Haven’t we all heard the cry that to solve our oil dependency problems, we need to “drill, baby, drill!”. We heard this from any number of politicians from both major parties, but mostly from those in the Republican camp. What I have to say to them now is “how is that workin’ for you?”.
We have not even seen the tip of the iceburg yet. The oil spill from the BP platform in the Gulf of Mexico is predicted to go down as the worst environmental disaster the United States has ever seen. Already several Gulf states have seen their fisheries shut down. Why? Because all of the fish are either contaminated or will soon be dead. The same is true for shrimp, bivalves, and anything else that depends upon the sea for life. The devastation yet to be seen with bird populations will be huge. We can only imagine right now.
This evening a report on television said that there is a chance the contamination will spread through out the entire Gulf of Mexico basin before it is over. This means that not only will our citizens suffer, but so will those of all of the countries that border the Gulf. I wonder who is going to pay for the economic loss of livelihoods? I doubt BP even has those kinds of resources. This says nothing about all the silent voices, the creatures and plants that will surely die. The report even suggests there is a possibility the spill will round the tip of Florida and make its way up the east coast of the United States in months to come. The economic loss will be so difficult to measure. Again, who will pay?
Even though claimed to be an accident, what happened was predictable. With over 3000 oil platforms in the Gulf, failure on a large scale was just an accident waiting to happen. It did. The cause ultimately: our dependence on oil.
There is and has been no excuse for inaction. The oil companies have controlled the agenda. The United States needs to pursue alternative sources of energy like our lives depend upon success. It does. If what is said about the abundance of natural gas in this country is even half true, our economy could easily and quickly convert to natural gas while wind, solar, biomass, ethanol, and maybe even nuclear energy are being brought on line. We must get off of oil. We are vulnerable to manipulation by nations whose people do not like us and oil is extremely environmentally unfriendly.
The BP spill is a huge wake up call. It is a shame so many will suffer from this mother of all environmental disasters, but maybe it took this for anyone to listen.