Challenges of the Oil Spill

Oil has been spewing into the Gulf of Mexico since a drilling rig leased by British Petroleum exploded on 20 April. It was only earlier this month that BP was able to cap the leaching oil pipe. The pollution created by this event has been causing major economical and environmental affects which, according to the officials, will be staying for decades in the gulf. Environmentally, many species lost their lives and it is expected that in the long term the ecosystem will be highly affected by this pollution. Economically, many careers, such as the fishermen who work in the area, are facing serious economical difficulties as a result of this incident. Politically, it is the responsibility of President Obama’s administration to deal with this issue.
The major challenge for the U.S. government is enforcing BP to pay the economical and environmental costs caused by the oil leak. More significantly, it is an opportunity for Barack Obama to lobby for the usage of the clean energy sources, what he has promised in his campaign. Domestically, clean energies can decrease the U.S. government’s dependency on the oil companies. Internationally, be beneficial for the U.S. National security enabling the U.S. diplomats to have a more extensive strategy. Moreover, modern clean energy resources can be more environmental friendly than fossil fuels. However, the challenge facing the President Obama’s administration is to convince the nation of the necessity for such costly plan at the time of major economical pressure. This will be perhaps an issue which President Obama will tackle today, in his addresses to the nation on the BP oil spill.
Source of the image: The Economist