Oil all over the Gulf

Everyone is talking about that British Petroleum (BP) oil rig that is leaking 200,000 gallons (~40,000 barrels) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico daily. I try to avoid politically charged topics, but this fits into a couple of prior post covering the limited oil available in the world and the current, unrealistic view of alternative energy. I will converge on these ideas near the end. I really see no good side to this mess as the politicos will start spewing hateful, partisan words. No one is willing to accept our society's dependency on oil or is willing to properly invest in an alternative.

First, the oil spill from this oil rig is a disaster. The oil is getting spread everywhere in the Gulf and will find its way onto the Gulf beaches. Most likely the spill will contaminate beautiful beaches for years into the future. Tourism is going to drop. It will also devastate the local fisheries and shrimping industry. My heart goes out to these victims living in the region. BP should pay for every portion of the clean up and also provide a monetary fund for these people. Even if BP pays, it will not make up for the economic damage. Damage is done.

Second, the technological issue comes from the leak source. It appears as if safety mechanisms failed, and the several leaks are hundreds of feed underwater. The high oil pressure is just spraying crude oil into the water uncontrollably. It is difficult working at such depths. BP can't just easily turn off the oil. That is why this incident has turned into such a mess. Whether BP was drilling responsibly or whether they were taking undue risks, we shall never know. Hopefully, what did occur will bring about new equipment or regulations to prevent such a mess in the future (there is some optimist in me).

Third, we would like to ween ourselves off of oil, but no alternative exists. Two factors play into this: 1) partisan politics preventing significant action, 2) those who are proponents of alternative fuel sources are dishonest at the current oil alternative development, years from implementation. This being said, if the oil supply decrease by 50 % or more over night the results would be devastating to the Western world. These events would occur.

1. The economy would suffer a severe slump. Transporting goods and items from factories to stores would cease. Consumers could not reach stores to buy goods. Workers could not go to employment sites. Severe disruption to our daily life would occur.
2. Travel beyond a few miles would cease. No planes, trains or automobiles. Kiss any business or pleasure trip good bye.
3. Mass starvation. Our food sources from agriculture are dependent upon oil. It takes oil to power tractors to plow fields. Oil is required to plant and harvest crops. Modern day nitrogen based fertilizers use oil as the primary feedstock. Even what little food could be harvested, it would not make it to market.
   

Oil is more important than what people realize. This is why we as a society should be investing heavily into research and development towards an ecologically safe, renewable oil alternative. Government and private sources combined. We need to make this a reality in the next few years, not decades as the current path is leading us. It will be a liquid fuel based transportation and not electric vehicles as I argued against (electric cars could contribute in a limited fashion). Potentially, our modern society's future survival depends upon this action.