[Guest post by Jen Savage.]
Like everyone, the images streaming in from the Gulf Coast oil disaster continue to horrify me. Like many, my initial condemnation included not only BP for their legacy of greed and carelessness, not only our government representatives for slacking on their oversight responsibilities, but myself for being such a willing participant in an oil-dependent lifestyle.
However, no matter how much all of us who drive cars, buy imported goods and otherwise live a typical American lifestyle acknowledge the consequences of our actions, without a serious, effective overhaul of our energy policies at the top governmental levels, change cannot happen on a globally meaningful scale.
Horrifying as they are, photos of dying wildlife, displaced fishermen and a polluted sea are not unique to the Gulf – yet nearly a generation after the Exxon Valdez spill, our addiction to oil still threatens our coastal communities, marine wildlife, the economy and our ocean—the life support system of our planet. Even more appalling, unlike the Exxon Valdez spill, in which at least a finite amount of oil was aboard the ship, the BP Deepwater Horizon rig tapped into a large reservoir of oil that will continue to gush until a solution is found to stop it. More than ever, the need to transition to clean energy, to end our reliance on oil, is on full, brutal display.
It’s time to redefine our attitude toward our ocean, move beyond simple appreciation of its beauty and power, and truly commit to repairing it. The sea inspires, true, but we must admire more than the view. The ocean sustains us with food, oxygen and the climate we need to survive. We must stop exploiting it. We must stop destroying that upon which all life depends. While the Gulf is under direct assault, the ocean’s broader demise threatens every one of us.
Implementing necessary change means creating new policies now – policies that will result in smarter use of the ocean to benefit our environment and economy. Congressional action should focus on supporting clean energy, not opening new areas to drilling. Additionally, the West Coast of the U.S. should be off limits to additional offshore oil drilling permanently. A moratorium should be reinstated immediately to protect the critical ecosystems that support California tourism and coastal-dependent enterprises valued – conservatively – at $42.9 billion annually.
On the topic of economics, BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster demonstrates the kind of risk oil companies take with our ocean while they benefit greatly. BP made $163 billion in profits from 2001-09 and $5.6 billion in the first quarter of 2010. More of such profits must be invested in understanding, protecting and restoring and managing our public resources.
The oil spill has reminded Americans how much we care about our coasts and oceans. We need a new policy that recognizes that in our ocean environment, everything is connected – from industrial uses to the health of our ocean to the health of the coastal economy.
While the fight for wiser marine management unfolds on a number of fronts, everyone has the opportunity to create a new image this weekend – an image of a united demand for new clean energy instead of the same old dependence on oil. Join Ocean Conservancy, Humboldt Surfrider, Humboldt Baykeeper and the Northcoast Environmental Center for Hands Across The Sand, Saturday, June 26, at Moonstone Beach. Gather at 11:30 a.m. and join hands at noon. Hands Across The Sand takes place nationwide. Join the call for clean energy on the North Coast, where we still enjoy a beach free of tar balls and oiled wildlife – for now. (Related events take place at Mad River Beach and Tooby Park.)
Jennifer Savage is Ocean Conservancy’s North Coast Program Coordinator and the chair of Humboldt Surfrider.
The so-called Citizens for a Better Eureka (CBE) saw their case against the California Coastal Commission (CCC) thrown out of Humboldt County Superior Court Wednesday.
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