coast guard captain said they will use the most “environmentally sound methods” to clean up the Califorina coast line. Fair enough, but I couldn’t help snarking that it would be even better to not let oil pipelines anywhere near the coast (or any other fragile ecosystem) at all! Of great concern was also that this had to happen right before Memorial Day, which is the height of tourist season. Also noteworthy is that this story got about 20% of the time of what Letterman stepping down had devoted to it, on the morning news. Good grief – the concept of bread and circus still seems to work in keeping the masses distracted, even 2,500 years later. We’re not really evolving, are we? And why does everything always seem to center on the effect it has on humans? Granted, this was a man-made disaster, but regardless – we rarely hear of outcomes for our fellow species on this earth, resulting from our own missteps. Here’s to our future broadening of our narcissistic perspectives to include other life forms as well as our own. Cheers!
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I don’t normally get around to this decorating thing until way later in the game, but this year is different. I wanted it to be done early, because a few days from now, kid number 1 who left us to move to 🇸🇪 is coming back for #christmas . We’re all excited - he’s been missed!! 😃 #christmastree #christmasdecor #decoratingforchristmas #lotsoflights #caturday #lotsofgnomes #christmasgoat #kidcominghome#teasel #seedheads make are fun to include in #holidaywreaths . Those #curlicues are so old world - they remind me of turn-of-the-century ice skates.How’s this for an adorable #cookiejar ? We made her acquaintance yesterday, at our friends’ @mariatdinocencio house. Thanks again for wonderful traditions with wonderful friends! 🥰🍁🦃😊❤️🍁Happy Thanksgiving, everyone. We’re off to celebrate with good friends, which makes it very easy on us, with minimal cooking. Cooked up a #tablearrangement instead. Many thanks to kind neighbors for providing the berries. #fallarrangement #thanksgivingIsn’t this some of the most #fantasticfoliage you’ve ever seen? I absolutely love it! Purchased from @cistusnursery earlier this year, it only has a handful of leaves. I’m severely tempted to harvest a few for a Thanksgiving arrangement. They arr so cool - they would totally steal the show. I think this one is called #aspidistratonkanensisspotty . Aptly named, don’t you agree?Some backyard foliage drama this afternoon. I know it was stupid to plant anything with the word ’Giant’ in its name in such a small yard, but I really, really like those black leaves. And with a backdrop of #jasminumfionasunrise it looks even better. Dr Hill wasn’t the only Fiona to brighten my life this week! #pittosporumebonygiant #mybackyard #mygarden #myurbanjungle
It’s sad how few people actually consider the impact of something beyond themselves and our own species. It’s terrible to hear of another oil spill. I wish society was taking greater steps to wean itself off of fossil fuels (as I type on a laptop made of petroleum-based plastic, using energy at least partly produced by coal). A thought provoking vignette, Anna. Here’s my contribution this week: http://practicalplantgeek.blogspot.com/2015/05/wednesday-vignette-rare-wide-shot.html
Good point, Evan – I too use my fair share of fossil fuels, even though I try to do better, and be conscious of my excesses. I think my main grief though, is with how detached we are from other living things in the way we perceive things. That fact slaps me in the face daily, but especially when I hear news like this. On the upside – I think that is why I love my fellow gardeners so much! 🙂
Hear, hear!
Your photo is perfect…showing how small is a human in the scheme of things.
My subject is far less cosmic: http://bannersbyricki.com/archives/4578
Yeah…we are a pretty pathetic bunch! I like your photo for the thought it invokes. We are such a small part of a big world, yet our footprint is tremendous. Here’s my vignette for the day http://www.therainydaygardener.com/2015/05/wednesday-vignette-things-to-come.html
Oh, you said that so poetically… Yes, our footprint is tremendous indeed. How do we tread lightly when our wants are so big?
I hate to think of that beautiful coastline spoiled that way. The remarkable thing to me is not just our narrow sense of what’s important, but the way we are determined to ignore even our own self-interest when it comes to the environment.
I wonder about that too, Jason. What do you think it is? A false sense of self preservation? As in, if we ignore it, it will go away?
Partly just plain denial, partly the assumption that things are fixed and unchanging … basically, I can’t really say I understand it.
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Oh, and here’s my contribution: https://gardeninacity.wordpress.com/2015/05/21/nepeta-kit-cat-makes-a-really-nice-edging-plant/
Your photo is beautiful. The scenes from Santa Barbara, where I lived for 4 years as an undergrad, are tragic. The event is getting more coverage here – it made it to the front page of the LA Times today, which also recalled the days of a prior spill in the same area in 1969. We clearly didn’t learn from prior experience. When I was in college, many years after the 1969 spill, you couldn’t walk the local beaches without your feet being coated with oil tar. Students kept solvents on hand at their doors to use in cleaning up their feet before going inside. We were told it was “natural” oil seepage.
Humans are such idiots it’s amazing we’ve made it to the top of the food chain. We should have been devoured eons ago. It’s barely in the news here. How incredibly sad….
I know… right?