21 August 2006
A cleaner, greener and safer world!
by Janet, scientist onboard the Esperanza
©Greenpeace/Baconguis
The island is a beautiful place, hills of bamboo forests reaching down limestone escarpments. Everything you imagine of a tropical paradise. But a grim black line along the shoreline told us of the oil slicks menacing presence that extended along several kilometres of coast.
We went ashore and what I saw there profoundly affected me. Every rock along the shoreline was coated with a sticky black tar. This is what the oil changed to as it comes ashore very different from the metallic sheen we had seen at sea. I saw whole swathes of mangroves with their root systems covered in the black tar. A clean up of such a tangled mass of roots would be impossible; the oils will remain trapped within the roots for years.
It made me so sad as I know mangroves are very sensitive to oil pollution. These mangroves will probably die over the next weeks. The villagers were also worried about the mangroves. They know they are important breeding and nursery grounds for fish.
As we waited for the boat to take us back to the Esperanza, I couldnt help but feel despair. It made me realise how important all the campaigning work we do is, whether dramatic actions that get in the news or driving through change at international meetings of organisations such as the UN. Only by constantly working to achieve Greenpeaces long-term goals can we ever hope for a cleaner, greener and safer world.
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://weblog.greenpeace.org/cgi-bin/mv/mt-tb.cgi/2090
Comments
As a christian, it occurs to me that you are doing exactly what Jesus commands us to do: to love one another, and serve one another. It really in impressive to see an organisation that some of my fellow christians dislike, doing exactly what we are commanded to do. Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Andy at August 22, 2006 2:01 PM
Hello Janet!
how are you? how's the "Pinasugbo"?Hope to see you again.thank you so much to all the crew of M/Y ESPERANZA & to all greenpeace volunteers for helping in the oil disaster that my country is now facing.We will continue here to help the clean up operation.
Take care in your journey & God bless!
More power!
Posted by: McJune Hayawon at August 23, 2006 12:29 PM
hi! im a graduate of biology at the university of the philippines in the visayas and been in taklong island for several times. it's one of the two marine reserves in the visayas. im now working in manila and as i heard the news, i couldn't help but cry. first, the island has been a part of our livese stayed there for 2 weeks and perfrom some sampling and experiments. now, i could not imagine what the island. one of the mangrove species Rhizophora lamarckii is the rarest magrove species in viasyas and could only be seeon in taklong. now there is no way that we could preserve the species. i feel really bas and i wanted to go home and help for the clean up. what's the use of suing petron, the oil spill has a long term effect especially on the mangroves. i hope that someone could do something fast...
Posted by: dayan at August 27, 2006 8:30 AM
im saddened because of the continuous destruction of our seas.. before, we used to have the nicest and the prettiest seas in asia but as time passes by, the beauty that once the philippine has is slowly turning into an ugly,and polluted one.. why dont we try cleaning the water that mother nature has given us.. for once don't just think about yourselves think of your sons and daughters, is this the kind of environment you want them to inherit from you? THINK...T_T
Posted by: phaull at September 26, 2006 5:55 PM
All updates from the Southern Ocean whaling 2007 leg »
All updates from the Pacific transit »
All updates from the Mexico leg »
All updates from the Hawaii leg »
All updates from the Pacific leg »
All updates from the Philippines leg »
All updates from the India leg »
All updates from the Red Sea leg »
All updates from the Mediterranean leg »
All updates from the Azores leg »
All updates from the Pirate Fishing/Africa leg »
All updates from the Southern Ocean »
Avast ye land lubbers! The ocean critters need your help!
Take action today!
