From my "I should get around to posting something on this" pile: as the title promises, the best thing written on last spring's BP oil spill, from the great folks at Worldchanging. As the goop from the spill slowly sinks down to the bottom of the Gulf and out of public visibility, it's important to remember that the spill is a symptom, not the cause, of some major problems that we have to solve. This quote does a pretty good job of summing it up:
"The key word here is systems. Unless we understand the problems we face as systemic problems, we don't really understand them at all and can't do much about them. Unless we understand that we need to redesign and rebuild the systems that support modern life on a massive scale, very quickly, we're essentially missing the point, and guaranteeing that the destruction of the planet's biosphere will continue."
This was the best thing written in response to the spill that I saw:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.theonion.com/articles/millions-of-barrels-of-oil-safely-reach-port-in-ma,17875/
Same general idea as your article...but funnier.