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Oil Spill of National Significance

This morning, as I scanned the local papers, I was stunned to find that only the New York Times’ front cover mentioned the story of ‘National Significance’: The Gulf of Mexico oil spill, which began last Tuesday (April 20, 2010) as a result of an explosion of a 50 mile off-shore drilling rig owned by BP and is still spilling current to this post’s composition, is indeed of great importance.

Janet Napolitano’s Declaration

Head of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano declared that this spill is of ‘National Significance’. To offer reference: Exxon Valdez in 1989 spilled about 11 million gallons in Prince William Sound; this current spill, in the Gulf of Mexico, is estimated to reach 4.2 million gallons. Unfortunately, I bet it is likely to be considerably more than 4.2 million gallons.

Environmental & Aquacultural Tragedy

This national, environmental tragedy is likely to affect countless sensitive aquatic species of plants and animals alike. Further, many fishermen and shrimpers (and many more) are likely to be adversely affected by this spill. Prince William Sound, after 20 years, has still not fully recovered from the Exxon Valdez spill. The spill is expected to make land tomorrow, Friday (April 30, 2010), and possibly affect up to 3 – 5 of the gulf states by the time the spill is sealed.

Oil Giant is Out of its Depth

BP cannot even manage what’s taken place, and now the government has to step in. (Even the Louisana Governor, who, in scorn, audaciously declined federal aid when President Obama signed the Economic Stimulus Bill, is crying for federal help.) Statements assert that it may take a few months (!) to seal the leak which is spewing an estimated 5,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

It’s going to take a while before affordable clean energy is readily available: but the consequences of this spill will take a long time to assess, let alone, to remedy.

What Can You Do?

Though sometimes difficult, the good news is we always have a choice! So, what can you do? For starters:

• Avoid getting down or becoming apathetic,
• But, do get motivated and become informed.
• Do not support off-shore drilling,
• Or, believe the lies stating that new methods make off-shore drilling safe.
• Use your voting & purchasing powers to support renewable fuel sources.

–Vivekan

Source cited: Msnbc.com news service

This entry was posted on Thursday, April 29th, 2010 at 4:12 pm and is filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.