The Oil Spill

So, this is my second report on news. My first report was regarding the tensions between North and South Korea and can be found here.

This one is going to be about the oil spill.

Ok, so maybe I'm going to sound like a big insensitive evil planet-hating bitch, but it's like not even a big deal here. This doesn't mean I don't care, it just means that NO ONE here in Korea cares. Not one student has said to me, hey, teacha, you know oil spill? no. nothing. Students are talking about the world cup. They are talking about k-pop. They are talking about lots of things, but the oil spill is not one of them. It's weird.

And it isn't really because Korea is just not up on world issues. When the Haiti earthquake happened, my students asked me all about it. When the Chile earthquake happened, my stuents knew more about it than I did. They know about these things. But it seems like the most disastrous oil spill in history is totally lost on them. They follow world news (which presumably this oil spill is), but this is not even on the radar.

In fact, my students are writing essays about the environment for a contest and not one has so much as mentioned this once. Strange.

As a result, I feel that I am really disconnected from the issue. Of course, I saw that video when Obama says he's gonna kick some ass, and I watched a very interesting video posted from CNN saying that Obama and the government can't really do anything in the short-term to fix it so the media should turn it's attention to BP and pressure them. I also think that BP is a big ass-hole of a business, but then, at this point, who doesn't think that.

Yes, I've seen those pictures of birds covered in oil. Yes, it makes me sad. Yes, I understand that this spill puts thousands of miles of coastline in unnecessary danger, and is destroying whole habitats and such, but still. Where is the coverage here in Korea?

I read the NYTimes, but I mostly ignore the oil spill coverage because it would likely dampen my spirits.

Call me an ignorant, uncaring bitch if you wish, but it's hard to take a firm stance when it seems like nobody in the entire damn country has any idea what the fuck to do about it.

I guess everyone feels the way I do: Damn that's terrible. Now what?

I dunno. I guess maybe this will encourage the government to push even harder for alternative energy options.