I can't beat the enormity and the insanity of the oil disaster news, rumors, misdirections, and other bits and pieces folks are trying to piece together into a whole that doesn't make a lick of sense even after one has made some sense of it. What I can do is the same thing I've always had to do, ever since 9/11: filter, filter, filter.

Twitter is out for an as-yet-undetermined-end-of-it hiatus for the foreseeable future - it's like mainlining the Macondo Prospect's spew directly into my brain, and I can't handle such a relentless barrage of mental toxicity. I don't watch much TV to begin with - recent problems with our TV remote and the inadequacy of universal remotes in its replacement have made that harder - and I can't handle more than a few minutes of the Spillcam, anyhow (neither can my computer- at least some machines can be trusted), so no worries there. I get the Times-Picayune at my doorstep screaming the latest headlines, but I don't read those articles much anymore, and I still don't link to nola.com on this blog, as I think their idiotic non-moderation of comments on the articles there and Advance Internet's non-user-friendly design and interface demeans the work of many good journalists who are working hard on the dead-tree editions of the paper.

So what have I got, really?

When I threw in the towel concerning my son's reading material the other day, I got that Eyewitness Book on oil that he was so keen on. Not only did it come with a nifty clip art CD-ROM, it also came with this poster that immediately went up on his wall:

Yep, it's all about all the ways in which oil has enhanced our lives throughout history, and how it continues to do so.

There's a stunning picture in the book of a family with all their worldly possessions in their front yard - looks like moving-in or moving-out day for such a white, upper-middle-class bunch - and the picture points out all the ways in which oil contributes to the materials and the makings of darn near everything out there. Which simultaneously makes one wonder at the enormity of what our technological prowess has gotten us into and makes one quake at the thought of how our lives could change without the miracles fossil fuels have brought us. And I wish it were as funny as this....but considering the circumstances, we've got to start considering our options.

BP needs to be sued out of existence, for one.

More time and effort needs to be given over to the research, development, and implementation of alternative energy sources and materials - and to the proper maintenance of it all. And a lot of that is going to come with better education systems that recognize and value that ingenuity.

It's time to also research and implement more environmentally friendly and effective ways of cleaning up after BP's mess - and, considering the scope of this problem, it could well develop into an economic boon in its own right for Louisiana. Money does still talk, but we need to get it talking in the right ways.

Get going on wetland restoration as well, while we're at it.

I unfortunately can't make it to this protest, but it looks like many others will. Let your numbers show how much this matters to you. And be careful out there.