Dumb Geniuses and Our Oceans

Day 82 of the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and the disaster is no where close to reaching its death. Approximately, 5 million barrels of oil has spilled into the ocean to-date, at a rate of 60,000 per day. It has surpassed the US daily oil production of 4.95 million barrels. Approximately 0.7 million barrels more and it will exceed the 1991 Persian Gulf oil spill. The figures are staggering. The social and health impacts are heartbreaking. The longterm environmental consequences will be devastating. The perfect Pandora's box.

One of BP's idea for plugging the spill was shooting golf balls, known as the infamous 'Junk Shot', down the well. Are they serious?! This is something my friends would have come up with after having one too many beers. "Wouldn't it be funny to see a million golf balls in the Gulf!" These are supposed to be the smartest people in the world and that's their idea for caping a spill one mile underwater?

The oil spill which was largely seen as an American problem, now has international repercussions. Cuba has already spotted oil masses approximately 100 miles offshore. Somewhere along the line, BP's geniuses forgot that the ocean has currents. If you've ever lost a hat or slippers in the ocean, you'll recognise that the ocean doesn't stay still, and those flip-flops are on their way to the other side of the world by now. If the oil slick approaches closer to Cuba, it has the potential of entering the Caribbean waters, even moving towards coastal lying South American countries. The impact could be much worse as many of these countries are developing states and their economies rely heavily on coastal industries such as fishing and tourism. The political "brotherhood" could be further strained between countries such as Cuba and US.

An undersea spill is much worse than the surface spill of the 1989 Exxon Valdez. This current spill could see the expansion of a seasonal "dead zone" that already sickens the Gulf of Mexico as a result of years of industrial pollutants and agricultural run-off from the Mississippi River. The undersea oil poses a direct threat to marine wildlife and ecosystems. Over 1000 birds, 500 sea turtles and 51 mammals have died in this disaster (these numbers may be conservative), and numerous more affected by the oil soaked ocean. It would be like seeing a dolphin on crack. Not a pretty sight! Beyond all these effects, the oil is also starting to wash up into coastal wetlands already besieged by overdevelopment and pollution.

And where is BP in all this?! Showing corporate responsibility by dishing out over $50 million in advertising. If you ask me, if you were doing the job on the ground and ensuring that you hire people, address claims efficiently and increase the clean-up efforts, there wouldn't be a need for propaganda to highlight your 'good image'. Your image on the ground alone would have enabled you to rise above this. It is unnerving to think that corporations, like BP, control vast social resources while making decisions, affecting millions of lives, based mainly on profits. BP now stands for Born Polluters.

One silver lining to this catastrophe is that it highlights the interconnectedness between our oceans and ourselves. It’s a wake-up call to move to more sustainable renewable energy, and for us all to make the changes necessary in our life to help the blue heart of our planet.