The Battle Cry

           

             In the article “Oil Well is Dead, But Pain Will Remain for Years" put out by CBS NEWS, some hope finally arrives for the Gulf Coast oil spill. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill that killed 11 workers and spewed 206 million gallons of oil, left a permanent affect on the surrounding wildlife. It also however, left a mark on the people who make their living from the Gulf Coast and the surrounding communities. Expressed through this quote, "The spill caused an environmental and economic nightmare for people who live, work and play along hundreds of miles of Gulf shoreline from Florida to Texas.” is my support for the previous statement I made. This quote makes you think about several things. I find myself going through my daily routine, seeing how easy it is to go through the normal motions. I then imagine myself being a fisherman who needs to support his family and going through his daily routine. I notice how he can't do his job, because most of the Gulf is blocked for unsafe fishing.  Then how even once I catch some fish, people won't buy it, for they feel it may be contaminated. So after comparing my life currently to this fisherman, I realize, I need to be more thankful for what I have. Instead of thinking about what I want, I should take into more consideration what I have now.  My next point would be that, if I were a kid living there now, what would I think about this all? There is no clean beach, no more fresh fish from Dad, and why does Daddy and Mommy cry every night, as they look through finances? So many questions I would have, so many worries that would

haunt me. So what about the environment? It will take several years to undo the damage that has been done. Clean up is happening, but with so much to do, it will be hard to manage full scale renewal. But none the less, we begin to notice a community coming together to make the difference happen. An even greater hope came when announced, "A permanent cement plug sealed BP's well nearly 2.5 miles below the sea floor".  Now that no more oil is leaking through, clean-up can now gain ground, instead of fighting a losing battle.  So yes, there is good to be found in even the grimmest situations. So the battle continues, no, not in Afghanistan, No not in Iraq, but on the front lines of everyday people coming together to help renew all of their lives.