Published by Kerry on 06 May 2010 at 03:48 pm
The Gulf oil spill’s devastating fallout, and what you can do
 |
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill off the Gulf of Mexico is expected to surpass the Exxon-Valdez spill (1989) and ultimately become one of the largest manmade environmental disasters in history. Understandably, it has caused a stir of media attention. Below, read about the disaster’s serious impact and steps you can take to make a difference. |
What Happened
On April 21 an explosion on an offshore drilling rig started a fire that injured 17 workers and killed 11 others. Since then a reported 5,000-25,000 barrels of oil per day have been discharging from the associated undersea oil well.
Efforts are underway by British Petroleum (BP), the rigs owners, in coordination with the U. S. Coast Guard, NOAA, US military, other Federal government resources, and nonprofit organizations to stop the discharge and mitigate the effects of the existing spill. They are hindered by wind, waves and faulty equipment that was designed to contain the oil.
Impacts
If you have any doubts about the gravity of the situation, consider that this spill happens in the worst possible season, in the worst possible spot for Louisiana’s wetlands, which make up 40% of the wetlands in the US. This is not to mention the fisher communities on the Gulf affected by the disaster. Also consider that current predictions of the oil’s spread exceed the previous worst case scenario estimate. Reports indicate that the oil has just come ashore on Freemason Island. Further note that BP has bought up a third of the world‘s oil dispersants, suspected themselves to be toxic, to attempt to break up the spill, which could have lasting health effects to sealife and consumers of seafood for decades to come. Alaska is still feeling the effects of the Exxon-Valdez spill 21 years later.
How to help
Since the disaster, nonprofits and journalists alike have compiled numerous ways for individuals to lend a hand in combating the damage. Here are just a few of the ways we’ve seen to take action:
The Huffington Post, in collaboration with CrisisWiki, has a great collection of nonprofits to donate to. Here are just a few of the organizations helping out in the area and deserving of your support:
- Matter of Trust: donate funds, and/or donate hair or pet fur to use in absorbent mats for soaking up oil
- Alabama Coastal Foundation
- National Wildlife Federation
- The International Bird Rescue Research Center
- Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research
- Global Green
- National Audubon Society
Oil spill photo by Coast Guard Petty Officer Jesse Kavanaugh
Help At the Source: Volunteering
Some organizations that are asking for help on the scene include:
- Oil Spill Volunteers.Com (a hub connecting volunteers to organizations)
- Volunteer Florida
- National Wildlife Federation
- Alabama Coastal Foundation
- National Audubon Society
- Global Green
If you are not already close to the site, it is recommended that you do not travel to volunteer, and instead donate to existing efforts! If you want to participate in cleanup, be mindful of your health, participate in a training on hazardous materials, and use protection. Inhaling oil fumes is very harmful and can cause respiratory problems, central nervous system problems and even genetic damage.
Speak Your Mind
It’s worth mentioning that despite the best efforts of many to clean up, the magnitude of the damage has been and continues to be done. (An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. See this chilling analysis by a 20-year Coast Guard veteran.) It’s easy to jump from disaster to disaster while making the same mistakes. Note that this is not the first time BP has played hard and fast with its safety measures to cut costs.
We suggest speaking up now to prevent current damaging policies, so another disaster won’t make us pay later:
- Tell the U.S. Congress and the President that this is not the time to expand drilling in other sensitive regions or to pursue further offshore drilling.
- Support increased regulations for equipment on rigs: tell your local senator or representative to contact the Mineral Management Services [MMS] to enforce its proposed rules around hazard analysis, mechanical integrity, documentation, operation procedures, and management of change.
- Support better health protections for workers and volunteers helping to clean up, to prevent the health problems seen in the Exxon-Valdez cleanup and others. Participate in stakeholder meetings for OSHA.
- Call for a comprehensive climate change bill that does not include offshore drilling.
- Demand serious investigations into the practices of BP and a lifting of the cap on clean-up expenses. As well, protest the writing off of these cleanup costs in their taxes.
US oil production peaked in 1970 and there is no way we can reduce our dependence on foreign oil supplies significantly through offshore drilling. Above all, we must support a vast reduction in oil use through conservation measures and alternative fuels.
Our thoughts are with the Gulf communities and all regions affected by this disaster.
| If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader. |
Print Friendly
Tags: energy, environment
7 Responses to “The Gulf oil spill’s devastating fallout, and what you can do”
Leave a Reply |
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by nptechblogs, Social Actions, changefeed, Angus Parker, KimberleeRiley and others. KimberleeRiley said: RT The Gulf oil spill’s devastating fallout, and what you can do http://bit.ly/aKnTJL (via @wiserearth) (via @nptechblogs) [...]
Some body please help me to understend. Is the NGO helping Haiti or Haiti helping them ???????
CBS investigated 5 major charities: CARE, the American Red Cross, Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, and the Clinton Foundation Haiti Fund. Of these:
Only the Clinton-Bush fund and Clinton Foundation refused to answer our questions, despite repeated e-mails and phone calls. Their websites say they’ve received $52 million in donor dollars, and have spent only about $7 million: less than one-seventh.
The Red Cross has raised $444 million and spent about 25 percent ($111 million) of it, including $55 million for “emergency relief,” such as food and kitchen items, and $42.9 million for shelter including tarps, tents and blankets.
CARE has raised $34.4 million and spent about 16 percent ($5.75 million), $2.5 million of that on “shelter.”
And at Catholic Relief Services: of $165 million committed to Haiti, it spent no more than 8 percent ($12.2 million), including $2.5 million on food $1.28 million on emergency shelter.
we are 24 miles from the capital we need money to help the peasant grow more vegetable, beans, corn they don t give grant for those project whereeeeee isssssss the people moneyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
@CGID: My understanding is that while significant funding has been raised it will be spent over a longer time frame. Inevitably in there kinds of disasters, money is raised during the first couple of months and then the general public forgets and stops contributing. It is then that the funding balances will be spent down. In addition, the logistical situation on the ground is complex and it may be hard to spend the money because it’s hard to get supplies into the country etc.
Kerry,
Nicely written; I like the positive emphasis.
How are we learning from this disaster? There are thousands of rigs out there; they are unlikely to go away. Who’s taking notes assure that the lessons learned will be used to reduce the odds of future accidents and to make disaster response more efficient?
Time for an update?
Maniel
Maniel,
Thanks for your comment.
I agree that oil spills are a major problem which will not go away quickly. I do address much of what you mention in the last section, “Speak Your Mind.” Not enough emphasis is being placed on holding corporations accountable for spills, and they are more likely to cut costs on safety measures when no institution enforces regulations firmly.
Prevention is the best remedy. I would recommend keeping a close watch on the Minerals Management Services, as they had oversight over this and are sure to have influence on future spills (or, hopefully, lack thereof). As well, demand steeper penalties for corporations. Supporting alternative energy is a big picture preventative strategy.
Sadly, once the oil has been spilled, spills take months or years to clean up, even with the most advanced methods. In some cases, remediation can be just as, if not more harmful than the spill, such as in this example. Hopefully, corporation heads, politicians, government officials, researchers, and other individuals are taking notes.
Good to do prevention at the end of oil pipes. Also necessary to do prevention at the ‘front of pipe’ (high energy dependence and low respect for nature). Odd how these get omitted from all the spill-reporting.
[...] you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed to have future articles delivered to your feed [...]