By Emily Harris
Staff Columnist
Three years ago, the BP oil spill drew the attention of Americans and people all over the world. No one knew when the leak would be contained or what the long term effects of this environmental disaster would be. Even in the present, the implications of the BP oil spill may not be fully understood. The repercussions of the spill have already cost the company billions of dollars, and the U.S. is now engaging the company in a third lawsuit, to prove negligence on the part of the company in the containment of the spill. Eventually the company will also have to answer for the damage done to the environment, once it is determined how much oil actually made its way into the Gulf and what the impacts were.
Despite the fact that the oil spill was devastating to ecosystems, tourism, and livelihoods in the Gulf Coast region, it’s no longer a prominent topic of conversation on a national level. The most recent lawsuit has not been widely discussed, which indicates that the public has largely forgotten how detrimental the spill really was. With new methods of natural resource extraction, such as the Keystone XL Pipeline transporting oil sands from Canada, it is important to keep environmental disasters such as the BP oil spill in the public’s mind, in order to prevent the lack of preparation that occurred before.
The fact that another backup plan was not already in place before the spill happened shows a great amount of arrogance on those leading the company and the fossil fuels industry—knowing how detrimental an oil spill can be, there should never be a situation where a company is left wondering how to respond during such a crisis. In the end BP pulled together resources and developed a way to contain the oil, but it’s important to ask why it took nearly three months to be implemented. It’s one thing to have faith in the technology you have in place, but clearly BP was not prepared for the worst case scenario, and their reputation in their industry may never be salvaged.
This is something to keep in mind as plans for the Keystone XL pipeline move forward, ultimately relying on President Barack Obama’s approval. The pipeline would span parts of both Canada and the United States, and would be used for transportation of oil extracted from oil sands in Canada. The southern portion of the pipeline has already received the president’s approval, and the Canadian government seems to expect the same response on the newest plans for construction.
There are a number of reasons why this is troubling for those concerned about the well-being of the environment and the safe extraction and containment of fossil fuels. For one, there is always the risk that this pipeline could leak, potentially reaching groundwater supplies throughout the nation. The effects of this would be even more difficult to gauge, since the leak would not be visible as it was in the Gulf. Clean water is largely taken for granted by Americans, but after watching the BP oil spill unfold, we should all remember how quickly a clean body of water can be compromised.
Job creation and energy security are also terms thrown into the discussion around the Keystone XL Pipeline, but in reality we would still be depending on another country for our resources. Currently, 100 percent of Canada’s natural gas and 98 percent of their crude oil are exported to the U.S. The resources extracted from Canadian oil sands would simply add to the list of resources that we receive from outside of our own country.
The BP oil spill should be a lesson that is learned not just by environmentalists, but by anyone in the oil industry who is confident that the same thing could never happen to them. The public as a whole needs to remember just how detrimental the spill was, so that we can be reminded not to make the same mistake twice.