Those of us who reside in Texas also "live on the Gulf," but in a very different way now than the people from our neighboring states to the east. The state's economy and tourism goes on pretty much the same as before, except for the ancillary spillover effects on Texas' "awl bidness**." Brown pelicans have been scrubbed and released to what seems to be a "safe" area, the bird sanctuaries in south Texas.
But a storm is brewing in the Caribbean. Perhaps luckily for the rest of the Gulf, tropical storm Alex may be headed in our direction. The current forecast predicts that it could become a hurricane that hits northern Mexico, but that it could affect the south Texas area.
People watching what is going on in the fight to quell the BP oil catastrophe, are hoping that it is the case. Not that our neighbors want bad things to happen to Texas and Mexico. All of us who live on the Gulf just want the cleanup efforts to intensify and continue unabated by a hurricane. And we do not want oil blown our way in the western and southern Gulf.
So maybe the gods will smile on Texas. It feels so selfish to say that out loud. It is not that the gods frowned on Lousiana*, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. It is BP and the proximity and wind/current directions that have been the bane of our neighbors to the east. It is the criminal negligence of those in charge of drilling the well that went wild.
Living in a state that borders on the Gulf of Mexico makes Texans anxious. But our little worries pale in comparrison to those whose lifetime businesses have been ruined, perhaps for the foreseeable future. Anxiety over an approaching hurricane is ever so different than the when-will-it-end uncertainty of businesses dependent on tourists and travelers. However, everyone shares the deep concerns we have for the living things destroyed by millions and millions of gallons of toxic petroleum. Plants and animals in worrying numbers and amounts are losses that are underestimated and not understood well enough. These is the same anxiety producing facts for all of us living on the Gulf, as well as all Americans living inland.
More reference links from my regular contributor, Jon:
"*CBS: Jindal holds up deployment of National Guard to fight spill" is from Daily Kos (6/25/10).
"Reasonably high chance BP files for bankruptcy,# is from The Atlantic. (6/22/10)."Judge held stock in rig owner#," is from Politico (6/22/10)."BP burning sea turtles alive#," is from The Raw Story (6/20/10)."Republican candidate: Obama, BP ‘colluded’ to make oil spill happen#," is from The Raw Story (6/18/10)."The Environmental Legacy of the Gulf Oil Spill#," is from Newsweek Magazine (6/17/10)."**Texas lawmaker accuses White House of BP shakedown#," is from Yahoo! News (6/16/10). Jon's comment:Joe Barton is a jack(...). I guess he would have the impacted people to just absorb all the loss themselves. UNBELIEVABLE -- No, I forgot, just SOP for Rethugs. Scumbag Barton needs to be run out of office.
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