A Month after the Oil Disaster, We Need Obama to Lead
Posted May 20, 2010 in Curbing Pollution, Moving Beyond Oil, Solving Global Warming, U.S. Law and Policy
Thursday, May 20, will mark one month since BP's Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, sending more than 6 million gallons of crude oil -- probably much more -- into the Gulf of Mexico. Marine waters, wetlands, estuaries, and coastal communities have been paying the price ever since.
I traveled to the Louisiana Gulf Coast last week and saw the devastation for myself and learned about the recovery efforts. Yet I left with the terrible sense that so much remains unresolved. We still don’t even know when the spill will be stopped.
Even as questions persist, there is one thing I know for certain: the Gulf oil spill isn't just an accident. It's the result of a failed energy policy.
Last night, NRDC Trustee Robert Redford appeared on Countdown with Keith Olbermann and eloquently explained that the Deepwater Horizon disaster is the result of America’s persistent over-reliance on dirty fossil fuels.
Redford made it clear that America needs a national energy strategy that moves us away from our dependence on oil and toward a mix of sustainable and renewable power and fuel. We need the Senate to pass comprehensive clean energy and climate legislation to put us on that path.
But in order for the Senate to take this step, it needs leadership from the White House. As Redford said, now is the time for President Obama to be bold and visionary.
“We don’t need a disaster manager. We need a leader. Someone who will look ahead and see problems before they arise, before they become catastrophes that cost money and lives and well being.”
We need President Obama not just to support clean energy and climate legislation; we need him to demand it--to stump for it, negotiate for it, and help gather votes for it. And we need him to do it now.
Yesterday, almost four weeks after the Deepwater Horizon explosion, NOAA confirmed that oil from the spill has reached the Loop Current, which could carry it into the Florida Straits.
The destructive residue of this tragedy could last for months--likely years. But if we act now and pass comprehensive legislation, we can usher in a cleaner, safer energy future. We need President Obama to lead the way.
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Comments
Anne Myers — May 20 2010 11:07 AM
Our President is MIA on this problem. The clean up effort is woefully inadequate. More help is needed and fast.
Krishna Teewaree — May 20 2010 03:15 PM
KT
Is this the beginning of the end? We have no clear response to end the oil flow. Oil will gush and spread all over the seas - killing all sea life - just as the annihilation of the dinosaurs. food supply will also be affected.
We have to think about some drastic plan to stop the leak - forever; blasting it????.
In the meanwhile, consider to end using oil and gas as fuels. Think about alternatives even though you will have some major issues and resistances in the beginning.
Dr. Klaus H. Hemsath — May 21 2010 11:49 AM
Several days ago I submitted a proposal to BP and to the White House for preventing any further spills from the Deepwater Horizon oil leak.
I have not heard from either one.
The leak is much, much larger than indicated by BP. The use of chemicalss hides the size of the oil spill but will kill all life in and around the giant oil plumes that dispersants are forming.
The gushing oil from the more than 30 days old leak is now on the way to Key West, the Straits of Florida, Cuba, the Bahamas, the US East Cost, and to northern Europe. The damages will be catastrophic and must be prevented by any means possible. Continuing inaction by BP and the Federal Government is intolerable.
Lauren Taylor — May 21 2010 03:49 PM
Robert Redford's message is right on. Pres. Obama's response to this has thus far been an epic failure. He is not only MIA in advancing a clean energy agenda, his government is actively covering up the magnitude of this disaster while BP tries to tfind a way to maintain access to this oil. (closing the well means they can't drill there again.) This is ECOCIDE and sadly, Obama's government is complicit.
Lauren Taylor — May 21 2010 04:02 PM
We MUST, individually and collectively, stop using fossil fuels, and rein in the corporations destroying the planet by abolishing corporate personhood.
Check out this powerful wake-up call:
http://ecohustler.co.uk/2010/05/16/big-oil-is-the-dirty-boot-of-an-out-of-control-sociopath-committing-ecocide/