Canaries in the Gulf

As you may know, there was practice at one time to bring a canary into the coal mines. It’s purpose was quite simple…. Many mines are prone to being filled with toxic gases which often have no identifying smell. This was a problem, as miners were likely to die before they knew they were breathing deadly gases. However, a canary has a lower threshold to poisonous gases than people, so in the presence of toxins the air, it would die before the workers did. And so, the workers would take comfort in hearing the bird singing. If it stopped singing, people would check to see if the bird was dead. If it was, everyone exited the mine post haste.

Today, there are likely dozens of toxic gases in the air all over the gulf. Can you smell them all? Some you can smell from far away, but surely not all of them. Are they all toxic? Probably most of them are, though some may not kill their victims right away. They may just leave you ill, or prone to giving birth to deformed children, or other such “non-lethal” results.   Other gases will probably kill their victims rather quickly, in the right concentration. Of course, you probably need not worry about these things, because SURELY the air quality is being measured and tested every day, and in locations all along the entire perimeter of the gulf.  Oh? You can’t find any published measurements of the air quality in your neighborhood?

What a surprise.  Guess what?  The rat bastards who are pouring millions of gallons of some of the most toxic poisons into your back yard, are not telling you what the resulting air quality in your house is.   People are getting sick every day up and down the gulf, but no one with a camera is allowed within 65 feet of the crime scene. I can guarantee you, that the embargo has been placed on reporters, both professional and amateur, because something dreadful and hideous is being hidden.  If things were getting even remotely better, cameras would be welcome, even encouraged.

So, my question to everyone living within 100 miles of the Gulf is…. Do you have a canary in your home and your place of work? If you don’t, then guess what? YOU ARE THE CANARY.

I can sympathize with people living in the gulf and I understand the tremendous pressure they are under which is, in many cases, causing many to freeze up in the decision making process.  Their homes are in the gulf, their jobs are (or were) in the gulf, they have nowhere else to go in most cases, and no savings to make a “start your life over” move.  As a result, it seems to me, many have become like deer staring at the headlights of an oncoming car.  Like a man who, on the cusp of freezing to death, remarks how warm it is, and wouldn’t it be nice to just take a nap…

I understand that moving trucks are already not available across the gulf, as there are many people moving out of the region, at least temporarily.  I would venture a guess that at some point in early August, if the relief wells are not successful in containing the crime scene, the current complacency will change to fear.   If you know people in the gulf or even living along the Eastern seaboard, please get in touch with them and offer them any assistance you can.  I suspect that in the near future they will need your help and support.