It all started on Tuesday, April 20th, but the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico is still affecting us nearly a month later. The article on ABC News Kerry, Lieberman Press Climate Bill Without Graham talks about an up-and-coming bill to be heard by our legislative branch. This week there was supposed to be a climate change bill that went in front of Congress. However, Senator Lindsey Graham, a leading sponsor of the bill, has backed out saying that, “I do not see [the 60 votes that are necessary] materializing until we deal with the uncertainty of the immigration debate and the consequences of the oil spill."
The bill calls for increased offshore drilling, which in light of the events in April might not be the best idea. They've been proposing a cap on the oil spill for quite a few weeks now and still nothing has happened. CNN posted an Oil Spill Tracker that tracked the actual and projected rate of spread. There are many that don’t agree with the expansion of drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, but the bill needs 60 votes to “overcome filibusters.”
If this bill was as great as they say it is it wouldn’t have any problems passing without reaching a stalemate. Obviously there are some key issues being taken up with this bill, but are they what’s right for the economy and especially for our environment. Kerry and Lieberman were quoted saying “[T]he last (few) weeks have given everyone with a stake in this issue a heightened understanding that as a nation, we can no longer wait to solve this problem which threatens our economy, our security and our environment”. But is this really what’s right for our environment. There were very severe consequences of the Exxon Valdez incident in 1989. What if something were to happen to one of the oil rigs just like what’s happening now? Would we be able to fix it in time before we suffer consequences like the Exxon Valdez and lose ecological life?
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The oil spill is a very unfortunate event, but now something need to be done to clean it up. The oil spill not only affects the animals living in the ocean, but it also affects the people who live near the ocean. The oil is killing animals left and right and making the ocean dirty. There are pictures on the Internet (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/30/louisiana-oil-spill-2010_n_558287.html) that display animals covered in black, soupy looking oil and it breaks my heart. The oil spill is also affecting the people who live near the ocean, for they can't go to the beach until this is all cleaned up. Nobody wants to swim in a giant vat of oil, neither do they want to drink oil in their water. The water systems are working hard to filter out the oil in their drinking water. Can you imagine if someone drank oil? That would be a terrible situation. This oil spill has done nothing but cause problems and nothing is being done to fix it. The government is acting and this is when we need them too.
ReplyDeleteI believe that this oil spill was a wake up call for our society. It is proof that our environment is not invincible, it is fragile and we need to being doing more to protect it. As Sir Isaac Newton said, "for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction". This statement also applies to the environment. We can't keep manipulating our environment without thinking about the possible consequences. I believe that this oil spill demonstrates what can happen when we are not careful.
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