On May 12, 2016, the main headline in the news involved the thousands of Americans boycotting and expressing their disapproval of Target allowing transgenders to use whichever gender bathroom they identify as. While this is a topic that should be spoken about, the media continuously, and unsurprisingly, blew the story out of proportion for days on end. As this story was occurring, a major environmental crisis was unfolding, once again, in the Gulf of Mexico along the Louisiana coast.
Back in 2010, the oil company, BP, had one of their oil rigs leak and release over 130 million gallons of crude oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of animal species were harmed, and the coastal communities that depend on the marine life as a source of income began to crumble due to the financial damages from no longer having a source of income.
This time around with Shell Gas was a little different, in such that it was a pipeline that burst and the infrastructure damage is what caused the spill to occur. However, Shell Gas decided to downplay the incident and stated on their website that there were "no injuries" associated with the oil spill. Sure, there were no human injuries associated with the oil spill, but there were casualties and deaths and damage done to the coastal and marine ecosystem and the species that thrive within it. Shell Gas and others who were involved in the clean-up process only skimmed the surface of the water to absorb the oil. The gallons of crude oil that spread across the Gulf of Mexico and were not cleaned up did not just vanish, it seeped into the ocean floor and got consumed by marine life. Nobody even knew the pipeline had burst until 24-hours later, when a helicopter flew over top of the area and reported it in. The coastal communities were, and still are, taking a hit from the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, so having another oil spill occur and not getting any media coverage and no help sent to them like they did six years ago, puts salt on that cut and prolongs the time that they have to try to put the pieces back together within their community.
Environmental advocates continue to criticize Big Oil's presence in the ocean drilling for oil. Big Oil companies promise that offshore drilling can be performed safely, but with two large oil spills within a span of just six years, is it really possible?
It is time to take a stand and finally start to address the major problems that come with off shore drilling and even the extraction of fossil fuels in general. There is no reason that other species must suffer so that humans can continue to contribute to the deterioration of the ocean, forests, and other ecosystems across the planet.
