Amid the horrors in Orlando, the recent Shell Oil Spill has escaped a majority of media news coverage. This 90,000 gallon spill of oil across the Gulf of Mexico brings painful flashbacks to BP's spill in 2010. A lot of questions arise wondering why a second spill in almost the same location could happen again. Is this simply just a natural part of fracking and offshore drilling? Are spills just bound to happen? The answer is no. Offshore drilling is to blame for most-if not all- of the major oil spills in the last 30 years. Yet instead of pushing for better safety regulations, Congress responded to the oil spill by supporting a bill that would promote offshore oil drilling for the next five years. Although this plan may just seem economically incentivized, other congressional policies are cause for serious speculation in the trustworthiness of our government. Not only did Congress pass a bill to promote unsafe oil drilling practices after a second harmful spill, Congress has passed multiple bills to allow these oil companies to endure little financial burdens for their mistakes.
For example, after the oil spill in 2010, B.P. was ordered to pay 20.8 billion dollars. The media portrayed it as such, and the public was satisfied-believing B.P. was paying a just price for its actions. Yet, what truly happened—and what the media wouldn't cover—was that B.P was able to classify $15 billion of that fine as "business expense," allowing B.P. to pay a lot less than what many assumed. The reason it was able to do this was because of an array of tax codes that Congress continues to pass to support these large corporations. Lobbying with these large oil companies has allowed these companies to cajole the government to face the other way in cases of environmental abuse.
The oil spill from Shell will have a substantial impact on the ecosystem. Although Shell's spill did not cause any deaths from the explosion, the tons of oil gushing into the gulf will have a substantial impact for years to come. In fact, environmentalists predict that the oil will flow directly into the coastlines of territory of many indigenous Native Americans. These people, who have little contact with the outside world, will suffer huge losses if their main food source—marine life- is impacted.
These recent oil spills have revealed large holes in the way our government is working. Corporations should not have such a substantial say in how our government works. What these spills are revealing confirms the fears of many Americans: corporate America is chipping away at the foundation of our democracy.
