Gulf Oil Disaster - Time to Demand Solutions and Cleaner Energy Policy

Gulf Oil Disaster – Time to Demand Solutions and Cleaner Energy Policy.

Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster 2010 Photo: oilism.com

(WASHINGTON D.C.) - Thursday, May 20, will mark one month since BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers. It sank two days later in a mile of water in the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, more than 6 million gallons of crude oil - probably much more - have gushed into the ocean, poisoning marine life and threatening hundreds of miles of coastal waters, beaches and estuaries from the mouth of the Mississippi to the Florida Keys.

A month after the disaster, there are more questions than answers.

What caused the blowout? Why can't it be stopped? Why wasn't BP required to have a fail-safe system for shutting off the oil in the event of a malfunction, or, at least, a plan for plugging the well should things go so horribly awry? How much oil is leaking? Where is it going? Where will it come to shore? What, exactly, does it mean to have plumes of oil the size of Manhattan marauding unchecked through the open sea? What are chemical dispersants doing to the ocean? And will this be the wake-up call that finally gets the Senate to act on the comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation we need to break our addiction to oil, put Americans back to work on the green technologies of tomorrow and reduce the carbon pollution that threatens us all

Consider the following points:

The Gulf oil spill isn't just an accident. It's the result of a failed energy policy. We need a national energy strategy that moves us away from our dangerous dependence on oil and toward a mix of sustainable and renewable power and fuel. We need the Senate to pass comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation to put us on that path.

Here is what it looks like: fresh video from the BP oil spill

We need to get serious about the best way to produce the oil we use. Expanding offshore drilling could increase U.S. production by less than 300,000 barrels a day by 2030, according to the American Petroleum Institute, which represents the oil companies. We could get ten times that amount - 3 million barrels a day - by using carbon dioxide captured from power plant emissions to force out oil stranded in existing domestic wells, according to a March report by Advanced Resources International, of Arlington, Va. And a February analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency shows how we can reduce oil consumption overall by 7 million barrels per day. These are the kinds of technologies and fuel efficiency gains we need to promote in clean energy and climate legislation.

This blow out is gushing 1,000 gallons of crude oil into the ocean every seven minutes, according to BP. The actual volume could easily be several times that amount because we've been told it's releasing 210,000 gallons of oil per day and scientists now say that estimate is low. The federal government needs to conduct the research and gather the data needed to provide the public with a credible estimate of the flow rate. And we must devote all available resources to the urgent task of stopping the gusher now.

It is threatening marine life and habitat in a region that accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. production of shrimp and oysters, as well as hundreds of millions of pounds each year of red snapper, grouper, bluefin tuna and other fish. We must spare no expense in protecting wildlife and habitat as much as possible and mitigating the damage we can't prevent.

Tens of thousands of Gulf Coast families depend on this bounty for their livelihood. Still reeling from the trauma of Hurricane Katrina five years ago, these people need to know the American people will stand by them through this time of trial. This means, first and foremost, assurances that they will be made whole for damage and loss, and that those responsible for the harm will pick up the tab. That means Congress should immediately act on the liability limit under the Oil Pollution Act. The current limit of $75 million per incident should be raised to $10 billion to ensure recovery of damages from a spill of this magnitude. We also need to ensure that workers cleaning up the spill – many of them watermen – are properly equipped, trained and protected against the toxic effects of the oil.

We need an independent commission, as the White House is reportedly considering, to investigate the causes of the blow-out and determine what we must do to prevent anything like this from ever happening again. Where reforms are needed, they must be effective. Where safeguards are weak, they must be strengthened. And where enforcement is lacking, it must be bolstered.

We cannot embark on new offshore drilling until these questions are answered and sound measures are taken to prevent another catastrophic spill.

Finally, the application of more than 500,000 gallons of chemical dispersants, and the untested use of these chemicals in deep water, is unprecedented and amounts to a giant experiment in our oceans. The federal government owes the public a full explanation as to why these chemical dispersants are being used as they are, what impact these chemicals have on marine life and upon what criteria the decision was made to allow their use in this volume and way.