The raspberry-spinach salad is made and chilling in the fridge. The shrimp is marinating in olive oil, lemon zest and garlic and is waiting to be seared. The pasta water's coming up to a slow simmer, waiting for the farfalle to dive on in, and I am waiting for my lunch date to arrive. I'm looking forward to the lemon, garlic-shrimp pasta for many reasons, but particularly because I know the price of shellfish is going to skyrocket after the disastrous oil spill in the gulf.

Today, I heard one of those morning talk show commentators mention that it took Obama a month before he met with the president of BP. People seem outraged that our President hasn't done enough, soon enough, regarding this disaster. This makes me wonder about our expectations in the media and with our leadership in general. In our ever increasing, highly visible society, where everyone announces everything from what they're having for dinner to which candidate wears the most fashionable hairstyle on their facebook page or twitter updates, it only makes sense that we, as a nation, feel outraged over Obama's less than visible attention to such an important matter. But, my question is, is it true?

This makes me wonder, are we so used to hearing about useless daily details that the more important stuff doesn't float to the surface anymore? Or, perhaps it's that the important discussions are held behind closed doors and are not discussed unless there's a big push from a strong arm to do so. I am just as perplexed as everyone as to why this disaster has gone on so long and why our leaders didn't react right away to this crisis. I'm doubly perplexed as to why a dangerous practice like transport & drilling doesn't come with a safeguard or action plan already in place, well in advance of an incident occurring. Who regulates this industry? More importantly, who benefits from this disaster? Surely, it isn't us.

Well, since I obviously have more questions than answers, I'll get back to my lunch preparation. I'll savor my fresh shrimp pasta and hope it won't be my last taste of fresh seafood from the gulf in a long while. If this doesn't raise glaring awareness about conservation, what will?