Window On Life

Gulf Coast Attitudes

June 6th, 2010

Alrighty, I am sure that most everyone here has heard something about the oil gusher on the sea floor of the Gulf of Mexico. And you may have seen some of the reports about how the oil could get caught into the “loop current” and take this oil all the way around Florida and up the Eastern Seaboard.

One of the things that bothered me recently amongst all of this, was a comment that I heard on a news broadcast. The reporter commented that sentiments voiced privately by citizens in Louisiana were now being voiced on the air. The sentiment that was mentioned was that if this was affecting the white sandy beaches of Florida, that the response would have been different. I do not know if that is actually true, but the people of Florida have always fought off-shore drilling off the coast of the state. Floridians have often fought to preserve one of their most popular attractions for both locals and visitors.

Now I do not know who it was that allowed, or approved, the drilling location for the Deep Horizon, but perhaps they are the ones that should be doing some apologizing for this event. As well as funding the cleanup efforts. I do not think that it is fair that people who are gaining the profits from the decision to drill are not doing more to help those that are being affected by the spill. If Florida did approve the drilling, then they should be funding the clean-up in Louisiana, Texas, And Alabama. But if Louisiana approved the drilling, then they should be taking the responsibility for the clean-up. And if the regional states had nothing to do with the decision, and it was a Federal decision, then guess what….Uncle Sam needs to step up and make sure that everyone is compensated and made right for the duration of this disaster.

Now I know that some people that I have talked to have said, they don’t care about assigning blame at this point, but instead they just want it taken care of. And while I agree with getting the situation under control and taking care of the clean-up, I think that there are enough people involved that some people can be looking at the control of the leak, and some people looking at the cause so that responsibility can be assigned, especially if nobody actually is willing to step up and say “Hey, my bad. Ooops.” Watching some of the reports out of Valdez Alaska, since their spill is being looked at as a reference point, and the truth is that it may be years and perhaps decades before the effects of this spill are over with.

So, not only does the spill need to be controlled, or capped, but someone needs to truly accept responsibility for this disaster and make sure that reparations are made to all of those that are affected.

Entry Filed under: environment,people,politics