Everyone will remember April 20 for a different reason this year.
The Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling rig, capable of operating in waters up to 8,000 feet deep, exploded that day in the Gulf of Mexico. The spring explosion spilled exponential amounts of oil into the ocean and set off a summer that many will never forget, though most probably would like to.
Now that the well is finally under control, what should we take away from such a catastrophic mishap?
British Petroleum (BP) could have prevented the entire spill. BP, the giant British company leasing and operating the Deepwater Horizon at the time of the spill, revealed that its managers misread pressure data on the day of the spill, which caused the subsequent explosion.
Additionally, BP engineer and Deepwater Horizon overseer John Guide seems to have completely ignored warnings about weaknesses in the well's cement, which could have stopped the gas from escaping and causing the explosion.
BP's apparent lack of concern for the consequences of its actions is extremely troubling. Both governing bodies and private oil companies need to establish and enforce clear rules, regulations, preventative measures and routine investigations to keep the environment safe.
President Obama and the federal government took too much time to respond to the spill. It took 10 days of oil spilling into the ocean for the president to send government officials, including the EPA Administrator to assess the disaster. It took until May 30 for Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, to declare a moratorium on offshore drilling in the Gulf.
Furthermore, it took until June 15 for Obama to give his first speech from the Oval Office concerning the spill. That is far too long to leave Americans hanging about what is happening on their coastline.
While many onlookers have drawn comparisons to Hurricane Katrina due to the federal government's reaction, it's hard to make a parallel between the two events.
Katrina was a natural disaster that warranted the federal government sending any available help as fast as possible. On the other hand, the oil spill was committed by a private, non-American company and did not have a readily apparent solution.
Regardless, both BP and the federal government appeared far too concerned with public image and blaming each other when both should have focused on stopping the oil from gushing into the gulf.
Today, we all must look ahead while not allowing ourselves to forget about the spill. It may sound like a dream we hear about all too often, but the best way we can prevent similar situations in the future is to decrease our dependence on oil.
