A Simple Coincidence?

It is disheartening to note that over the past two months, forty-eight dolphins of all ages have been found dead on the beaches of the northern Gulf of Mexico, from Louisiana to the Florida panhandle. Tragically, twenty-nine of these were fetal-size calves, which compares to two of these 'unusual mortality' events during an entire normal year.

State and federal officials and marine scientists have been quick to point out it is too soon to link this tragic occurrence to the BP oil spill. It is appropriate that they should take such an objective approach, and indeed it may be nothing more than a simple coincidence...just like the purported link between cigarettes and cancer, cell phones and brain tumors, crack cocaine and crime, CEO salaries and employee layoffs and a host of other connections that industry mouthpieces continue to deny. That said, sadly there is nothing we can do about it. The oil residue and toxins are out there in those once lovely waters where they will remain for years, and possibly decades, to come.

Meanwhile, BP's profits in the 4th Quarter of 2010 jumped by 30% and the London-based company has announced that it is resuming dividend payouts again for the first time since the oil spill. And while corporate executives and BP shareholders celebrate, baby dolphins will continue to die...

Life Imitating Art

The catastrophe that is unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico is a stunning example of the harm and havoc that man is wreaking upon the oceans of the world. And while some of you may take a few minutes out of your busy lives to look on with concern as others struggle to contain the river of black death that is spreading through the Gulf, it is the creatures who live in those once pristine waters who will suffer for decades and perhaps centuries to come: none more so than the whales and dolphins. Despite this continuing assault on the domain of these sentient and self-aware beings, they have not sought to harm mankind in return.
But what if there comes a day when whales and dolphins turn against man? What if they seek to destroy you as you continue to destroy their world, through either the actions of the few or the apathy of the many? This is the premise of my novel, The Tempest's Roar, and the BP disaster is a tragic case of life imitating art. As such, the story has never been more timely, and I urge you to read it. If you do, you will never again look upon the deep blue seas that surround you through the same eyes. Whether you choose to believe it or not, you are not the only intelligent beings on this endangered blue marble drifting silently through space, this place of terrible beauty and untold potential that you call Earth but whalekind knows as Planet Ocean. For more information, please visit http://www.rarclouston.com