As I sit here this morning overlooking pristine Sarasota Bay watching the pelicans and seabirds take up their daily feeding positions I can’t help but ponder the potential success, or failure, of this morning’s attempt by BP to cap their gushing oil geyser in the Gulf of Mexico. One can only hope the undertaking is an unmitigated success.
The spill has brought many things into focus – our total lack of preparedness, our corrupt and antiquated Federal regulatory system, and, as the Deepwater Horizon well continues to pump death and destruction into the Gulf, our overwhelming need to examine our century-old dependence on fossil fuels. This tragedy can only serve as a harsh reminder of our need to transition to a cleaner, more environmentally sound energy policy.
But this transition won’t be easy. Our schizophrenic country is currently torn by divisions between Tea Party supporters advocating deregulation and smaller government versus the the growing public realization – driven by the oil spill disaster – that we need more oversight of both big oil and Wall Street. The cry “drill baby, drill” isn’t being uttered on many political talk shows this week, as big oil lackeys like Sarah Palin and Dick Cheney calculate the political fallout from the oil spill disaster.
In the coming weeks, months and years, the American public is going to be reminded of the tragedy of the 11 deaths of innocent lives and inundated with images of the deadly oil slick killing all manner of sea, plant and animal life. It ‘s a public relations disaster that the oil companies will not be able to bury, as they have in the past, with piles of lobbying cash.
We have to learn from our mistakes, and, though the tragedy of the Exxon Valdez didn’t seem to prepare us in any way for the current disaster, this Deep Water Horizon debacle should finally show us we can’t afford to be unprepared. President Obama’s reliance on BP to “plug the damn hole” can only serve as a further illustration of the impotence, ineffectiveness and incestuous relationship of our elected officials regarding big oil. On the other side of the ledger, many environmentalists will be re-energized by the disaster after losing public support during the “Climategate” fiasco. Perhaps this tragedy can serve as a catalyst for change – creating a groundswell of support for a total reboot of our country’s energy and environmental policies.
Though it’s unrealistic to expect an immediate move away from an oil-based economy we can start the process. We can use the current disaster to focus, re-energize and finance our commitment to transition to alternative energy systems, we can stop all plans for deepwater drilling in environmentally sensitive areas like the Arctic and we can hold big oil’s feet to the fire by instituting new regulations and safety guidelines to make sure this doesn’t happen again – and if it does – that technology is in place to deal with it.
The fox can no longer be allowed to run the energy hen house. Fire or convict any Federal officials who may have taken bribes or favors from big oil in return for giving them favorable rulings on permits , leases and safety waivers – endangering lives, livelihoods and ecosystems. Make BP go bankrupt if need be making Gulf coast businesses and individuals financially whole and financing the clean-up. The oil-loving Bush years are over. Let’s all work together to clean up this mess and move on to a cleaner, greener future.
RSS
I would have to agree, oil is not the answer to our energy needs, it will run out at some point. But the best next option, nuclear power, has been shoved off the table. No option is 100% safe, but so far only one major disaster has been the fault of nuclear power. And that was so long ago that advances in tech and understanding make another like it unlikely in the extreme. It’s cleaner, safer, and cheaper than oil in the long run. So why caqn’t we use it again?
Felicia, nuclear power plants are being ordered and Chernobyl and Three Mile Island are TWO major disasters, not to mention we almost lost Detroit.
Oil will not ever run out, it will simply become too expensive to get.
“Advances in tech and understanding” were made in oil drilling as well. We see the consequences.
Nuclear power is not a liquid fuel. You say, well, electric cars. It will take 30 years or so to make such a switch in our infrastructure and.. with what money will we do this? How about defense spending? Oh, we can’t do that because all presidents are owned by the mega military/intelligence complex. See JFK’s assassination for the last president who wasn’t.
No, I think we are all going to have to step back, live off land and make our own fuel. Alcohol fuel. Small scale, permaculture. Change is hard but so is watching our planet be destroyed.
The Gulf of Mexico undersea gusher has already spilled more oil than the Exxon Valdez disaster. Has anyone heard more about the underwater plumes that supposedly exist?
What have we done? While I do not live in the area affected by the Gulf Spill, I am depressed, full of rage and deeply frightened. What future are we leaving our children?
I am so tired of the political bickering. It is time to stop the finger pointing and start taking responsibility. We need to end our reliance on oil, coal and nuclear energy. Yet no politician seems to be talking this way. The politicians are stuck in a system of special-interest money, gotcha politics and biased media.
If people do not begin to act we will have only more of the same from our leaders. Tea partiers – your “drill baby drill” cue card came from the oil industry. But the greedy forces who owned the media, control our food supply, dominate the banking sector and drive America’s politicians awoke a sleeping giant in genuine tea partiers. At America’s core is a self-reliant, can-do spirit to make things better for the next generation.
Why do we need to end our reliance oil, coal and nuclear? Climate change is real. The fact that there is so much confusion on climate change is a sad commentary on the way we currently share information. The clear scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and humans are the primary cause.
Nuclear energy is seen by some as a savior because nuclear energy does not add to climate change. But the lesson glaring to be learned from the gulf oil spill is humility. There is no such thing as a fail safe. It is morally wrong to use nuclear energy when it has hazardous waste lasts for tens of thousands of years.
How do we end our reliance on oil, coal and nuclear? A few oddballs have been lighting the way. A resident on the Minnesota/Canada border uses geothermal to heat his home. It works even on the coldest days. A young farmer family lives off the grid and totally sustainable. Vibrant Amish communities enjoy a simpler, more certain and morally responsible life.
Maybe the transition to a post carbon future can be fun and easy! This does not eliminate hard work. My hands are blistered from digging up a community garden on land owned by a local church. As individuals we need to become hyper-aware of where we are getting our food. Factory farming is wrong.
Politically, I’ve joined the Citizen Climate lobby, which advocates a direct, steadily increasing fee on CO2 with all the revenue returned to every household. Dr. James Hansen calls it the “People’s Climate Stewardship Act.” The fee would start at $15 per ton of CO2 and increase $10-15 a year. Within a decade, green energy would be competitive with coal and oil. At that point, the fee would produce a “carbon dividend” of $1,500 for each person and shield households from the impact of rising energy costs. During a committee hearing last year, Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) said, “I wish we would just talk about a carbon tax, 100 percent of which would be returned to the American people. So there’s no net dollars that would come out of the American people’s pockets.”
There are answers we can agree upon. As we bear witness to the destruction in the gulf, we need the courage to face our pain. Instead of anger, choose action. Grow your own food and buy it from people you know. Conserve energy. Support the People’ Climate Stwardship Act.
The entire situation will be very disastrous for the ocean and for the global market in many altered points. This issue would have been checked originally however everyone once in a while these hazards happen. These companies should be held responsible for this new oil spill.
And the oil just keeps leaking and BP keeps on lying about the progress. Makes me so mad!