BP Disaster & Renewable Energy

by JD Langdon

It has now been nearly two months since BP's Deepwater Horizon exploded off the Louisiana coast, costing the lives of 11 platform workers and creating the worst US environmental disaster to date. According to Dr. Ian McDonald, professor of Oceanography at Florida State University, the spill from the sea floor oil gusher, is releasing between 26,500 barrels to 30,000 barrels a day into the ocean (this is between 1,113,000-1,260,000 gallons of oil a day) and thats a fairly conservative estimate. The oil covers an area of 2,500 square miles which is growing by the hour. 

This unprecedented oil disaster has ruined the lives of fisherman who rely on the ocean for healthy seafood to be exported throughout the US. On May 22, The Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board stated that 30 to 40 percent of oyster and blue crab harvesting areas and 20 to 30 percent of fin-fisheries were closed. As of June 2nd, NOAA closed recreational and commercial fishing in affected areas which as of then, was an area of roughly 90,000 square miles. The oil spill has already cost the fishing industry of Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi a total of 2.4 billion dollars which is expected to grow exponentially as more states become affected in the coming months. 


Here is a glimpse of what our fisherman are living with:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4ONM0ed-OI&feature=related 

This horrible disaster has come at a time when our country and its citizens are entering a new energy era, a turning point for how we use energy. A look at the costs BP's oil spill provides us with tangible evidence that this is not the right direction for our, or our children's future. We've passed the point of peak oil. The cost of going farther and deeper are too great. Importing oil from distant regions does not strengthen our energy independence, but rather increases the profits of foreign corporations whose interests lie in corporate greed rather than the welfare of our citizens. 

It's time we started moving in the right direction. Carbon producing fossil fuels need to be reduced with efficiency & clean energy production. Renewable energy such as wind, solar or geothermal will provide safe and efficient solutions to our energy needs. Renewable energy is not only an environmental imperative but an important economical choice. Invest in our, and our children's future. A future which can place the US in a competitive energy position with a country such as China.