NATIONAL SHRIMP FESTIVAL BP PROTEST Gulf Shores, Alabama

You know when 2011 rolled around, I really didn’t have any hope for myself, let alone mankind. But as the end of the year draws near, I can feel little seeds of encouragement growing inside. We’ve gone from silence and dead birds falling from the skies, to a time when thousands are standing up across America protesting the banks on Wall Street, our corporate government, and the environment injustices that our nation faces today, as well as the entire planet.

Here in Florida Trisha Springstead and Trisha James have stepped up and made headway regarding the health of Gulf Coast victims of the Deepwater Horizon Disaster. And in Alabama, Michele Harmon and Kimberly McCuiston have risen as leaders in their communities, uniting a BP demonstration during the National Shrimp Festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama this past Saturday. In comparison to the thousands of people who showed up for the festival, only a couple dozen people demonstrated. Some may find this discouraging. But considering this to be the first demonstration that has taken place, east of the Louisiana boarder, since capping the Macondo well, I applaud the day.

In contrast to Hands Across the Sand, these two women had to get a permit to demonstrate. At first the city refused their request. Then after speaking to the ladies attorneys, there was a reversal by city officials, with restrictions. The demonstration had to be two hundred feet away from the festival, and on the beach. And the use of a bull horn or any other type of devise, electric or battery operated, was prohibited. And my favorite was, if you were wearing a t-shirt that is associated with the oil spill, you were not allowed to walk through the festival to get to the beach; you had to walk the beach to get to the demonstration. In turn, this meant one would have no access to a toilet, or food and water, without walking a mile to a restaurant. Considering the protest began at noon and was to end at four p.m., it made for a long day. But I can say that I did walk into the festival area to use the bathroom and get a drink on two occasions, without any hassle. And we didn’t disperse until 4:30, without dispute from the police or security. I guess they didn’t see our small group as a threat.

But what they didn’t realize at the time is that our little demonstration was photographed and video taped and plugged in to the masses across the Internet, before the day was over. And within twenty-four hours those twenty-four people shared their day with all their friends, who in turn shared the event with their friends. As a result, our story touched the lives of thousands. And that day will continue to live on. And it will inspire others too.

There is hope for the Gulf life as well. Recently I learned of a technique called bioremediation. It’s a natural, fast, effective and cheap way to clean up the oil that remains in the Gulf of Mexico. And it has been around for over thirty years, and used successfully in twenty other countries. It’s even on the EPA’s list of approved remedies for oil spills. Yet, our bureaucratic government has not approved its use to this day. If you don’t believe this technology is effective, put the word, bioremediation, in a search engine and read on. I even found YouTube videos going back four years on the subject.

And this is all we want . . . we want the Gulf of Mexico restored to the way she was before the oil spill.  We want to eat fresh Gulf shrimp. We love it! We want our children to be able to dig in the sand, without worry of what kind of cancer they may die from in ten to twenty years. Or to be able to breath the air, without assistance of a nebulizer. This is what we protest to. And what American wouldn’t want these things?

“The oil is still here and so are we!” We are not going to disappear or be silenced. As one protester pointed out, there were only fifty-six people who signed the Declaration of Independence. And at that time, the forefathers of this country were considered renegades themselves. Now they are considered as heroes. Be a hero! Stand up for your county, because it’s your land that’s under attack! The gas companies are fracking the land across the state of Pennsylvania, and there was the Exxon oil spill in Yellowstone River, outside Billings, Montana, this year And the list goes on and on, and it will continue until we as a people demand a change. The technology is available. All we need to do is spread the word and act upon it today. Even if it’s in some small way, like standing on a hot beach with a sign in your hand, or surfing the web for new energy solutions. Everything counts, even in small amounts.

PETROLATUM, MEDICINE?

The other day I was transplanting cactus, when I ran the tip of my finger into one. It felt like a dart jammed me. The needles broke off deep in my skin in three places. Instead of picking at my sore finger with a needle, I decided to go to Walgreens and see if they sold some sort of drawing salve. I was surprised and relieved when the lady behind the pharmaceutical counter said she could help me. Even though a prescription was not needed, they didn’t keep the product on the shelf, where a shopper would have access, but instead they kept it behind the counter. I didn’t question why they kept the product hidden. But when I got home, I was floored to find not only was this medicine brown and greasy, but it smelled like used motor oil!

The product is called, Ichthammol Ointment 20%, distributed by Perrigo. The ointment contains petrolatum (which is used in make up and skin care products, as well as petroleum jellies such as Vaseline), Ichthammol (also known as black drawing salve, and a home remedy used for skin disorders, derived from sulfur-rich oil shale), light mineral oil, and lanolin (wool wax or wool grease).

Coming from a Gulf Coast perspective, I find it somewhat suspicious and outright crazy that medicine would smell like dirty motor oil. So I decided to do a little research.

PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), are common contaminants in petrolatum, also called petroleum jelly. Petrolatum is found in one of every fourteen products on the market, including fifteen percent of all lipstick and forty percent of all baby lotions and oils. Exemplifying lip balm, sun screen and tanning oils; everything you need for a day on a Florida beach.

Studies at Columbia University show that women with breast cancer were two point six times more likely to have elevated levels of PAHs. To further the concerns of using a petrolatum based products is the European Union’s Dangerous Substance Directive (2004) restricting petrolatum use in cosmetics, by targeting it as a probable human carcinogen. And of course, not only is it legal to use the product in cosmetics here in the United States, but the FDA has taken it a step further and approved petrolatum as an indirect food additive as well.

Petrolatum became known as a a medicine in 1859, by the men who worked on the first oil rigs in the United States. These men would use this worthless substance that forms on rigs to heal their cuts and burns. It dose not heal, but instead it seals keeping germs from getting into the wounded area. And that’s how petrolatum got its start as a medicine.

The reason why Petrolatum became so popular among the cosmetic industry is that it’s used as a barrier to lock moisture in the skin and it makes your hair shine. So be sure to check your bath soap, shampoo and hair conditioner, if you find this information concerning, along with all the other products I mentioned.

As always when dealing with corporate America, there are two sides to every story, but the moral seems to stay the same - greed. I think for myself. Common sense tells me, if it smells like dirty motor oil, then it most likely is; medicine it is not.