Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and the Politics at Play - Essay Example

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and the Politics at Play Eleven years ago, a hurricane swept through the coast of Louisiana leaving a massive devastation in its wake, one of them, several damaged underwater oilrigs, which were then BP’s management. To date, the damaged rigs continue to spew oil into the ocean, posing danger to the environment, and more specificallyto the ocean life. However, what is even more confounding is the fact that the government continues to play politics with this issue, continually lying to the public that the spillage is at a level that is not very harmful, and that very soon the spillage will be contained.Pertinent question that linger in the minds of many include what it will take the government to avail actual information concerning this spillage, the extent of environmental damage so far incurred, as well as the nature of plans in place to contain this mess. One point to note is that the month of June always marks the onset of hurricanes, what will happen to other oilrigs that are still operational if a hurricane much bigger than the one that caused this mess visits the Gulf again.Is Obama administration willing to take action, or better still, provide information on the level of environmental damage this spill has caused in the Gulf of Mexico? Given that Taylor Energy Company, the company whose rigs were shuttered by the hurricane, part of which were affected during the explosion and sinking of Deepwater Horizon is currently facing a court case over the same, when should the public expect real action in the form of stopping the spillage and cleaning the area? Pertinent inconclusive questions, one might say, and truly, they are. The magnitude of the effect of this continuous spillage is immense. As documented in Oceana (2015), oil contamination from offshore drills poses great danger to marine life and the surrounding communities, and contributes to climate change as well. The US government has notably been at the forefront in the fight against climate change. The irony though, is that while informative speeches are delivered on climate change and pollution by the greatest powers in the world, the Gulf of Mexico is being suffocated with oil spillage that was triggered 11 years ago.A recent development concerning this matter was when Bill Nelson, a US senator, made an official inquiry of the government to avail information and photos on the level of damage. The Senator called for an urgent action on the matter, a key pointer that the government is not only reluctant to provide such information, but also that there is a political conspiracy to shield such information from the public. The Associated Press recently published an article on the same, in which they indicated an estimated rate of flow of oil from these Taylor wells at 20 times higher than what previous estimates indicated. In an attempt to estimate the impact of this oil spill, Rice (2015) observes that there is a significant decrease in the number of sperm whales seen in this area, which implies that there is no food within this area for the whales to feed on, hence their disappearance. The truth is that this phenomenon points to the fact that the ecosystem within this area is slowly disappearing, and the few whales often seen are just on a hunting spree. The core of this issue is that while the government seems to be passive about tackling this issue, a great chunk of marine life is under threat at the Gulf of Mexico. My concern, as an environmentalist, is not only directed to the ocean life, but to the health of the people whose lives depend on fishing from the water around this place. The economic effects of this pollution are immense. While cleaning this mess would have been cheaper and easier say 10 years ago, the water expanse covered by this spilled oil this far is big, and the value of oil lost to date is also much, yet cleaning it and blocking the rigs at this point will cost the taxpayer a lot more. Additionally, the studies and results available so far on the effects of this oil spillage is still a fragment of the actual impact. Complete details about the level of environmental degradation may never get to the public very soon, and the long-term effects on the health of the Gulf are still a mystery. Other studies suggest that much of this information is being kept away from the public since the same will be used to evaluate the amount in compensation BP will have to pay to the government. To address this issue, the government, even as the court case is underway, should mobilize funds for the cleanup of this mess, and stop the damaged wells from spewing more oil into the ocean. It is advisable that the government uses such cleaning methods as introduction of biological agents to the spill to hasten biodegradation. The agents, usually bacteria, will breakdown the oil into substances that are not harmful, such as carbon dioxide. However, before introducing these biological agents, the government must first ensure that the Taylor wells do not continue releasing oil into the water, and the only way to do this is to seal the wells or tap the flowing oil. Furthermore, the government can advance this cleaning course even without waiting for the compensation for the damage from BP. With the ‘polluter pays principle’ as set down by the International Law Commission, BP Company is liable for any costs incurred in the cleaning process, as well as compensation for environmental harm caused by the spillage (Owen, 2007). The government should therefore willingly take this matter to be of national interest, and direct all its resources towards reversing to normalcy in this area. The issue of handling the oil spill at the Gulf of Mexico has been around for 11 years. Unfortunately, this duration has been marked by what the public view as the zenith of complacency and irresponsibilityfrom the side of the government. Political accusations and counter-accusations, shrewd withholding of information, as well as vacillating court proceeding have been characteristic of handling of this catastrophe. As we approach another season of hurricanes, my hope is that such a terrible accident will not happen again, even as the government drags its feet in solving this problem. Works Cited Owen,McIntyre. 2007. Environmental protection of international watercourses under international law. Aldershot, England: Ashgate. Oceana. Addressing ocean pollution and climate change. Protecting the world’s oceans. Retrieved from http://oceana.org/our-campaigns/stop_ocean_pollution/campaign Rice, Harvey. (2015). BP spill reduced Gulf marine life. The New York Times. Print. Retrieved from http://www.adn.com/article/20150217/studies-bp-spill-reduced-gulf-marine-life Read More