In light of the recent tragedy that occurred in our ocean, namely the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off of the Gulf of Mexico, questions regarding both the presence of political and civic engagement amongst the American people have arisen. Various parties have a stake in this issue including the oil/energy industry, environmental groups, American citizens and the American government. The magnitude and high stakes of this crisis raises interesting key questions regarding American society that need to be addressed, such as; whose responsibility is this disaster? Who has taken action, if any at all? And what does it mean to be an engaged citizen when both a private industry (oil) and public interests (fisheries) intersect in an opposing battle being facilitated by the government?
The incident began on April 20th when an explosion erupted on the platform which was drilling an exploration well for BP in the Gulf of Mexico. Shortly after an oil slick appeared on the surface of the water and on April 24th cameras finally spotted the leak. President Obama spoke about the matter on April 30th and took political action. He announced that no new drilling will be authorized in Federal waters. Efforts to stop the oil leak are still continuing today. President Obama has said that he is “deeply frustrated” by the response so far and is forming an independent panel to investigate the disaster. Here is a great link to check out for an up-to-date timeline of events from the BP oil spill and here is a powerful photo journal and some more additional resources.
It is clear here that multiple interested parties are deeply involved in this tragedy but where are the American people in all this? Government officials are taking direct action and industry leaders and launching advanced crisis communication PR campaigns. Are the American people truly being politically engaged and even civically involved in this significant disaster? According to communication scholar Zukin, there are key differences between civic and political engagement. He writes that, “political engagement is activity aimed at influencing government policy” where as “civic engagement… refers to participation aimed at achieving a public good, but usually through direct, hands-on work in cooperation with others“ (51). It is obvious that in the wake of this tragedy that the government is taking an active role, as is the news media, in recuperation efforts but I have yet to hear of any grassroots campaign implemented by citizens. After spending time researching ways to get involved in I found little to no information, signifying to me that indeed Americans are disinterested as Zukin asserts about the DotCom and GenX generations of the present. Similarly, if there is no civic engagement can there be political engagement? Which begs the question; with no civic action taking place what is going make the government pay attention and make the necessary changes that must take place to ensure the safety of fisheries in America? With an event of such magnitude and great impact taking place and no social action occurring we must truly be at a low level of both political and civic engagement. So how do we increase both civic and political engagement?
Post by Zoe Burgess
While watching the latest news about the BP Oil spill, a frightening thought came to mind: what if we can’t stop the oil? I mean, what happens if after all the measures to cap the pipe fail, (i.e., “Top Hat”, “Small Hat” and “Top Kill”). What then? An accident this problematic is new territory for BP. The oil pipeline is nearly a mile down on the ocean floor, accessible only by robots. Add on top of that the extreme pressure at which the oil is flowing out of the pipeline and there you have it: the perfect storm.
Moreover, scientists also claim that they’ve found an enormous plume of oil floating just under the surface of the ocean measuring approximately 10 miles long, 3 miles wide and 300 feet thick. (I’m no math genius, but I bet one of you reading this could figure out just how many barrels of oil that is…)
There are new estimates that the amount of oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico is anywhere from 50,000 to 100,000 barrels of oil a day: that’s a far cry from BP’s estimated 5,000 barrels a day. If BP’s estimates are correct, the total amount of oil now in the Gulf would be approximately 150,000 barrels (or 6,300,000 gallons). That’s barely enough to fill 286 swimming pools: sixteen feet, by thirty-two feet, by eight and a half feet deep. That wouldn’t cover an area the size of New York City, let alone an area the size of Delaware. Obviously, the spill is much larger than we are being led to believe. If the leak can’t be stopped, in a year’s time, we’ll have roughly 18,250,000 barrels of oil (or 766,500,000 gallons) in our oceans, killing our marine and animal wildlife. Such a calamity would be environmentally and economically disastrous. I’m not a religious man, but I pray that BP and our government work fast to end this catastrophe.
http://www.calculateme.com/Volume/Barrels(Petroleum)/ToGallons.htm
http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2010/05/17/latest-news-from-the-oil-spill-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-is-grim/
http://blogs.creativeloafing.com/dailyloaf/2010/05/20/scientist-says-oil-spill-is-leaking-100000-barrels-of-oil-a-day-not-bps-estimate-of-5000/