Cries From The Wetlands by Gaiadriel
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Description
So many millions of silent cries from my home's wetlands. First, the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, and yet with the typical resilience of the people in SE Louisiana, they fought the good fight, and struggled to rebuild not only their homes, but their lives as they knew it. And, still, things were far from *normal*. Now, dealt an even more catastrophic hand, facing the worst man-made environmental disaster this country's ever known. You'd have to know something about this region...to really fully comprehend the magnitude of this event's impact, that stretches far beyond what you see via news reports, or the obvious devastation. The place, its wildlife, its wetlands, its attitudes, its entire way of life...all inspire a very irrational, profound love for the place and its traditions, that courses through the veins and permeates the soul. I've lived many places now...yet none can compare (and yes, in both the best, and worst, of ways). I've watched in horror as this has unfolded, and made its way to becoming a tragedy of absolutely epic proportion. Every story and aspect of it, makes my blood boil, and my brain nearly explode with rage, then, come the inevitable tears. So many memories in these waters. When I was a little girl, my father used to wake me up very early when it was still dark out. I'd pull on a pair of cutoff shorts, throw on my boat shoes and a t-shirt, and we'd drive out to where he stored his seaplane. We'd get it from its hanger, launch, and then fly, before the sun came up. By the time day peeked over the horizon in pinks and golds, we'd have landed in the waters near Breton Sound, where the Mississippi River meets the Gulf. We'd fish together all day, on the pontoons of the plane until we were burned, and exhausted, and had enough of a catch to keep my mom busy for hours. That's just one memory, of hundreds. But, it's a haunting one these days. I grew up in these waters..swimming, fishing, shrimping, crabbing, skiing. There is no explaining them, or how much more valuable they are now, into a paragraph. This morning, another point of no return on the news, with crews fighting to keep the crude out of Barataria Bay, an absolutely vital area. And, yet another very old and productive company closing its doors, out of business, its employees suddenly unable to financially survive after years of hard working people doing what they love most.. harvesting from these local waters, living off the land, and doing it with respectfulness, and with a great deal of love and recognition for what this land and its waters have always provided all of us. Maybe that describes it best...to say that there is a very unique synergy there, between the waters and the people of this area. It's rare, and it's unique. Like many who may find these words, I've little respect for mankind today, and no patience or understanding for all that we bring upon ourselves and earth, with greed, carelessness, and irresponsibility, to feed our insatiable energy appetites. But, this? We can put a man on the moon, but can't stop this? Or does BP not want to stop it, because there's still an underlying profitability somewhere in it all? Sadly, we may never know the real story...while the realest story of it all turns home into a wasteland that won't recover in my childrens' lifetimes. It will be a frozen day in hell before I purchase anything from this corporation, its subsidiaries, or its sponsors. And it will also be a cold day in hell before I forgive those who didn't accept the international help that was offered when this thing first began and there was still some hope to turn this all around. Enough said.
FE, Noel Giffin ZZ2, CAbs and CSinh functions, with a little Flaming Pear Pseudo Polarization filter in PS, and paper texture. Please view full size for details.
Wishes for a good weekend, all. And, thank you for the warm welcome back, and wonderful comments.
Warm hugs,
Nancy
Comments (23)
farmerC
This is Shining.
magnus073
Nancy I've read your words and was very moved as I think so many have been since this disaster first hit. It's one of those times when we're reminded of just how small and helpless we really are against nature. The people and the animals in the region will never be the same, and the loss of jobs and sea life will effect us for generations to come. As for them not wanting to stop it on purpose as much as I'd love to jump on bp more I fear the truth is something no one wants to talk about and that is the well bore structure is compromised down hole which is the worst nightmare scenario. The erosion of the system is attacking more key areas of the well and what you are faced with now is a race againts time to drill two relief wells and try to install supports on the blow out preventor before it tips over. If and when you see oil and gas coming up from under the well area under the BOP and the casings sinking more rapidly that is a signal you won't have very long until the entire system fails. Bp is aware of this as they are using sonic waves to map the sea floor to try and see how long they have. The worst case is when it goes you are faced with a gusher blowing out 150,000 or more barrels of oil a day and there isn't any dome or suction device on earth to come close to handling that. All we can do now is hope for them to complete the two relief wells and do a kill from the bottom up. They hope to get them into place by August if were lucky and win this race against time but all we can do is pray.
carlx
Fantastic composition!!!
claude19
How are they on this small planet to live for the Golden Calf! I have seen films where the birds are alive and stuck in this shit! A true global scandal, after the financial crisis because rich crooks, you are a victim of rich farmers who have no concern for the environment! What a senseless slaughter??? In Britain we had four tankers broke ... it was nothing compared to the unawareness of each other! The platform collapsed, because security always costs too expensive! How many hundreds of thousands of people died of cancer in caudate asbestos?
annie5
Glad you are posting again! Fantastic creation, Nancy :)
renderix
yes,nancy..its the monster of proffit going on and on without heart and soul... millions of us are fighting for saving nature with succsess, but this beats everything humans did to mother earth since centuries... regards.. sad renderix
jmb007
beau travail!!
amota99517
Outstanding work and so heart felt!
three_grrr
Aaaah .. Nancy. My heart just breaks when I look at what we have done to this beautiful planet. We have raped it over and over and over again. And one day it will rise up and rebel. I think it is already rebeling .. giving back what we have dealt it. We've raped huge tracts of forests in our hunger for wood, and we've gotten back changes in weather patterns, too much rain here, not enough there, causing death, destruciton, famine, illness and death. We've despoiled the lakes and rivers and oceans with the garbage we have dumped into them, and have gotten back fish so heavily laden with toxins that we are warned not to eat them. We've poisoned our soil, our water, and the air we breath. And yet we expect to continue living in the style we have become accustomed to. It will end. In killing the earth, we are killing ourselves. And in the midst of the tirade .. I'm so taken by this beautiful image .. but saddened too. I see in it the green of the earth being swallowed up by dry, arid, sterile deserts. What a way to welcome you back .. with a tirade, LOL! It's just SO great to see a post from you.
ananomoly
Amen, sister. And to the memories of a world gone by, may you rest in peace.
peedy
Beautiful! Corrie
flavia49
fabulous image!!
algra
Nice work! Isn't the real cause our egoistic hunger for cheap energy? Oil has been formed during millions of years and we're consuming it wihin two centuries. We need to find better ways to exploite our main source (in fact the only one) of energy, the sun.
npauling
A wonderful fractal to depict the tragedy that is happening in the gulf it must be really disasterous to live near this evolving mess. I hate to see what is happening on our TV with all the wildlife and I really feel for everyone who is affected. I too am not going to use any of BP's products as they really haven't done enough have they.
2Loose2Trek
Due to unbridled greed coupled with our government's (i.e., the US regulatory bodies)unlimited support for corporate interests, we're screwed. NOAA has projected that the crude oil from this disaster will be in the Gulf Stream by October which means the East Coast may be additionally screwed. But that's minor compared to the substantial amount of methane that is out-gassing in conjunction with benzene and some other really deadly gases. A couple of really wild hurricanes and I think we're looking at a possible extinction level event for the area. And massive dead zones in the Gulf can have far reaching impacts on the rest of the world. I started to watch "The Road" based on the book by Cormac McCarthy last week. I lasted about 15 minutes before I removed the movie from the player. It was too much like a peek into our future. Yikes! The edifice of our economic systems will soon come undone, thankfully. But will we survive to do better in the rubble that remains? BTW, very nice artwork.
Rerewhakaaitu
I guess your image says it all. Greed never sleeps. Devastation never stops. Slavery stays the same. The weak always carry the heaviest burden. Only the geography changes. An image that could only have been made in FE.
Juliette.Gribnau
my heart goes out to everyone in the regio where all these nature-tragidy's occurred. You show the emotion of these events in your fractal
VDH
Great idea to make this beutifulful fractal to depict the nature tragedy !!
anahata.c
We all know how selfish corporations are, something happens when people get together and become 'one' with profits, sales, business, etc...they start to lose their humanity. Same with politics & power. And that's all this is caused by: Politics, profit and power. Shakespeare's kings & queens were all painted in that light, voracious & vicious, surrounded by people who'd do anything to get closer to that power---including kill their own friends & family, to get closer to the king. That's what we see in these disasters. The power behind them eats up everything in its path; and when someone finally gets 'caught', they suddenly act contrite and still move at a snail's pace. (And I could say alot about Obama & co. too: I supported him, but I've been amazed at his corporate un-leaderly act. I just can't comprehend it.) But---to complete it all---there was a cartoon of a man complaining about Obama's response to this, yet the man was filling up a massive SUV. People have to be willing to make changes, radical changes. We have no choice anymore. We haven't for a long time. As long as the public wants so much energy & resource---and no small amount for trivial purposes---this will happen again. We should've started towards renewables years ago: I saw conferences on it in the 70s, and no one cared. Yet the scientists said, "it will take time: When do you want to start? In 50 years???" We're all implicit in this. Even the simple act of recycling can help...I didn't come from NOrleans, I've only been there once: But the place is legendary for its spirit, it always seemed like universe more than a city; and everyone I know who came from there speaks of it in the same way you do. I know you left after Katrina, but the calls will never leave you, and I knew, as soon as the spill started, that it would spill into your life all the way from the coast. I'm sorry for you & everyone. It's a catastrophe. Yet...the art is beautiful, Cathy, it's somehow really positive. More of your organic forms with your signature textures around them; and the spill is amazing. I know it's a depiction of the oil spill, and the spill is also the "cries" (I felt that, certainly). But you also put real beauty into it. It resonates far beyond the frame. There's something very positive & hopeful about your spill: Maybe you're just putting love & hope into a catastrophe. I wish the spill would turn out as green & full as this...maybe you're transforming it in your heart. It's a beautiful image. Maybe it's a tome to all those who lost their jobs, their land, and all the animals who've been killed. Maybe you wanted love to be in it, as well as outrage. It's more heart-full work from you, and a passionate upload in all ways. I hope they can stop this soon. How many other wells are ready to break...A powerful piece, and I thank you.
FractalForum
Congratulations! This image has been chosen for the Fractal Window Weekly in the Fractal SubCommunity. You will find the announcement in the Fractal Forum.
afugatt
Nancy, my heart just aches over what has happend and continues to happen to our creatures, lands, oceans and air. I have so many feelings and emotions inside that I just can't put them into words very easily, I just could not do them justice. You have said it all very well and I appreciate that. Your image is amazing!
dochtersions
Your fractal is GREAT, Nancy, your words right. I also hate the egoism, and the greed of people, who only think about power and making money. love, Mies
joeydude
Personally, I think this is one of your best fractals. The emotions you are feeling are so perfectly illuminated in this piece. I also love the palette!Sorry it took me so long to comment. :-) jf*