Calling Captain Planet

The massive oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico, product of a British Petroleum oil rig explosion, continues to grow in size and danger. Recent estimates put it at roughly the size of Ireland. On Friday, the slick finally made landfall in Louisiana. As if the state hadn't already suffered enough from Katrina, now vital economic functions will be severely hobbled by the massive influx of crude oil, in addition to the incalculable environmental damage that will affect sensitive wetland areas. To top it off, the slick is now moving north towards the Eastern Seaboard. As the days pass, we can expect the wider ramifications of this disaster to become chillingly evident.

If there's one good thing that might possibly result from this growing catastrophe, it would be for President Obama to realize the idiocy of his plans to expand offshore oil drilling. It was already obvious when he made that particular announcement that more drilling was not the solution to the nation's energy problems, but rather a means to placate Big Oil, suck up to conservatives and by extension "punch the hippies", i.e. Obama's political base. I was not surprised to find the media's favourite dim bulb political celebrity, Sarah Palin, driving home the view that, by God, the last thing we should do after such a disaster is stop drilling for oil off the coast. Any politician in the pockets of the energy industry, such as Barack Obama, would say something similar. The Prez made a typically symbolic gesture to hold off on future development until proper safeguards are established, but the Louisiana disaster will not seriously affect his habit of capitulating to corporate interests at every opportunity.

The administration previously failed to create appropriate regulations for BP's operations:

Why BP and the federal government did not take immediate precautions to cordon off the explosion area in the immediate aftermath of the explosion is just one of many questions that have emerged.

It has also been revealed that the Obama administration had buckled before BP and oil industry pressure, failing to implement new safety and environmental regulations under consideration last fall. A BP executive wrote a letter to the administration stating that self-regulation was adequate.

Among the regulations that BP and other oil concerns were able to block was the inclusion on all oil rigs of a device called an acoustic switch—commonly used in other oil-producing nations—that sends impulses through the water that can trigger an underwater valve to shut down the well in the event of a blowback. BP found the costs of these units, about $500,000, excessive.

The oil giant reported $5.598 billion in profits for the first three months of 2010.

It is revealing of the collusion between government and corporate power that both the Obama administration and BP initially denied there was any oil spill at all. Later BP suggested that "only" 1000 barrels a day were being expelled into the coastal waters, until it was forced to admit on Friday that the figure was closer to 5000 barrels, or 210,000 gallons per day. 11 workers were killed in the initial oil rig explosion, but that was only the beginning of the myriad ways in which this "incident" - now likely to surpass the 1989 Exxon-Valdez spill as the biggest oil spill in American history - will affect life in the surrounding area.

While BP and the federal government fumbled in their initial response, the expanding oil slick was wrecking havoc on delicate ecosystems. The coast of Louisiana contains around 40 per cent of American wetlands as well as important spawning grounds for fish and birds. The region is host to hundreds of animal species, and oil that gets into the oyster reefs and fragile grass beds will be almost impossible to remove without destroying those natural areas.

Beyond the catastrophic environmental effects, the slick will have a tremendous effect on the Gulf's economy. As the WSWS reported, the port of New Orleans is the busiest in the United States in terms of freight tonnage. Should the slick block shipping from this port, economic losses would be considerable. In addition, the dramatic effects to the multi-billion dollar coastal fishing and tourism industries will likely lead to increased layoffs and job cuts.

If there is one overriding lesson we should learn from this, it's that drilling for oil in delicate coastal areas is a recipe for disaster and a leap backwards at a time when we should be investing in research and development of sustainable energy for the future. The lack of funding for solar, wind and geothermal energy sources is ludicrous given the scientific consensus behind man-made climate change and the massive potential for environmental degradation inherent not only in dramatic, headline-grabbing events such as the Louisiana oil spill, but in the general extraction and combustion of fossil fuels. Let this be a wake-up call to any pols and industry types who would still deny it: the path to a glorious clean-energy future does not involve further drilling for the dirtiest and most dangerous forms of old energy.