We all know how it goes. The mainstream media fixates on a story for a time -- going full bore 24/7 -- then they move on to the next sensational item. Since the media has pulled up stakes, far too many members of the public wrongly assume that everything has returned to an idyllic hunky-dory state.
Life rarely goes that way. It's not uncommon at all for most of the real tragedies to occur once the cameras stop rolling. Unfortunately, because the key issues are subject to an "out of sight, out of mind" mentality, the genuine victims of tragedy end up suffering from abject neglect.
This past spring and summer the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico dominated the mainstream media and the blogosphere alike. In time, it faded from view and the nation's attention was diverted to "important" stories like Lindsey Lohan's attempt to stay out of jail. Unfortunately, the damage wrought in the gulf from the oil and dispersants has not gone away at all. Everyone and everything in the coastal communities continue to suffer greatly.
We know this because of journalists like Dahr Jamail who have stayed with this important story. In an article post today on Common Dreams, Jamail writes,
Life rarely goes that way. It's not uncommon at all for most of the real tragedies to occur once the cameras stop rolling. Unfortunately, because the key issues are subject to an "out of sight, out of mind" mentality, the genuine victims of tragedy end up suffering from abject neglect.
This past spring and summer the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico dominated the mainstream media and the blogosphere alike. In time, it faded from view and the nation's attention was diverted to "important" stories like Lindsey Lohan's attempt to stay out of jail. Unfortunately, the damage wrought in the gulf from the oil and dispersants has not gone away at all. Everyone and everything in the coastal communities continue to suffer greatly.
We know this because of journalists like Dahr Jamail who have stayed with this important story. In an article post today on Common Dreams, Jamail writes,
Two-year-old Gavin Tillman of Pass Christian, Mississippi, has been diagnosed with severe upper respiratory, sinus, and viral infections. His temperature has reached more than 39 degrees since September 15, yet his sicknesses continues to worsen.
His parents, some doctors, and environmental consultants believe the child's ailments are linked to exposure to chemicals spilt by BP during its Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.
Gavin's father, mother, and cousin, Shayleigh, are also facing serious health problems. Their symptoms are being experienced by many others living along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico.
Injected with at least 4.9 million barrels of oil during the BP oil disaster of last summer, the Gulf has suffered the largest accidental marine oil spill in history. Compounding the problem, BP has admitted to using at least 1.9 million gallons of widely banned toxic dispersants, which according to chemist Bob Naman, create an even more toxic substance when mixed with crude oil. And dispersed, weathered oil continues to flow ashore daily...
Lindsay Lohan is in trouble again???
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