By Libby Bacon

There are hardly adequate words to fully describe the anger, frustration and helplessness that most folks are feeling over the ongoing gusher in the Gulf.  The economic and environmental impacts will be felt for generations to come.   The images of wildlife covered in oil are horrifying; the images of BP execs spinning the story make me feel like my head is going to explode; the looming  economic disaster makes me scared,  sad and mad as hell, and the feeling of helplessness makes me feel...well, helpless. 

I've spend over half my life on the Georgia Coast, so it's easy for me to imagine what the devastation could be like.  In the 80's and 90's I lived in McIntosh County, GA, one of the most pristine areas on the SE Coast.  I got to know shrimpers and oystermen.  I explored the marshes and walked the deserted beaches of Black Beard and Sapelo.  I spent time fishing and casting for shrimp, and I learned to love the heavy smell of the marshes.  After moving to Tybee in the late 90's I learned to appreciate not only the coastal ecosystem but the dependency on tourism for residents' livelihoods.   This year many visitors to Tybee are coming here because of the disaster in the Gulf.  For business owners on Tybee it's hard to stretch those summer dollars and make them last year round.  So what about the businesses on the Gulf?  How can these people possibly hold on?  What about the waiters, housekeepers and oyster suckers for the tourist and seafood driven economy?   What about all the creatures that we can see and those that we can't see?  What about....everything?

It's hard to fathom that the Deepwater Horizon well is still vomiting as much as 60,000 barrels a day unabated after 2 months.  How did this happen and what can we do?  The white sugary beaches may be history for some time to come, but that's the tip of the iceberg.  The oil will be impossible to remove from the marshlands, and the effects of the oil dispersal agent that BP is using are unknown. 

I certainly have a lot more questions than answers, but there are a few things that I am certain of.  I know that we need to get involved locally but with the realization that we are all interconnected. I know we need to read and educate ourselves about this unprecedented disaster.  I know that clean renewable energy is the wave of the future and a must and that we need to demand that future.  I know that oil is a finite resource and when it's gone we will be in DEEP trouble if we haven't developed renewable energy technologies, bio plastics, bio lubricants, etc. that make these goods more available, efficient and affordable.  Last but not least I know that our schools need to spend more time on math and science so we can foster a new generation of engineers that will get this work done.    Am I asking too much?  I don't think so. This is all doable!

Tybee Councilman Paul Wolf gave me an amazing statistic the other day.  Drilling for oil off SC, GA, and eastern FL would imperil a $25 billion ANNUAL economy based on the eco-system-dependent hotel/motel, restaurant, and commercial and recreational saltwater fishing industries for an amount of oil that at today's prices would total no more than $30 billion PERIOD. 

Paul also rightly pointed out that "No private industry should be able to put an entire coastal and marine environment and economy at risk.  This issue transcends politics-the only way we can achieve energy independence and protect our way of life is to switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy systems." 

Here are some things you can do now locally:

Green Lifespace is collecting Supplies that are needed to aid the Gulf Coast Clean up. Green Lifespace will deliver the collected items to Apalachicola River Keeper in Franklin County, FL and St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge. For info on where to drop supplies off and what supplies are needed click here, or contact Maria Castro at mfcastro@greenlifespace.com or (912) 844-3184.

Come out to Hands Across the Sand on Tybee this Saturday (June 26^th) to show your support for a renewable energy future. Come to the beach at 11. At noon we'll join hands along the waterline from Center to 19^th Streets and build a human boom to stop the oil. We're going to make a statement government officials can't ignore-that we won't let the oil industry endanger our entire way of life for a short-term profit. For more info click here or contact Paul Wolff at Tybeeduo@bellsouth.net or 912-786-8678

Here are some good resources that will help you stay on top of what's going on and offer guidance if you want to get involved in the cleanup.

http://letsmovebeyondoil.org/ Sierra Club

http://oilonthebeach.blogspot.com/  Surfrider Blog

http://www.saveourgulf.org/updates 
Save Our Gulf is an initiative by Waterkeeper Alliance to support the Gulf Waterkeepers fighting to protect the Gulf Coast's communities and environment from the long-term devastating impacts of the BP oil disaster. We are your trustworthy source for updates from the front lines, transparent news and action.