Lessons of Gulf spill should spark clean-energy development

According to a much-publicized federal government report, about 103 million gallons of oil remains in the Gulf. This is the equivalent of more than nine Exxon Valdez disasters, and it is fouling the Gulf Coast's coastal habitats and hurting its wildlife. As of Sept. 17, more than 8,000 birds, 1,100 endangered sea turtles and 100 mammals (species not reported, but likely dolphins) have been found dead or captured alive. Perhaps more ominously, scientists at Tulane University have found signs of an oil-and-dispersant mix inside the shells of blue crab larvae, creatures that are part the base of the Gulf's food chain.

The total impact of the disaster may not be known for years. Past experience tells us oil disasters don't last for months, they last for decades -- communities in places like Alaska and Massachusetts have still not yet fully recovered from oil disasters in the 1970s and '80s. It wasn't until four years after the Valdez disaster began that local herring stocks collapsed -- and more than two decades later, neither that critical food source for people and wildlife nor the jobs that depended on them have recovered.

In the meantime, much of the devastation in the Gulf remains beyond the view of cameras, and news reports reveal that BP is ordering those on the frontlines not to take pictures. BP is pouring millions into a PR campaign suggesting that the disaster's environmental impacts have been mitigated. But BP also dumped millions of gallons of dispersants into the Gulf, sinking much of the oil out of sight, turning America's Gulf waters and coast into a toxic chemistry experiment. Use of dispersants in deep waters had never been previously approved or done, and the effects on deepwater marine environments and their marine life are largely unknown.

The bottom line is that our response to this disaster cannot be just about making oil platforms safer, or reforming the oil spill response plans of multinational corporations. We need to move to a new national energy platform. We have the technology to do this now with wind, solar and biomass power sources. It is true that switching to these sources will require help from government in the form of a price on carbon and subsidies for research and deployment. Those who decry spending this money say the free market should dictate energy usage, but there is no free market when it comes to energy production.

Coal, gas, petroleum and nuclear energy are all heavily subsidized by our government. They also come with hidden costs like the air pollution from power plants that fouls our rivers with mercury and causes over 13,000 deaths every year in America. Sometimes the costs become obvious when we have an oil spill, pipeline explosion or mining disaster.

In addition, we have to keep in mind that in our pursuit of "cheap" energy we are sending our dollars overseas to people who do not like us and do not have our best interests at heart. This is a current and future national security risk that will not go away, unless we do something to make it go away.

Just because there are no easy answers does not mean that there are no answers, or that we should not make an attempt to control our own energy destiny for future generations. We need what we do not now have, which is leadership towards solving current problems with future solutions.

America has always been a nation of innovation and in times of crisis, has had an ability to overcome great challenges, through focused, flexible, committed effort. This is seen throughout our history, in our answer to the Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War and the Space Race, and is a part of our country's greatness.

Is that now not possible? If so, our portion of the history of this country will be a sad legacy indeed. It does not have to be that way.

While the House passed clean energy and climate legislation, and a bill to reform oil regulations, the U.S. Senate has done literally nothing to prevent future oil disasters.

What that means is we're just as vulnerable today as we were before the Gulf oil disaster on April 20. This catastrophe and others like it highlight the urgent need to jump-start our clean-energy economy with cutting-edge new technologies that strengthen our energy security, create millions of new American jobs and cut pollution.

If you care about these issues, then you need to let your senators and House members know that the lack of action over the past few years is not acceptable, and that you expect them to work to solve this nation's energy problems.

Clinch Heyward is board chairman of the South Carolina Wildlife Federation.