Is this what it takes to get people talking about our false dependence on oil? Does it really take a massive oil spill that threatens the ecosystem of the entire Gulf of Mexico? I pray that this is the straw that breaks the camel's back, for God's sake.

My Hometown is Under Attack!

I grew up in Pensacola, on the Panhandle of Florida. Home of White Sand Beaches and The Blue Angels, the Navy's premier flying team. I went to their hometown airshows every summer as a child. If you look on YouTube for videos of the Blue Angels flying, you'll most likely see the white-sand beaches and crystal blue waters underneath them. That's my hometown.

I remember going to the beach with my Mom and Dad, my sister and my brother. In the back seat of a 1965 Impala, the ones with no air conditioning and no seat belts. We lived a good hour from the coast, but the moment I got in the car, already wearing my always too scratchy swimsuit, I would start dreaming of swimming. I absolutely loved to swim. Best thing in the world, as far as I was concerned. Just being in the water was enough. No sand castles for me, thank you very much. I was going to swim.

And I couldn't wait. After an hour or so in the hot car, we would finally cross the Three Mile Bridge. There I could see the water, and it made me even more anxious to "get there". What I always seemed to fail to remember, no matter how many times we made this drive, is that there are actually two bridges to cross before the swimming could begin. The first bridge was The Three Mile Bridge, the second one was on the other side of Gulf Breeze, a cute little barrier island town that catered mostly to tourists. So, what that meant was that the moment I thought we were "almost there" was only a tease. I got so antsy in the car. I probably drove my parents nuts.

After what seemed like an eternity, I would finally see The Beach Sign. That was the biggest thrill of my life, every time I saw it. It meant we really were almost "there." We were almost at THE BEACH! Daddy would always drive over to the gulf side to see if it was rough. It usually was, but every once in a while we would get a smooth gulf to play in. But mostly we went to the "sound side", where families with small children would gather.

And then finally, the car was pulled into a space and the engine turned off. That was my cue to bolt. By this time it must have been 300 degrees in the car, but it didn't matter anymore. As I stepped out of the car and proceeded to head toward the water, I always had to stop and find some shade. I was actually blinded by the sun reflecting off the sugar-white sands. And no matter how badly I wanted to get to the water, I always had to stop under one of those concrete picnic areas on the way and "rest my eyes." Darn those sensitive eyes!

The sand would squeak under my feet as I ran to the water. I had to run. When at home, I always played outside without shoes. But even my feet weren't tough enough to withstand the heat coming from the sand. Think about tiny crushed up glass heated by the hot summer sun. Yeah, it was hot. But so incredibly beautiful!

On the days when the gulf was calm, my brother, sister and I would swim out to a nearby sandbar and find all kinds of sand dollars. Closer to shore, we would find crabs, flounder, and lots and lots of hermit crabs. Hermit crabs are my favorite. There's just something about carrying your house around on your back that appeals to me. And hermit crabs use discarded shells as their homes, always making the best of what's around.

The South Will Rise Again

Is all that going to change now? After seeing the oil slick with your own eyes, what do you think? I feel like my hometown is under attack. But I don't feel hopeless. There will most likely be horrible consequences, but there will also be shining moments when people and communities come together. We in the South are a resilient bunch of folks, after all. History proves that.

Pensacola itself is called the City of Five Flags. That means the city was "owned" by five different countries during its early years. That's a lot of war. Then add in the civil war, the freeing of the slaves, many, many hurricanes, etc, and you get some idea of what southerners have been struggling through for centuries. Why should this be any different?

We will come together and do what we can to stop or lessen the impact this monster will have on our environment. There's a lot of work to be done, but as evident from our history, The South Will Rise Again!

Our False Dependence on Oil - The Hippies Were Right All Along!

Now, about our false dependence on oil (and the real cause of this mess!). We don't need to be drilling holes into the earth in order to suck out what's underneath. And we also don't need to be blowing the tops off mountains to reach the coal underneath. We could actually grow all the fuel we need, but it's illegal to do that in this country.

I'm referring to hemp. Did you know that the first automobile Henry Ford built was made from hemp and ran on hemp bio-diesel? It's true. You can look it up yourself. And while it's true that even if we stopped driving our cars, our dependence on oil would only drop by around 50% due to petroleum's use in plastic manufacturing, the Australians have figured out how to make plastic from hemp. (and it's fully biodegradable)

Hemp is a renewable resource. Can be grown anywhere, without pesticides or fertilizer. 100 days from planting to harvest. Hemp actually puts nutrients into the soil instead of stripping them out like cotton, so the soil quality actually improves. We need this in the South after King Cotton ruined our soil. As an extra-added bonus, clothing made from hemp doesn't fall apart or wear out like cotton. So you can wear your clothes for a very long time without needing to replace them. Plus, since hemp is naturally slow to burn, we wouldn't need to soak our children's clothes in chemicals to make them "fire retardant" anymore.

After hemp is harvested from an area, there will be no weeds in that area for an entire season. So, crop rotation is key. Just plant your vegetables where the hemp was, and sit on your porch and swing, because you won't be fighting weeds. That means even less chemicals added to the earth.

Hemp is also being used as insulation and building materials. Again, hemp is naturally fire-retardant, so house fires won't spread. Have you heard enough yet? I can go on and on.

For instance, the seed from the hemp plant contains as much protein as an egg, including the omegas we need. This is the only plant that does this. This plant is the answer to world hunger.

But it is illegal to grow hemp in this country, so all hemp products must be imported. Mostly from China. How do you feel about that, enlightened one?

Hopefully I've sufficiently whetted your appetite for more truth. Please do some research and make your own informed decisions on this issue. It's obvious where I stand. Where do you?

'Til next time,
Brenda Shoop