Gulf oil spill gives us an opportunity to do things differently

The BP oil spill has been on the minds of the Gulf Coast residents for the past three months. As of press time, the spill seems to be contained. However, our livelihood, our way of life and our culture have been threatened by this disaster and the future does not look very bright for those in the fishing and petroleum-related industries.

A video of MSNBC host Rachel Maddow’s May 26 broadcast (www.wimp.com/oilspills) compares the present oil spill with the Mexican oil company Pemex’s scramble to shut down an oilrig known as Ixtoc. Approximately 30,000 barrels per day were discharged into the Gulf from June 25, 1979, until it was finally capped March 23, 1980 – 10 months later.

The gusher kept flowing, despite attempts to lower a “cone” or “sombrero” onto it. BP has changed the name to “top hat” but it did not initially work either. Officials tried to inject the gusher with drilling mud and fire metal orbs, but that did not work either. BP called its efforts “junk shots.”

In the case of the Ixtoc oilrig, after months and month of oil spray, relief wells succeeded in relieving the pressure, giving conventional methods the leverage to seal the gusher.

If this sounds familiar, well it should. Maddow added, “The stuff that didn’t work back then is the same stuff that hasn’t worked now; same busted blowout preventer, same ineffective booms, same underwater plumes, same toxic dispersant, same failed containment domes, same junk shot, same top kill. It’s all the same technology. The Ixtoc well, which couldn’t be plugged for nine months, was in 200 feet of water. Now, in 2010, we’re using the same techniques to try to plug a well that is leaking in 5,000 feet of water.”

Maddow goes on to evaluate the oil industries’ technological advancements. She says, “What they’ve gotten technologically advanced at is drilling deeper. They haven’t gotten any more technologically advanced on how to deal with the risks attached to that. They haven’t made any technological advances in the last 30 years when it comes to stopping a leak like this when it happens.”

So, what should we learn from this disaster?

Lesson 1: Greed is evil. The companies could have prevented this oil spill if the parties had taken their time and not tried to “make more money” by hurrying up. “Drill, baby drill” needs to be accompanied by proper restrictions that protect all of God’s creation. The richest industry in the world needs to know that the “bottom line” is more than making money.

Lesson 2: Economic concerns should not always trump human and environmental concerns. Sometimes we have “sold our souls to the company store.” We have done that with the oil industry. We have looked the other way and allowed our marshes to be destroyed in the name of jobs and other benefits.

Lesson 3: The southern part of Louisiana needs to develop diverse kinds of industries. We are too dependent on petroleum related industries for a quick fix and have suffered greatly in human lives, our wetlands, our seafood, and our livelihoods. Also we as a nation must find other sources of energies that do not pollute. Green is good.

Lesson 4: We have to hold the oil companies accountable. As the Maddow broadcast pointed out, we have advanced dramatically in our technology regarding our ability to drill for oil. However, we have not made much progress regarding our being able to stop an oil spill. We all know that the oil companies have made big contributions to reelection campaigns. The oil company executives do not “own” our senators and representatives. Congressional representatives work for the people. We have to hold them accountable.

We have an opportunity to make a significant change for the better. Let’s do it.