The real saboteur of the environment

Pam Price, Henderson

Friday, May 21, 2010 | 2:04 a.m.

The haunting, surreal picture that accompanied John M. Crisp’s Wednesday column (“Spill calls for closer look at inevitable consequences of hydrocarbon use”) reminds me of cartoon character Pogo’s signature saying: “We have met the enemy, and he is us.”

The photo shows a typical suntanned, bikini-clad woman, hunching on her white beach towel. Behind her, in an expanse of white sand are nine ethereal, alien-looking beings (actually workers), gazing down at the spotless sand. Dressed in white protective pants, shoes and caps, and clutching bulbous, translucent, empty trash sacks, the workers were searching for tar balls from the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the column, Crisp sketches civilizations’ use of energy and its resulting harm to the environment from ancient times to the current Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Crisp says, “Rush Limbaugh speculated that environmental wackos may have sabotaged the Deepwater Horizon well ... to get the public’s attention. Unlikely.”

Crisp’s crucial point is that the United States’ reliance on hydrocarbons (such as oil and coal) is the real sabotage (although unintentional); we just don’t see it yet.