Sickened by the Spill

Anyone who knows me also knows that I have been deeply affected by the BP oil spill in the Gulf.  I am angry, bewildered, frustrated...on so many levels... for so many reasons that I have put off  writing about it for nearly a month.  I am no closer to being able to wrap my brain around this tragedy than I was in the beginning, but I am blogging on because I am hoping it will at least help me think it through.

On April 20, 2010, an explosion and fire aboard the BP oil drilling platform, Deep Horizon, killed eleven workers.  It also resulted in a massive oil spill that continues to pump thousands of barrels of oil into the Gulf daily.  I say thousands because noone seems to be able to estimate, with any degree of accuracy, the daily volume of spilled oil. BP now states that they are capturing 3000 barrels daily, but there is no estimate as to how much continues to spew forth.

Beyond the tragic loss of human life, the BP disaster will have far reaching consequences for the ecosystem along the U.S. Gulf Coast and it has already impacted residents who depend on a healthy Gulf of Mexico to support both fisheries and tourism. There are so many restrictions on fisheries at present, I couldn't begin to list them all...and despite reports of "clean beaches" tourism is down...so BP has now reportedly given 70 million dollars to the Gulf states to air commercials the company made to promote tourism.  It all makes me sick.

Today, I watched as BP CEO Tony Hayward had the nerve to tell the world that the environmental impact of the Deepwater Disaster would be "very, very, modest." Yeah, maybe in the U.K. The truth is he doesn't know, and I don't know, and I'd guess that most of the experts don't even know... yet. It could take decades for a full assessment...will we watch the marine food web unravel in the Gulf? Will it stop there? How far will the oil travel? Around the Florida Keys? Will there be gaps in spawning cycles? What about migratory birds? What about the loss of marine life we can't see? Oh, the questions are endless, and relentless...and by the time we might be able to see changes in numbers of endangered species, will it be blamed on something else? Endless, and relentless until my brain just wants to explode.

And then there is the BP Atlantis platform.  Just as dangerous, and again, without the acoustic control shut-off system...and that isn't all BP's fault. We don't require them...not part of the rules for off-shore drilling. Our rules are in part to blame. Brazil and Norway have safer rules. 

Our whole energy policy stinks.  We talk about clean energy, but it is just talk.  Instead of pushing through clean energy solutions, the President I've supported ushered in a new wave of off-shore drilling exploration just before the Deepwater incident. Bad timing clearly. I am angry. We are too dependant on fossil fuels. We are all to blame. My car gets good gas mileage, but I drive it too much. I haven't finished the glassing/insulating of my south facing back porch which could have provided some solar heat last winter. I am mad at me.

I have a whole list of idiots whose pictures I'd like to throw darts at: Tony Hayward (BP CEO already mentioned), Rush Limbaugh (for even suggesting that the Sierra Club should pay the clean-up tab), Lisa Murkowski (yet another Alaskan idiot, for derailing the move to increase fines for wreaking environmental havoc)...and yeah, I'm not real happy with my guy in the White House because I need him to take a stronger stand. If ever there was a time to cement a new sense of environmental obligation...this is it.

And then there is my beautiful Chesapeake, my home, my peace, my place like no other...and the thought of drilling off the Maryland/Virginia coast just scares me...and I am hoping those plans will not proceed, but they are far from being tabled...so stand up, my friends, and make your voices count. We could be next.

Angry. Angry and wanting something good to arise from the anger...So, I will complete the porch project, and when I finish paying off the Matrix, the next one will be a hybrid.  And I will have to make better lists so I don't have to drive to the same place twice. And I will keep signing petitions, and writing to our legislators about the need for clean energy, and about ending off-shore drilling.  We must fully understand the consequences of our mistakes...we can't continue to put our oceans and our planet at risk.