Tell me when the scary part is over

I am not usually one to shrink from learning about difficult topics. I’ve read or seen films about global warming, the horrors of industrial farming, native habitat destruction, etc. But my brain is just shutting down when it comes to the oil pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. I can’t handle the thought of the zillions of innocent animals that will die (immediately, or long-term) from another human mess. I feel like I’m in a horror movie and even though I have my hands over my eyes, and my fingers in my ears I keep hearing impossible horrors: 200,000 gallons spilling out a day, BP expending more effort to hide the impact instead of stopping the leak, endangered sea turtles dying, the oil reaching up the Eastern seaboard.

Why did this happen? Greed seems to be the answer to most of our environmental problems. What I don’t understand is the people who push for more drilling, even when they’ve been warned that the equipment can’t handle it. Do they have some Plan B to live in a colony in space when they’ve completely mucked up the Earth? What am I missing? Don’t they breathe the same air as I do? Isn’t the sight of a verdant, green forest soothing on their eyes also? Don’t they want their children to be able to go camping and find wildflowers and mushrooms and salamanders?

The honeybees are dying, the bats are dying, the frogs and toads are dying. Birds migrate back to their homes only to find a new clear-cut (gotta send out more catalogs!) Why are the birds and bats and frogs dying? Most likely because they just hit a tipping point where their little bodies can’t handle all the pesticides and crap we’ve thrown at them.

So I’m being a coward and shutting down. I take periodic peeks between my fingers, but I really am unable to deal with the magnitude of this spill and what we’ve done to muck up our world.

Gowanus Scavenger Hunt and BBQ

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Littlefield is hosting its 1st annual Super Festive 4th of July Gowanus Scavenger Hunt and BBQ. They start the fun at 2pm (622 degraw, brooklyn, ny 718-855-3388) with bbq, djs, free booze and prizes. Your team (sign up at hey@littlefieldnyc.com) can earn 100 points if you are the first to drag out an old tire from the Gowanus Canal. Yikes. You might be glowing brighter than the fireworks after wading in the water!

The Story of Stuff

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Take a look at this 20 minute video about the downside of our production and consumption patterns. Annie Leonard narrates the video and discusses the social and environmental problems with the current system of consumption. It’s animated and friendly, so you aren’t left completely depressed. There is also a section on the website called Another Way. It shows 10 little and big things you can do to promote sustainability. Take a peek.

Fresh Kills Park

Fresh Kills Park

Fresh Kills Park


On April 4th Staten Island’s very own Fresh Kills Landfill will officially open again as Fresh Kills Park. There will be free tours and they are touting state-of-the-art ecological restoration. In a short video, they talk about how they “capped” the landfill. They pipe out the methane from the rotting crud to power local homes. They covered the entire landfill with 3 feet of fill dirt, an impermeable (ha) plastic cover and then 8 feet of clean soil. What about all the toxins leaching into the water??? I think I’ll have to see this park to believe it!