Dear EarthTalk: Given the huge oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last month, isn’t it high time the government put a stop to offshore oil drilling once and for all? Short of banning it altogether, what can be done to prevent explosions, leaks and spills moving forward? –­ P. Greanville, Brewster, NY

Sky Truth, courtesy Flickr

The explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon drill rig on April 20 and the resultant oil spill now consuming coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico could not have come at a worse time for President Obama, who only recently renewed a push to expand drilling off the coast of Virginia and other regions of the U.S.

The debate over whether or not to tap offshore oil reserves with dangerous drilling equipment has been raging since extraction methods became feasible in the 1950s. It heated up in 2008 when George W. Bush convinced Congress to lift a 27-year-old moratorium on offshore drilling outside of the already developed western Gulf of Mexico and some areas off Alaska. Despite public protests, cash-strapped governments of several coastal states wanted the moratorium lifted given the potential for earning windfall revenues.

Barack Obama had historically toed the Democratic party line on offshore drilling—don’t allow it—but changed his tune during his 2008 campaign to compromise with pro-drilling Republicans if they would play ball with him on his carbon emissions reduction and energy efficiency initiatives. Then on March 31, three weeks prior to the Deepwater Horizon explosion, which killed 11 workers and has caused untold environmental damage, Obama called for new offshore drilling in the Atlantic from Delaware to central Florida and in Alaska’s untapped northern waters. He also asked Congress to lift the ban on offshore drilling in the oil-rich eastern Gulf of Mexico, just 125 miles from Florida’s beaches.

A key aspect of Obama’s new plan is to assess the potential risks and benefits of each specific offshore site before drilling there can commence. While Obama’s plan wouldn’t grant any new leases until 2012, the Deepwater Horizon problem is casting a long shadow over the public comment process now going on in Virginia and other coastal states otherwise ready to sign on the dotted line for exploratory wells to go into their offshore waters. Whether or not Congress and the American people are willing to let their government expand on what appears already to be some risky business is anybody’s guess at this point.

Oil industry representatives maintain their equipment and processes are safer than ever. The U.S. Minerals and Management Service (MMS) blames the vast majority of the 1,400 offshore drilling accidents in U.S. waters between 2001 and 2007 on “human error,” not malfunctioning equipment, though some might argue that the distinction is irrelevant because there will always be human error. A small fire on the Deepwater Horizon in 2005 was found to be caused by human error, and most analysts agree some kind of bad judgment call also likely caused the rig’s ultimate demise. The MMS says it was already in the process of drafting new regulations that would require rig operators to develop programs focused on preventing human error, including operations audits once every three years for each rig.

Some Congress members don’t think the new regulations are enough, especially in the wake of the BP tragedy. U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat who has led opposition to offshore drilling, has now called for a congressional investigation of safety practices at offshore oil rigs, and has asked the U.S. Interior Department to undertake a full review of all U.S. drilling accidents over at least the last decade.

CONTACTS: BP, www.bp.com; U.S. Minerals and Management Service, www.mms.gov.

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Offshore Oil Drilling and the BP Disaster is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

A few years ago, what we call the Modern Hippie Movement was written about by Pul H. Ray and Sherry Ruth Anderson in their book The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World. The concept of the Cultural Creatives, like that of the Modern Hippies, is a people that have not yet realized their unity. They do not yet recognize the power that they have or the number of arms willing to lock with them as they face the challenges which await them. Historically, when a group of people band together, there is a uniform to wear or at least a membership sheet to sign. The Modern Hippie doesn’t need to wear any particular clothes, drive a particular vehicle, or take a particular drug. He doesn’t need to attend any particular festivals or engage in any political movements. In this new movement, we are forced to realize our togetherness beyond the superficial and the easy, but often through the spiritual, intellectual, and sublime.

courtesy Sassy Smith

The Modern Hippie comes in many different forms and has many different faces. However, we are fortunate in that two of us have recently taken up residence in one of the most prominent homes in the world. In Barack and Michelle Obama, we have one portrait, one facet of life as a Modern Hippie. Though they may not even be aware of or claim the title, they embody many of the principles that pushed the first wave to shore and the spirit that continued beyond the point at which it broke.

courtesy Sassy Smith

Evident not only by President Obama’s recent winning of the Nobel Peace Prize or his being one of the few senators to stand firmly against the military invasion of Iraq, the Obama’s maintain a graceful air of understanding and acceptance that the Modern Hippie embodies. Through his push for stronger green initiatives and her planting a garden on the White House lawn, we see their respect for the environment and desire to cherish and appreciate it. And by their yen to reach past party lines, break down cultural stereotypes, and seek for diplomacy with all of our neighbors, they have once again caused the White House to shine like the beacon for which it was designed.

This is not to say that the First Couple should be revered any more than the next couple that treats their neighbors with respect and civility, protects and values the environment, and seeks for creative solutions to life’s challenges. It is simply an acknowledgment that, not only are we not alone, but we are also gaining momentum. As he humbly acknowledged his being awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize, President Obama stated that it was a call to arms to all of us to solve the challenges that face us in the new century. As we continue on and this wave reaches the shore, may we realize that it does not need to break like the last one, but only continue to flow.

Modern Hippies – A New Face for the Next Wave is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag