Disaster: a calamitous event, especially one occurring suddenly and causing great loss of life, damage, or hardship. There’s no other way to describe this.
Words couldn’t illustrate the level of disturbance I’m experiencing over the recent events. If you are out of the loop, let me get you up to speed. This was a catastrophic explosion that caused an oil spill from a BP offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The leak is currently releasing 5,000 barrels of oil per day. PER DAY!!! BP's rig is drawn into an underwater oil well and could pump more oil into the ocean indefinitely until the leak is plugged. 30 days later, the leak has not been capped. Let it marinate…
What is even more disturbing than the actual event, is our government’s SLOW reaction. I am absolutely appalled at the Obama administration for not assuming a more active role in the clean up. Most think the U.S government has no authority to address the crisis. Yet, in the wake of the Exxon spill in 1990, Congress passed the Oil Pollution Act, which amended the Clean Water Act to give the president infinite authority to respond to oil spills. All because precious time was often lost as authorities waited for the company responsible to assemble its resources, as was the case here. Now with the failure of the "top kill" method, the well may continue to gush until late summer.
Now, what are the long-term implications, and why should you be concerned?
All the road trips we have planned this summer? Be prepared to shell out four dollars per gallon for regular gas.
I fear that our government is more concerned with saving the oil, rather than cleaning it up. I say this because- if the only concern was cleaning it up, preserving wildlife, and the Eco system; it would not take this long. Its 2010, we can watch a live feed of the oil well, thousands of feet under water, but we can’t clean it up efficiently? Im not sold.
With the recession we are currently in, we could even create jobs for the clean up effort, and if our government imposed hefty fines on BP for the spill, I’m almost certain the clean up would be close to finished. Let that marinate.
Not only are we disturbing the natural habitat along the coast, but we are facing some serious issues during hurricane season, which could spread the oil to various parts of the ocean.
I think as a society we bare some responsibility for being so dependent on this oil. We need to start moving towards alternative methods, so we can preserve the earth and ALL living creatures.
0 comments:
Post a Comment