How Much More???

How much more of this can we take? I am talking about the recent oil spill in San Francisco Bay.  I have taken many walks along the Bay near Crissy field and along the ocean at Land's End, and I enjoy the beauty of the coast.  Now we have closed beaches, birds coated in oil and a long-term clean up in store for the entire Bay Area.  What a mess.

The greatest scandal of this oil spill is the slow response time by agencies to clean up the slick.  Perhaps agencies did not react quickly because initial reports said that only 140-gallons spilled in the Bay.  Who knows?  It's just sad to see such a lackluster effort taking place to clean up the Bay.  Anyway, it seems that it's too late since tides have already swept oil out in the ocean affecting places like the Farallon Islands and Tennessee Cove in Marin County. 

I ask, "How much more" because there is such an apathy and, God forbid, an acceptance of pollution and environmental degradation in our world today.  True, advertisements portray our car companies as being environmentally friendly, but remember it is all advertising and brand positioning to get us thinking that cars are not going to harm the air we breathe and perpetuate global warming.  There is a consciousness that we need to take better care of the world, but so few individuals are doing a darn thing about it.  When are we going to realize that the only way we can cut carbon emissions is by simply taking personal steps to cut carbon emissions (i.e. quit driving your car)?  It's that simple, but it seems that we are waiting for the government to do something about it. 

Well, let's hope we can clean up this mess in the Bay.