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In Memorium: The Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem
The intricate and always delicate ecosystem of the Gulf of Mexico passed away today.
The cause of death was problematic and ultimately fatal human interference. Once a pristine oasis of provincial beauty and nutrition - the ecosystem had fallen on difficult times of late.
Hurricanes and other atmospheric disturbances had regularly beaten a path directly to its door. Oil and natural gas exploration had weakened it; oil spills had soiled it. Yet, somehow the ecosystem always bounced back, regrouping and replenishing itself in spite of the many hardships. But no ecosystem could have adequately withstood the fury and violence of an oil rig explosion that killed eleven men and left a broken pipe - some 5,000 feet below the surface - gushing oil indiscriminately into it.
While difficult to pinpoint the ecosystem’s exact date of birth, some scientists theorized its age to have been in the billions of years. The Mayans dated it back to 3114 BC. Many Rabbis taught that the ecosystem was 6,000 years old. Some Christians believe it had been created in just six days. What most could agree on is that long before human beings came in contact with it, the Gulf’s ecosystem was arguably as bountiful as any in the world.
Stewards of the ecosystem wept at the news. Its migratory dependents - confused as to their own future - huddled in packs, bereft and in shock. Survivors of the workers killed on the oil platform wept, again. Those who once made a living off its abundant bounty wept too as condolences poured in from all over the country and around the world. In this digital, real-time, interconnected world - many could see the aneurismal pipe still spewing its toxins as the struggling ecosystem finally heaved, exhaling its last weak breath into the atmosphere. Tide birds flew, one last time, over the deceased.
Mourners included shrimp, grouper, snapper, pelicans, gulls, mackerel, blue crab, trout and turtle, menhaden, shark, dolphin, octopus, oysters, plankton, tide birds, the Gulf’s fishing and tourist trades, the swelling ranks on the Endangered Species Act, shareholders and insurance underwriters of British Petroleum, and the stunned families of those killed in the explosion.
In lieu of flowers, the family and friends of the ecosystem encourage donations to be made to anyone who is better at championing a cause other than their own.