25 years ago yesterday a 53 million gallon tanker dumped 11 million gallons of oil in the purest waters on earth. The Exon Valdez showed us all the damage that could be caused by transporting this stuff. I thought it also taught us something, but apparently not. What about BP and its redesign of the Gulf Coast, surely that taught us something… nope. So what will? I am assuming that their spin machines have already started, and the oil magnates will once again buy their way out of trouble. All, while we watch thousands of marine animals die a miserable death. I wish the punishments were reversed.
The company operating the vessel, Kirby Inland Marine, states so proudly on their website and I quote “We will conduct our business and operate our vessels in a manner that protects the environment and the health and safety of our employees and the public. Our goal is zero spills and releases.”
So while they spin their spin, we have the problem of cleaning up 160,000 gallons of oil from the Gulf. It’s okay though, we always have a spare 13 miles of containment tubing and dozens of ships just hanging around waiting for these guys to screw up again, and guess what… we’re glad we did, as It’s big business now.
So to the thousands of passengers who feel miserable at being stuck on their cruise ship for a few extra days, to the hundreds of workers on the cleanup ships complaining about the extra hard work, I say get over yourself. I feel for the marine life and the birds, I’m sure they would swap with you in a heartbeat.