A Black Eye for Earth Month
The events before and after Earth Day this year have demonstrated how our dependence on fossil fuels has life threatening consequences. April began with the tragic loss of lives in the Big Branch Coal Mine. The BP Oil Rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico started with still more loss of life and is developing into possibly one of the worst environmental disasters in recent history.
Yet, as we watch these events unfold, once again it becomes painfully clear that we are addicted to cheap and abundant sources of power. We demand cheap fuel for our jobs, our homes, our recreation, and in doing so, we justify coal and oil as our primary sources of power. Coal and oil have historically made economic sense only because we ignored or discounted the social and environmental costs. Now the bill is coming due, and we see the economic costs are unsustainable as well. The domino effect of one collapsed oil rig is about to push many other Gulf businesses into collapse as well.
Just weeks ago, when the Obama administration opened up coastlines for offshore drilling, it was assumed that the technology of deep sea drilling was safe. A spokesperson for BP listed the safe guards on the rigs, automatic shut offs and closures, (all of which failed in this instance) but he still insisted that offshore drilling is safe. The problem is, in his scenario, failure is catastrophic. As it was in West Virginia, as it was recently on the Australian reef, as it was with the Exxon Valdez and in Chernobyl - at some point everything wears out or fails. We’re gambling with the laws of physics, betting our lives, our homes and our livelihoods, and even though the house always wins, we won’t walk away from the table.
These two incidents remind us of the interconnectedness of everything. They remind us that our globe, regardless of how large it seems, is finite. Everything matters. Everything is related to everything else. Every action, intentional or accidental, has consequences. Earth is showing us that we can’t afford to do business as usual, it simply costs too much. Too much money, too many lives, and too much from the systems we need to live.
It is time to reevaluate our personal consumption, and recognize the fact that it is supported mostly by coal and oil generated energy. It is also time to have serious policy discussions about what an economy based upon renewable energy really looks like, and recognize it probably is much more modest than what we have today. If that’s the case, it’s time to redefine wealth, time to account for and value the social and natural capital that truly make us prosper. Our alternative is to continue on the same path, and to watch additional catastrophes unfold.
Monday, May 3, 2010 at 1:19PM
Reader Comments (3)
A number of innovative and environmentally friendly methods of cleaning and recovering the oil spill have been proposed on the Inhabitat web site. Hyper-absorbent peat moss could be an alternative to detergent dispersion. See:
http://inhabitat.com/2010/04/30/hyper-absorbant-peat-moss-could-clean-up-oil-spills-like-louisianas/
If only more than 38 people could read about this.
Really awesome post. Truely!