[EBB Sightings] Reflections on oil spill

	

Lance, what you say is all true. However, oiled birds are still  
turning up in the Bay as we speak, and they are being left by Fish  
and Game to die on the Fallones as part of a "survivability" study.  
Science aside, dying from oil is inhumane; at the very least they  
should be collected and euthanized. The wildlife response to this  
spill has (frankly) been deplorable; I've seen first hand what isn't  
happening out there. There will be a big story unfolding soon.
Lisa

On Nov 27, 2007, at 12:55 PM, Lance Beeson wrote:

> 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
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