[EBB Sightings] Reflections on oil spill

I wish to depart from the usual format for a moment to say something.

Our recent oil spill was pretty traumatic, and those who love and 
admire wild birdlife are certainly on the front lines of calculating 
the damages. We have seen postings here about it.

I have reflected on this. When I was younger, oil spills were more 
common and you couldn't walk a local beach (bay or ocean) without 
seeing at least some rainbow-hued sand or an oil glump here or there. 
We had the huge spill in the early '70s, and I put my time in at Dr. 
Naviaux's house in Pleasant Hill, trying to help those oily birds. I 
was an acquaintance of Klaus (?) and Alice Berkner through my ex-wife 
and watched the bird rescue effort grow and mature.

For the last 30+ years, I have watched with pride as those who value 
the environment have done coastal cleanups, taxed themselves at the 
ballot box to protect our shoreline and so on. We had reached a point 
where we were able to focus on Gold Rush-era mercury in the Bay, rather 
than sneaky fuel releases from unknown sailing vessels as well as 
periodic big spills.

It's been wonderful to see the Bay rebound within three decades. I 
think the system will recover much quicker than many might expect.

I wish to thank everyone reading this for supporting our bay by their 
vigilance and concern. I am sure that this latest spill will result in 
yet stricter requirements for vessels who enter our Bay. Considering 
the huge volume of ship traffic in a major metropolitan area, I think 
we are doing pretty good. It's at least something to feel good about, 
you know?

Lance Beeson