Most fishermen know this: “Get ’em first and get ’em fast, because it ain’t gonna last.” Those were the “good” old days. Unfortunately for them, the oil industry has a similar model. The Gulf oil spill is now the biggest man-made environmental disaster after Chernobyl, and this is only the beginning.
Already, suicidal tendencies have been increasing among fishermen since the spill. These people are not weak. Everyday they have to face the dangers of the ocean to survive, which requires tremendous physical and mental toughness, because it is not everyday they bring fish back home, and some days a fisherman or a boat never comes back home again. Oceans are among the most powerful, unpredictable, and destructive forces on earth, and no ship in the world is unsinkable.
So why is this oil spill beating the morale and patience of these fishermen who are usually known for their courage and resilience? While we don’t know all the reasons, I’m very confident about a couple: one, because it’s scientific, and the other because it made me depressed too.
For a month now, British Petroleum has been dumping millions of gallons of extremely harmful chemicals into the ocean to disperse the oil. This product is banned in the U.K. When fishermen tried to help collect the oil, they started experiencing serious health problems. Whales exposed to this product were found dead with “fried” brains. Anyone living on the Gulf coast is now subject to harmful chemicals for generations. Why is dispersing the oil so important to the point of sacrificing our health and future?
Now here’s the depressing part: There are 16 other similar products that are less harmful and more effective, but BP still refuses to use them (they are slightly more expensive). Greed was also the cause of the oil spill. During backroom deals with oil executives, former Vice President Dick Cheney deregulated the oil industry, including allowing the bypass of a $500,000 piece of safety equipment that would have prevented this disaster, and allowing them to regulate and monitor themselves. Since the Bush administration, oil companies were forced to install this safety measure everywhere in the world except in the U.S. Did I mention BP’s profits (not revenues) for only the first quarter of 2010 exceeded $5 billion?
Other depressing news: We can only clean 5 percent of the spill. BP, Halliburton and two other companies are blaming each other to avoid the big bill. The U.S. government allowed BP to drill at depths without safety plans for oil spills. The oyster and shrimp industries are contaminated for generations. This BP Gulf spill is now six times the size of Exxon Valdez tanker spill, the old record holder, whose oil spill is still being collected today, decades later.
Last week, an airport opened on the coast of Florida to boost tourism. Will it survive the new conditions? Sixty percent of the fish consumed by Americans used to come from the Gulf coast. How will its reduction affect the economy, and how will the chemicals harm consumers? How long will politicians support oil companies at the expense of our health, environment, economy, and national security, even though we have healthier, safer,
sustainable solutions?
The UAE, an oil-producing country, is currently building Masdar City, the first zero-carbon city, running only on solar and wind energy. Why can’t America do the same?
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