The greater the risk, the greater the profit. As the mantra goes, those who take risks often yield larger payoffs, except when the risks become reality. On April 20, 2010, the BPoil spill proved that the consequences of offshore drilling far outweigh the possible benefits. Yet even as America witnesses firsthand the catastrophic consequences of the worst oil spill in history, the risk taking soars. More sophisticated oil rigs continue to operate unregulated in the Gulf Coast and with higher sophistication comes heightened danger. The United States government must take responsibility for the Gulf Coast oil disaster and hold those involved fully accountable. Future drilling projects must also be halted until an unbiased investigation of the BP spill is concluded and regulations are put in place to prevent future disasters.
America cannot afford to see history repeat itself. The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico wreaked havoc on marine life and coastal waters, severely damaging the Gulf's tourism and fishing industries. After the drilling rig on the Deepwater Horizon mobile platform exploded, killing eleven workers, an oil leak was found in the damaged well-head. The tragedy continued, played across airwaves and on newspaper pages for four months as attempt after attempt to stop the leak failed. By the time the leak was temporarily halted in mid-July by an experimental cap, 4.9 millions of barrels of crude oil had leaked into the Gulf of Mexico.
Despite the fallout from the Gulf disaster, drilling continues that is riskier than ever. Another oil platform owned by Mariner Energy exploded Sept. 2 in the Gulf of Mexico, demonstrating that offshore drilling is not as fail-safe as the oil industry would have the public believe. Luckily, this time there were no fatalities and the rig's production wells were reportedly shut off during the time of the explosion, with no apparent sign of oil leakage. While luck might have saved the United States from another historic disaster, we cannot hope to be so lucky in the future. Hundreds of miles offshore, even more hazardous projects continue with no means or regulations to prevent future catastrophes. In the Gulf, a $3 billion oil rig known as the Perdido, that drills deeper and is more sophisticated than the Deepwater Horizon, looks for new wells far below the ocean's surface. The Perdido is the world's deepest offshore drilling platform and can simultaneously pump oil while drilling for new wells. It is highly sophisticated and remote, making management of disaster near to impossible. The Perdido sits over 20 hours away by boat and its advanced technologies make potential problems even more dangerous. Many other platforms just like it also populate the deep waters of the Gulf. These projects continue without concrete answers from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. As technology advances, risk management remains and the government's ability to respond falters.
The oil industry claims their new drilling technologies are safe, but Deepwater Horizon proves otherwise. The BP oil spill demonstrated that the oil industry lacks the tools necessary to immediately halt oil flow on their increasingly high tech drilling rigs. Moreover, the U.S. government also lacks the technology to stop future oil disasters. This was evident when the Obama administration relied on BP to fix the leakage. What other choice was there? Even while facing criminal charges, BP was far more advanced in expertise to solve the oil leak than our own government. Rather than relying on private companies and foreign nations, the Obama Administration must see to it that the United States develops tools to deal with drilling off her shores.
Furthermore, riskier projects such as the Perdido must be halted. May 28, the Obama administration issued a new six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico in order to determine the causes for the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The moratorium was quickly reversed by a federal appeals court June 22 after a lawsuit was filed June 17 by members of the oil industry. The federal district court cited a lack of clear evidence supporting the moratorium as the reason for the reversal and the oil industry's claim that the government moratorium would harm the industry economy. The Obama administration must make all efforts to implement stricter regulations and stand firm against future offshore drilling. The government must take power back from private companies and regain the expertise to manage the industry it allows to operate in its coastal waters.
Despite what Americans have witnessed over the course of the last four months, the U.S. government and some scientists prefer to quell fears rather than seek action. In early August, the research journal Science released findings that a newly discovered species of oil-eating bacteria prevalent throughout the Gulf of Mexico may be helping to clean up a good portion of the 205.8 million gallons of crude oil
Read More
PARTING SHOT: No man is an island
By Ava MacBlane | 3 days agoRetirement, as you can tell, has been treating me well. When people ask me now if I miss it, I laugh and tell them some things I definitely don't miss. But I don't always get to tell them about the things I really do miss.
PARTING SHOT: You never know unless you try
By Lexi Baker | 4 days agoMy time at the University was shaped by the people who showed me grace and kindness and by those who had confidence in me, even when I struggled to have it in myself.
PARTING SHOT: A love letter to Cav Daily and Connection
By Ava Proehl | 4 days agoMy time here taught me to look for the genuine, human connection in every moment.
