Tragedy

According to Sarah Palin, drilling for oil makes our country a "more secure, prosperous, and peaceful nation." Sure. Except for when there are 25,000 barrels of crude oil pouring into the gulf of Mexico every day, slaughtering marine life, threatening 50% of our nation's wetlands, and compromising the livelihoods of countless fishing and coastal communities.

21 years after the infamous Exxon-Valdez oil spill in the northern gulf of Alaska, communities along the coast have yet to fully recover from the total environmental catastrophe that decimated their fishing industry, and left some species of marine life never to recover. In recent years, Alaskan sea otters and harlequin ducks have had traces of Exxon oil in their systems, oil remains a few inches below the surface on certain beaches, and coastal communities have reported increased rates of alcoholism, suicide, and violence. They are still awaiting a full clean-up, and it has been twenty-one years and counting.

Who knows what the effects of this recent spill will look like. But scientists are posturing left and right that this will be the worst oil spill in history, leaving Exxon Valdez to 'pale in comparison.'

Still, lunacy and denial prevail among those who support off-shore drilling. Sarah Palin herself, although claiming to be "heartbroken" over the disaster, noted on her facebook page that "accidents happen." Right. Oops! And never to be topped for the title of #1 moron, Rush Limbaugh is now claiming that the spill might have been triggered by environmentalists... because they wanted to "head off more oil drilling" and insinuated that this was somehow an earth day commemoration. Wow. What a wacko.

This event is a complete and utter environmental tragedy, an economic calamity, and a political minefield. What is truly heartbreaking about it is the lack of significance it has held in conservatives' attitudes toward energy policy. But how can it represent any action other than a full-fledged investment in alternative energies? How many more decimated ecosystems and toppled communities will it take before we learn that offshore drilling is unsustainable? As my friend Adam so wisely put it, we have to "start talking about alternative fuels as future fuels, because in reality, we have no alternative." Drill, baby, drill, is obsolete and irrelevant, and it's time we regarded it as such.

But for the United States to shift gears on offshore drilling policy, it would defer only a fraction of the tragedy that we are experiencing now along our southern gulf coast. Because spills like this happen all the time, with just as much intensity and at a higher frequency, wreaking environmental havoc all around the world. In Nigeria, for example, it is said that a spill equal to the Exxon Valdez spill has happened at least once every year since 1969, and the country is currently dealing with approximately 2,000 active oil spills. Other countries around the world have limited or no regulations on offshore drilling, and this is not just their problem, it is ours. We import approximately two-thirds of our oil supply from other countries, with half of this supply coming from unstable regions. And although the U.S. accounts for only 5% of the world's population, it is responsible for 25% of its oil consumption. So, this is not just an issue of extraction policy, although that is a central piece to achieving sustainability. This is also an issue of consumption and lifestyle in America, and hugely so.

The dangers and consequences of offshore oil drilling have been present for decades, but only now are they becoming real in Americans' minds, as the evidence is being brought right to our doorstep... our shoreline. It is time we reconsider our demand for these unsustainable forms of energy, and react in a way that will ensure no more tragedies like this one will ever happen again. But if we wait for total environmental destruction before we venture to make any changes, then it will certainly be too late.