This turtle is an unfortunate casualty of the BP oil leak.
Another day, and yet another news article stating that the end is near for the BP oil leak. Is it just me, or does this sound like a story we’ve heard before? Today’s article in the Washington Post quotes BP executive Bob Dudley as saying “In a perfect world with no interruptions, it’s possible to be ready to stop the well between July 20 and July 27.” This comes after countless other claims that the leak would be plugged in the near future, only to be followed by the disappointment of another failed attempt. To add insult to injury, within the same article a BP spokesperson disputes the claim made by his coworker. Here is an excerpt from the article:
But top BP spokesman Andrew Gowers on Thursday morning sought to temper public expectations, saying the company hasn’t changed its target date of an August completion of the well-killing operation.
“It is true that we are proceeding on exactly the same schedule as before, which means that it is most likely to happen in the first half of August,” Gowers said in an-email. “You will note Bob Dudley’s comment to the Journal that it is theoretically possible but UNLIKELY that it could happen a bit sooner.”
A hermit crab struggles to cross a patch of oil from the the Deepwater Horizon spill on a barrier island near East Grand Terre Island, Louisianna.
I’m not going to waste time and space by recounting the details of this environmental disaster. All one has to do is Google “BP oil spill” and you’ll find more than enough information to make you sick to your stomach, and lose a little bit of faith in humanity. From my perspective, I’m not seeing an “all hands on deck” approach to dealing with this. Why is BP still the one leading the effort? True, they probably know more about their operation than anyone else, but it seems to me there’s room for other oil companies to get involved and at least offer a fresh perspective.
As I think about the situation more, it makes me wonder why the government agencies regulating these practices don’t know the intimate details of the operation. There should be no surprises! Why are we asking for a moratorium on off-shore drilling now instead of months ago if there was a perceived problem? It’s a lot like apologizing and showing remorse only after being caught red-handed. When something goes wrong, the solution should be readily available, or at least close at hand. Regulators should know exactly what to do when situations like this arise. Instead, my impression is they’re throwing up a bunch of Hail Mary’s and hoping one of them works eventually. In the meantime, an entire ecosystem is being destroyed, with animal and human life suffering the consequences. It makes me sad and angry at the same time, as I’m sure it does most of you.
An oil soaked pelican takes flight after Louisiana Fish and Wildlife employees tried to corral him on an island in Barataria Bay just inside the the coast of Louisiana, Sunday, May 23, 2010. The island, which is home to hundreds of brown pelican nests as well at terns, gulls and roseate spoonbills, is impacted by oil from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill.
We need to produce energy sources to power the world. I’ll never argue against that. However, these operations need to be strictly regulated to the smallest of details. I don’t want to hear about lack of government funding to hire inspectors or the difficulty on industry to employ expensive devices that would help reduce the chances of something like this happening. I don’t care what it costs because we all end up paying for it in the long run, just as we are now. I don’t think BP, or other energy producers willingly destroy the environment in the name of saving a buck, but they must understand that taking shortcuts will eventually lead to a crippling catastrophe like we face now. To add insult to injury, millions of plants and animals are dying every day, paying for our lack of vigilance, and commitment to doing the right thing.
I wonder about the impacts of natural gas drilling on our natural resources, particularly the Marcellus Shale play. While I don’t think any of the drilling or gas companies would intentionally do something to harm the environment, the very nature of the work provides the potential for problems. Drilling and gas production is necessary, but so is close regulation of these activities. My fear is that because my home state of Pennsylvania was once again forced to make deep budget cuts, there won’t be the attention to detail necessary to regulate this booming industry. Maybe we can all learn something from the BP oil leak and business and government (regulatory agencies) can work closely together so that we can all make a few bucks, while doing as little harm to our natural resources as possible. With a little patience and cooperation, there’s no reason we can’t make that happen.
