Anyone who has been near a television the past two months has some idea of what is happening when the words “BP” and “oil spill” are in the same sentence. The recent oil spill, considered the worst in US history, is agreed to be a travesty in terms of environmental safety and regulation, government policy, and corporate responsibility. What appears to be most controversial among people close to the subject is what the British energy company should be doing about the predicament they are now in. With the world watching closely, BP has been trying and failing via different means to stop the oil from spreading and to remove as much as possible from the Gulf coast.
The oil spill’s long term effects on marine life habitats are long-ranging problems that will take several years to rectify. Damage on Eastern coast coral reefs is expected and effects on the ocean floor are currently unknown. If the contaminated sea currents go into the Atlantic Ocean, the spill will harm animals even if BP manages to contain the oil away from shorelines. With these issues in mind, I am by no means arguing or expecting that oil companies should or would ever plan on putting the environment’s intrinsic value over their own economic and fiscal gain- that would be naïve and unrealistic!
I am, however, arguing for BP to change its role in the environmental issues that they have directly caused. BP needs to be more open and honest about the oil spill and I advocate for more details about the crisis even if it does not put BP in the most positive light. The confidentiality agreements BP requires volunteers to sign must also go. Instead of obsessing over brand image salvaging, BP should follow Johnson & Johnson’s praised Tylenol crisis management in 1982 as an example of good public transparency. Instead, BP has managed to lose their credibility with empty promises on their programs’ expected success rates.
BP should shift its attention on what it can do for the environment in the long-term. They are currently focusing on preventative control by keeping oil from reaching the shoreline. In the meantime, are they thinking about the future of the affected wildlife that managed to survive the spill? If BP had detailed plans for the next decade, it would show us that BP is more capable of taking responsible actions than we had expected. An effort as simple as donating to wildlife organizations would be infinitely better than a sole concentration on failing repair efforts. BP should also pay for all costs of the clean up, including the wages for beach cleaners/animal rescuers and any equipment required. The effort will take years, but BP should pay for all residual damages. It would be the most responsible way for BP to take care of the environment, and their efforts would improve consumer perception.
The consequences of the spill also brings up the ever-present question about our addiction to oil- but even if oil spills did not exist, global warming, melting ice caps, and congestion are just three among many of the most harmful effects of our current energy sourcing methods. We drill offshore because it is cheaper than importing oil. However, offshore drilling is accompanied with higher risks and costs…and oil spills should always be guarded against because of their history of recurrences (there have been at least thirty in the US since the 1930s).
This oil spill should be our lesson to switch to efficient energy sources. We should lean more on “soft” energy sources like solar energy and wind power, as well as bio-fuels. Weaning ourselves off of fossil fuels would be a long and arduous process, but also a rewarding one. The switch to renewable energy sources would prevent environmental disasters like this oil spill from ever happening again.
I see this recent oil spill as an opportunity for that change. An example of such progress is the aftermath of the Santa Barbara spill in 1969, which spawned an entirely new outlook on the environment. In 1970, we celebrated the first Earth Day. The spill was at the end of a decade characterized by newfound knowledge of human impact on ecological change and wildlife extinction. The 1969 spill resulted in the environmental awareness that we are familiar with- but we need to strengthen that green movement.
Hopefully, this spill will be a catalyst for change in current policies and laws, as well as for the creation of stricter environmental regulations. Right now, the crisis has made people angry, disappointed, and sickened…that passion should be honed in and used towards a collective movement for progress and new ideology.