Will We Make the Loss Count for Something?

The Gulf Coast catastrophe has been a shadow over my heart all summer. Two months ago I made a personal pledge that once the spewing well was stopped I would go the Gulf and help in whatever small way I could.

Now I am acting on that pledge. Even though I live in Bend, I will be joining the PDX 2 Gulf Coast mission.

Saturday was our “pre-launch” meeting, in which we went over logistics and plans and got a chance to learn about the people we’ll be traveling, working, and probably occasionally crying with for nine days.

Sitting in a circle we shared who we represented and why we were motivated to go. I explained that I was founder and CEO of 3EStrategies, a consulting firm with a mission of accelerating the transition to sustainable building, energy and economic practices. I said that I had been in the sustainable development world for 22 years but it’s only been the last 22 months that anybody really cares!

I explained that I speak all over the country and even internationally about the need to, and opportunities associated with, thoughtfully transitioning to a post-fossil, sustainable economy. The Gulf Coast offers some of the most stark and visible evidence for my rationale. I feel I have to personally experience it.

I told them that I feel a sense of responsibility to witness this horror first hand and to help out however I can. My heart bleeds for the people of the Gulf Coast, who are seeing their lands, waters, and way of life destroyed; I want to ease their burden and let them know that their neighbors hear and care. And beyond our human neighbors, the plight of the feathered, furred and finned beings sometimes keeps me awake at night. I feel compelled to bear witness and tell the stories of those whose voices we don’t understand.

Darn it all, if I didn’t get choked midway through. It is very uncomfortable for me to cry in front of strangers but I couldn’t stop myself.

After the session I felt emotionally charged. I was excited by the diversity and depth of people who would be part of this mission. I think we will bring an interesting blend of perspectives, ideas and communications strengths to the project. But I also had trepidation – I knew this trip was likely to take a heavy emotional toll on me. In truth, I felt a little rung out.

Although, I it probably wasn’t a good idea, I decided to call my mother, who had left me a couple of messages over the past few weeks. A little back-story: My mom is a native Oklahoman, politically conservative, religiously devout, even to the point of fundamentalist at times. We have not been close over the years and there have been times when she called my environmental ethic and work faddish, foolish, even idolatrous.

I was floored when, as I was explaining the upcoming Gulf Coast trip, she blurted out, “Yes! To help those poor people and to prevent this from ever happening again! We have to start taking better care of the environment!”

She said the Gulf Coast disaster had re-awakened in her a sense of responsibility to take better care of God’s creation. She said she’d been hearing exciting things about alternative fuels that could replace oil and that she now realized how bad plastics are because they’re made from oil and stay in the environment for hundreds of years. Finally, she said, that she and her husband, a member of the Choctaw Tribe, were now sorting therire plastics and hauling them to the Choctaw recycling center.

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing! A wave of hope washed over me. I said, “Mom, you’ve made my day! Thanks so much for sharing this with me.”

And so, as I prepare to head into the heart of this disaster, my hope is that our little mission will help to inspire people to take action, personal action, to reduce our consumption and waste of Earth’s resources. I am so appreciative that my mother is strong enough to allow herself to see the linkage between her own choices and the impacts on the environment and people in oil-producing communities. And double appreciative that she sent me off with her heartfelt story.

By Cylvia Hayes

[Image: marinephotobank]