Read 'n' Seed 4: Third Quarter of "The Fate of Nature"

For the third quarter of "The Fate of Nature," I finished up the second half of Part IV and completed Part V as planned.  This included pages 234-325, covering chapters 24-32.  Part four finished up talking about conservation, but in part five, Wohlforth really digs in to the Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill.  He was in Alaska when it happened and had the rare opportunity to do some research and reporting on the issue.  Wohlforth surveyed the Sound and talked to many people in the government and the nearby towns and he discovered some very shocking facts.

Wohlforth starts off by discussing the oil spill itself and the lack of resources, a protocol, or even a general game plan when it came to cleaning up the massive "stain" in the ocean.  In a meeting with Dan Lawn, the State of Alaska's pipeline regulator, Lawn said that for years he had criticized the lack of preparation for a catastrophe such as the Exxon Oil Spill.  However, he was punished by his superiors and was no longer allowed to look into the matter if he wanted to keep his job.  Then, when the oil spill actually did happen, government officials and people involved were running around trying to think of ways to prevent something that had already happened.  It was too late at that point.

The oil spill also had many economic implications.  The people who depended on the ocean life as a source of food were now without resources.  Many natives quit their jobs because Exxon, the company that they were furious with, paid them nearly $2,000 per week to help in the cleanup.  However, this ended up giving more power to Exxon and most of the earnings were spent at the pubs and bars.  Exxon hired drunks off the street for as long as they could until they got their urine tests back.  Because of this, there was a snowball effect and the whole community shut down.  Meanwhile, the oil was not going anywhere.  Not to mention the marine animals that were effected.  Wohlforth pointed out that some animals were dying off because the oil had reached their brains and that cleaning the oil off of the fur/feathers was pointless.  Seals, otters, birds, and more had already been effected by the toxins.  One of the more shocking things that went on during this time was the research and media coverage of the situation.  All that the general public saw was good things about the cleanup efforts and the research SOMEHOW matched the ideals of its funding corporations.  This just goes to show how much power large corporations, the government, and the media have.

As far as implications for the future, there are many.  A main implication comes from Lawn's example.  He had been trying to fight for some organized preparation for an oil spill, but no one wanted to listen because it was not a good investment at the time in their minds.  Well, we can do the same thing about the environment.  We don't care because right now, we are not seeing the dangers of our actions.  I still have running water so I will use it, I still have trees so I can cut them down.  It is this way of thinking that gets us into trouble when we DO run out of resources.  What happens when something that is essential to human life just vanishes?  Is THAT when we start caring?

Another implication goes with the whole concept of the government and the media.  This is not to say that the government is bad or media is bad, but we must raise the critical eyebrow as we hear new things.  Who is conducting the research, who is paying for this, how can we be sure this is a reliable source, etc?  We really need to focus on what kind of information is being told to the general public, and utilize our skills as educators to spread the word to those around us.  We need to fight back for a little power of our own to shed light on issues such as the oil spill and the manipulation of the media.  This is not an overnight task by any means, but we should keep it in mind as we continue our education and our careers.