Al G Smith

Almost half a year has vanished and it’s hard to credit that I haven’t managed to post anything for so long, so by way of redress, and whilst there is still time … so…

Even before the publication of Dante’s Inferno I guess the concept of the Devil, or Satan, living in the underworld — notionally somewhere deep in the bowels of the earth in a fiery pit of damnation, redolent with brimstone and sulphur (sulfur) — is an image that seems have been known to all.

It is of course apparently true that the Earth’s core is a molten mass and, every now and then, evidence of the extreme molten nature of our planet makes itself apparent in the form of volcanic activity.

Recently ash plumes emerging from an intermittently active Icelandic volcano made regular media headlines and disrupted flights across Europe for several days amidst the fears of fine glass-like splinters in the volcanic ash undermining the technological integrity of jet engines.

This unusual event — having caused millions of dollars/pounds sterling of losses and refunds for the airlines — had barely faded from the news than another event of disturbing proportions came to the fore. You’ll know what it is no doubt — although it is clear that just how much you may know about the Gulf of Mexico oil spill will very much depend on the news and the Internet — and you may have only a fraction of the picture of what could yet prove to be a truly monumental disaster, greater than anything ever seen by ‘modern man’.

There is enough evidence to show that BP and the US Government have worked assiduously to reduce the amount of detailed media coverage of this event, so far. But if some of the possible (and even very likely) developments of this situation occur in coming weeks, or months, then it will no longer be a story that can be ‘contained’.

Some sources are talking of enormous reservoirs of highly explosive, and toxic, methane gas that could burst through to the surface. Such gas would defeat the buoyancy of water causing craft and oil rigs to sink across a wide area of ocean; the gas then carried on the wind could lead along with other toxic substances to un-guessable ill-health repercussions if carried inland. Unless the gas bubble ignites and creates a massive explosion that triggers a tremendous and devastating Tsunami, with every possibility of flooding most of Florida (being, as it is, mostly barely 6 inches above sea level) and more.

It is also being suggested that the potential quantities of oil and silt in the longer term (or, more suddenly, as the result of one almighty catastrophic explosive event) that could be released into the sea might literally turn the Gulf of Mexico into an ocean of sticky, brown slime, decimating the eco-system for years, wreaking untold damage and ruination upon many areas land and sea — destroying innumerable peoples’ health, livelihoods and homes.

At this moment in time, the scenario is one of great uncertainty, almost incalculable ecological calamity and potentially could become unbelievably worse. Yet most folks are simply going about their business without paying much heed to this drama… Rather, that ‘weapon of mass distraction’ the Football World Cup is creating more emotional response than an event that some (more extreme prognosticators) suggest could even spell the beginning of the end for humanity…

What is unquestionable is that this event should be enough to persuade the masses that it is past the time to eschew oil and petroleum as the fuel source of choice, particularly where it is so widely employed, in the developed world…

If the Gulf Oil Spill does not prove to raise public awareness of the risks that Corporate entities are running that could affect us all, and could threaten the health, wellbeing and even the survival of mankind — then we can all be accused of so many ‘Neroes’… simply fiddling (with the TV control, more than likely) whilst the Globe, rather than just Rome, potentially burns…

The oozing mass of oil and silt, along with toxic gases — being propelled at the speed of sound, under pressures as high as 100 pounds per square inch up the 5 mile channel drilled down by BP to tap the reservoir known as ‘Thunder Horse’, in full knowledge of such potential risks by this petro-chemical giant putting profit before safety — sounds indeed like the very contents of Hell itself let loose on the surface of the Earth!

Half a world away — another major oil company whose name is a simple anagram of ‘Hells’ — is creating another scene of damnation and destroying the environment without care of consideration, leaving oil-slick pollution thick along the Niger Delta to the terrible detriment of the already impoverished local people. This long-term activity of the Shell Oil Company (as if you had not guessed!) has of course received little mainstream media exposure as it does not directly threaten the US, or other the privileged citizens of developed countries… As ever such are the atrocious dual standards betrayed by so-called ‘civilized’ society!

One can only surmise that, even now, there will yet be few volunteers who immediately stop using their combustion-engine driven vehicles; few who will boycott the major oil concerns and refuse to buy petroleum, oil and related products or use any such derivatives (such as plastics!); few shareholders who will be willing to dump their ‘investments’ in disgust at the actions of such immoral entities (at least not before they get their dividends!).

Perhaps it will take the appearance of Lucifer himself — complaining about the waning fires of his Inferno, thanks to the pilfering of his fuel — before some folks will tear themselves away from watching 22 ludicrously-overpaid sporting-prima-donnas kicking a ball around for 90 minutes, or absorbed by some equally piffling media distraction, and begin to take notice of what is happening to the world around them?

…But then again the great oil disaster may be no surprise to the ‘Lord of Darkness’ for, perhaps, Satan himself may already be running the oil companies (along with Big Pharma, and Agro-Chemical giants… amongst others), and this whole Gulf Oil Spill is simply the way he has chosen to begin to unleash Hell on Earth as we approach that supposedly fateful date in 2012 when some are expecting the world to end!