Anniversaries of oil spills come and go, but do we learn from them?
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By Lois Norrgard
It is one year since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 men and sending 205 million gallons of oil into the Gulf ecosystem. Today, oil and dead animals continue to wash ashore. This morning, in conjunction with similar events happening across the Gulf Coast, concerned Minnesotans are holding a sunrise vigil to remember the lives lost and to spotlight the continued environmental and community recovery needs in the Gulf.
According to new studies, this spill may have killed up to 50 times more whales and dolphins than previously reported. Several scientific voyages into the Gulf have revealed troubling evidence of ecological damage on the sea floor and dead deep-sea corals near the wellhead. Countless seabirds were killed, and the health effects to the local residents and those who helped with cleanup are not fully known. The take-home message is still that no one really knows what the spill's long-term effects will be.
Last month, we marked the anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska. Eleven million gallons of oil spilled 22 years ago, and the local economy still hasn't recovered. Oil residue can still be found just beneath the rocks along the coast. These two disasters and many others like them continually remind us that drilling is a dirty and dangerous business.
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Despite all this, it seems like nothing has changed. Right now, Shell Oil is charging forward with proposed drilling in America's Arctic Ocean. Its plan to clean up an oil spill in the Arctic's icy, remote, extreme conditions? The same failed technology that was used in the Gulf.
The Arctic's rich marine environment is the least understood area in the world and it is already being ravaged by the impacts of climate change. An oil spill would devastate its already stressed environment. There is a lack of basic science - from simple species counts of marine mammals, such as the threatened polar bear and the endangered bowhead whale, to information about currents and tidal systems. The Arctic is known for extreme cold, extended periods of darkness, hurricane-strength storms and pervasive fog. For eight to nine months of the year, the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas are covered by ice. The Gulf has numerous Coast Guard stations and deep harbors, but there is virtually no supporting infrastructure in the Arctic. The nearest Coast Guard station is 1,000 miles away.
Today, Minnesotans are joining with those in the Gulf to remember the events of a year ago today. We demand that President Obama do everything he can to protect the Arctic Ocean. We can never drill our way out of high gas prices. We must heed the lessons of the Gulf and the Exxon Valdez, and keep the Arctic Ocean safe.
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Lois Norrgard is on the Upper Midwest staff of the Alaska Wilderness League, which describes its mission as "to further the protection of Alaska's amazing public lands."
