environment, solar panelsThe world has turned their attention to alternative forms of energy but that has not lessened our need for oil. It is a natural resource that won’t last forever but there is still enough around to keep the world running for some time. I don’t think there has been another form of energy, other then oil that has wreaked so much havoc on our environment. There have been only a handful of nuclear meltdowns since such plants went up decades ago, a faulty solar panel does not affect anyone except the owner, wind power just takes real estate, bio-diesel hiked up the price of corn but didn’t do much bad to the environment since the farms are already in place and hydroelectric power can change a local eco-system when a major waterway is bottled up but there is nothing that compares to an oil spill. Oil floats to the top, creates a deadly syrup and travels with the tide. Clean up takes decades, which will surely be the case for the Gulf Coast BP accident.

Environmental agencies are pointing fingers at everyone from the Obama administration to BP to all of the still active oilrigs around the world. A recent New York Times article titled Scientists Fault U.S . Response in Assessing Golf Oil Spill featured the blasting the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration handed out during a Senate meeting to the government for a slow and possibly skewed investigation of the lasting effects this oil spill will have on the environment.

The lasting effects of this oil spill are up for interpretation but none of the results is good. On a human level, the spill kills the livelihood of fisherman in the affected areas, beaches have shut down and Gulf coast businesses will continue to see a drop in sales as tourism to the area slows. On a natural level, countless sea life will die. We have a forever link with the environment. There should be more stringent safety measures taken to operate an oilrig. The companies have the cash to upgrade. Oilrigs won’t disappear until there is no oil to draw up but alternatives like solar panels can take a larger slice of the energy pie. Websites like American National Solar at http://www.americannationalsolar.com/ understand this vision. Time will tell where we get more of our future energy from. One thing is certain and it is that mining oil is risky for the environment.