Catastrophic oil spill continues in the Gulf with no end in sight
Interview with Beverly Wright of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice
What else remains to be said about the worst oil spill in US history and one of the worst the world has ever seen? We know now that BP grossly understated the size of the spill, which some now say may be leaking up to 100,000 barrels of crude a day into the Gulf of Mexico (BP originally pegged the leak at only 1000 barrels a day). There has been speculation that this may put the brakes on further offshore drilling in difficult or dangerous regions such as the Arctic but Rolling Stone is reporting that BP is still planning to start drilling in the Arctic this fall and nothing is being done to stop them. In any case, if this is what it takes for us to realize that the time to break our oil addiction is long overdue, the Gulf region is paying an enormous ecological and social cost on humanity’s behalf. The threat of catastrophic climate change hasn’t woken us up to the perils of continued fossil fuel extraction and consumption; will an environmental disaster of unprecedented proportions finally do the trick?
And what of the local impacts? There has been much finger-pointing and BP bashing (deservedly) but less has been said about the important environmental justice considerations of the spill. I spoke recently with Beverly Wright of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice. She discussed the devastating impact that the Deepwater Horizon oil spill is having on the local environment and people of Louisiana. As with many such environmental catastrophes, Dr. Wright explains how those being disproportionately affected by the spill tend to come from lower income communities – who are also the least able to cope.
Right click and select ‘Save file as…’ to download. interview with Beverly Wright of DSCEJ
