More Oil Spills, Congress and Greenpeace

Another oil spill? Yes, believe it or not, cleaning up seems to be just as dangerous as operating an oil rig. Sarcasm aside, another oil leak was reported "in the ecologically sensitive Louisiana ..."

So, is it Louisiana or BP or just oil in general? Because "the broken natural-gas well is shooting a 100-foot-tall fountain of gas, oil and water, creating a mile-long slick in Mud Lake, north of Barataria Bay." And how did this tragedy happen? The abandoned well was hit by the pilot of a tugboat pushing a barge. The owner of this well is Houston-based Cedyco Corp., who is out of business.

Louisiana does not need this; according to Councilman Elton Lagasse "the incident is yet another blow to the parish as it tries to recover from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill".

"We just got the Barataria Bay cleaned a week ago," Lagasse said. "This is something that could happen at anytime. There are thousands of these wells out there."

And not only anytime, anywhere as well, in Michigan "More than 800,000 gallons of oil spilled Monday (July 26, 2010) into the Kalamazoo River, a major waterway that flows into Lake Michigan..."

As I mentioned in my previous publication regarding the oil spill, we will be hearing about this oil spill for a very long time. Everywhere there are articles and reports about the consequences and actions taken because and due to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

US congress is already talking and planning about stricter regulation, as well as, considering an increase in taxes and fees paid by oil firms as part of efforts to prevent another major oil spill crisis like the one triggered by the fatal blowout at a BP well in the Gulf of Mexico in April.

But it isn't only Congress the thinks of using taxes as a tool; "Oil giant BP said it plans to offset all of its costs from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill against its tax bill, reducing future contributions to US tax coffers by almost $10 billion. BP took a pretax charge of $32.2 billion against its second-quarter earnings, for the cost of capping the well, cleaning up the spill, compensating victims and paying government fines".

The magnitude of this incident is causing repercussions everywhere. The public has something to say. There are already controversial statements from people who live near these oil spills. Some are angry, some are helping cleanup by volunteering, others are in line to get their money for the grievance suffered; but quiet they are not.

Oil Daily reported the two following stories regarding the public's response:

"Attorneys hoping to lead the legal fight against BP in the US will descend on the unlikely venue of Boise, Idaho, this week as a special judicial panel considers how to bring order to a wave of spill-related lawsuits. A group of seven federal judges is convening more than 2,000 miles from the Gulf of Mexico's oil-polluted shores in landlocked Idaho".

And "Greenpeace activists shut at least 40 of BP's 50 gasoline stations in central London Tuesday (July 27, 2010) in protest at the Macondo oil spill in the US Gulf of Mexico. Greenpeace said activists had closed 47 stations in the UK capital".

This pretty much means that a conflict is boiling just under the surface. Like I said in my previous publication; it isn't until the storm is gone that we can really get an idea of the damage. Everyone has a right to an opinion and big events close the ranks among those who share them.

Greenpeace is outspoken and proactive. The oil and gas industry has been controversial for many years; clean energy and oil dependency are not a new problem.

Still, we cannot afford to stop consuming oil; not just yet anyway, we are not prepared to do so. All of the energy policies are still stuck somewhere or somehow, money, true understanding of the technologies, or just no interest have not allowed for Clean Energy production to substitute the oil and gas industry.

A few closed gasoline stations or people marching down the street with strong believes in their hearts will not make a difference either. We need to act at all levels and change our habits at all levels as well; as individuals, as communities and as a nation.

But the bottom line is that no change comes overnight and any extreme in any direction is unhealthy in the long run. Slow and steady is the key.