Gulf Oil Spill: Impetus for Change?

The Gulf Oil Spill that hit the Gulf region of the U.S. this past spring and summer certainly wreaked havoc and should provide the impetus for change to U.S. energy policy.  It has been recorded as the worst oil spill in decades for its sheer destruction to marine life and to the livelihood of Gulf coast residents.  Given that this was a big crisis event that went on for days, there is usually an outcry and possibly calls to reevaluate our energy policy, at least in theory.  Such a crisis, in other words, should create the impetus for policymakers, the media, and others to move away from oil.  As such, the question is whether there are serious efforts now or in the works to at least move the ball forward to use less oil.

After all, the Gulf Oil Spill this past year is a palpable and cogent symbol for why oil is a dirty fuel and secondly why the U.S. should at least explore alternatives.  The U.S. addiction to oil goes back decades and many presidents have pledged to break the addiction. The oil shocks of the 1970s certainly provided a time to curb the U.S. addiction to oil. President Obama has made it known that the Gulf Oil Spill "demonstrated the need to end the U.S. 'addiction' to fossil fuels.'" Furthermore, President Obama acknowledges that the U.S. path is unsustainable since "we're running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water."  What this means is that President Obama shows a commitment like previous presidents to wean the U.S. off of oil, but so far that appears to be the limit.

As such, what is happening is that there is public acknowledgement that the Gulf Oil Spill should be a rationale for the U.S. to overcome its addiction to oil.  Yet, the problem persists and there is no follow through to finally make a commitment to translate the rhetoric of curbing the U.S. addiction to oil into tangible policies that wean us off of it.  Consequently, the U.S. oil addiction comes to the forefront after a shock event whether it is a shortage back in the 1970s or the recent Gulf Oil Spill, the government simply goes back to the status quo once the crisis subsides.  In other words, there is a pattern of acknowledgement of a particular problem during crisis but once that ends, there is simply no more follow-through of going beyond the acknowledgement stage.  As a result, the U.S. ends up back at the same problem--why are we addicted to oil?  The impetus for change should have been this Gulf Oil Spill, but based on previous history it does not look like there may be anything to look forward to other than the status quo.

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