5 Ways to Help the Oil Spill Cleanup Effort
Since the British Petroleum (BP) well erupted at the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig on April 20th, roughly 800,000 gallons of oil has been spilling into the Gulf of Mexico on a daily basis. While BP has been making limited progress in slowing the leak, they have estimated that the well will not be capped until August, at the earliest. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen has now estimated that the disaster cleanup could take years, but we can only speculate on the long-term damage to the sensitive Gulf marshes and the likely collapse of the local marine population. Rest assured we will be feeling the reverberations of this catastrophe for decades to come. One just has to look at the environmental and social impact on the Prince William Sound area 20 years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill to get a glimpse of the exponential future repercussions of the worst oil spill in United States history.
If you are like me and have been following BP’s self-inflicted soap opera over the past 49 days, you are frustrated and angry. You are frustrated over BP’s risky business practices and their inability to plan for the potential consequences of such behavior (hastily strung together stoppage techniques like “The Box” and “Top Kill” do not count as a disaster plan). Surely you are also frustrated over the widespread corruption and incompetence at the Minerals Management Service, which is supposed to act on behalf of the American people and is “responsible for inspection and oversight of energy companies to ensure they are following the law and protecting the safety of their workers and the environment.” Unfortunately, having a good mission statement doesn’t stop oil spill disasters. And finally, if you are like me, you feel angry at your inability to make any meaningful impact on this disaster. Fortunately, both you and I would be wrong to think we are completely helpless. Continue reading
