BP Oil Spill  – Generation Justice

People around the world were shocked by the BP oil spill and its repercussions, and immediately people began searching for the answers to what happened and who was to blame. It was BP’s oilrig that blew out, and it was their device that failed to cap the blowout, but the government is supposed to regulate drilling and companies to prevent disasters such as this. All these statements are correct, but I feel that we should stop placing blame on everyone and look to ourselves.

We have created a society that can only survive with oil. It is true that the past administration placed an emphasis on corporations instead of the environment, but as the American people, it is our job to regulate our own resource consumption. Because of our dependency on oil and the formation of OPEC, we have sent billions to countries who have made it clear we are not their friends or have confirmed terrorist activity, polluted our world perhaps beyond repair, created environmental issues with drilling, and suffered two oil spills. For American oil companies, such as BP, to compete with the middle eastern oil and supply the United States with the required amount of oil, they are forced to take environmental risks when drilling, such as in Alaska or the gulf. The government is responsible for allowing companies to drill in such places, but it is our thirst for oil that forces the government to make such tough decisions. I think the American people need make drastic changes in our everyday lives; we simply cannot maintain this intake of oil without worse repercussions. The Obama administration must place its emphasis on science and technology for a better future, and we the people must do everything in our power to change our own lives. There is no room to be tentative or weak, our habits must change, and we as a people must change or else the BP oil spill will become only one of many possible disasters.

By Abby Magnus