BP Oil Spill and Our Energy Choices

On April 20, 2010, two days shy of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, an offshore oil rig exploded off the Louisianna coast, killing 11 workers on site and erupting thousands to millions of gallons of oil into the tender Gulf waters. The severity of the incident and its consequences raise a number of questions about our energy choices.


Could the explosion have been avoided? Yes, it could. Starting in July 2007, the US Department of Interior (DOI) had data featuring a history of accidents, fires and even deaths at offshore drilling sites. http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/gulf-oil-spill See, for example, DOI's performance data and analysis 2007. http://www.doi.gov/pfm/par/par2007/par07_2c_resource_use.pdf (scroll to "composite accident severity ratio," p. 135). One must question whether BP used the best available technology, and whether DOI's offshore oil drilling regulations were sufficiently stringent in light of data it had on previous accidents, fires and deaths.

Could the offshore drilling itself have been avoided? Yes, it could. The US is a country known as much for its affluence as for its ability to devise innovative solutions. What is so crazy about the energy questions the US faces at this juncture is that the most obvious solution is also the simplest. Energy efficiency.

This point is appreciated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which recently formed a Climate Change Work Group to take a closer look at greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions under the Clean Air Act. In a recent presentation to the EPA, the Climate Change Work Group underscored the importance of one particular best practice: energy efficiency. http://www.epa.gov/air/caaac/climate/2010_02_PresentationtoCAAAC.pdf (see recommendations on last page of presentation)

As a result of the drilling, and the explosion and massive leakage of oil into the Gulf waters, wildlife, human health and livelihoods are at risk. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/28/us/20100428-spill-map.html Even in this week's issue of The Economist magazine, the bottom-line focused editorial team steps outside its usual business focus to detail the environmental distress: "Dead jellyfish and turtles are now washing up on the beaches, and fish are suffocating. When the oil starts to wash up in quantity, the greatest environmental threat will be to the Louisiana Wetlands." http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=16059982

So long as we can still do more to increase energy efficiency, we can and should resist drilling in areas vital to wildlife and human life. Examples of other energy choices are abundant. Consider, for example, this suggestion from the non-profit organization Environmental Working Group: "The best way to control energy prices and foreign dependence is by reducing demand with immediate, major and mandatory investments in conservation measures such as mass transit, higher mileage cars, improved building codes, tougher efficiency standards for appliances and lighting, and through the promotion and development of available alternative energy sources like solar and wind." http://www.ewg.org/reports/comingupdry (scroll to article, "Despite Increased Drilling in the West, Gasoline and Natural Gas Prices Have Soared").

Two days shy of Earth Day 2010, this event should raise serious concern about our energy choices: our individual choices, as well as the choices we condone through our elected representatives.

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For more information on the spill and to track day to day developments, see the NY Times' interactive map. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/04/28/us/20100428-spill-map.html Greenpeace also offers historical and contemporary coverage from the perspective of our environment. http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/news/gulf-oil-spill Information on one part of the US government response can be found on the first page of the Department of Interior website. http://www.doi.gov/