On April 20, the Gulf Coast remembered the day two years ago that changed our lives. The BP Oil Disaster may no longer be headline news but it's not over for the thousands of Americans who have lost their livelihoods, suffered health consequences, and greatly fear the decades long fight ahead.
In case you haven't recently read about the continuing impacts along the Gulf Coast here are some refreshers:
Gulf Future Coalition releases two year update
Congress Falls Short on Oil Spill Safety
Gulf Monitoring Consortium - Gulf Coast monitoring organization launch investigations into ongoing oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf Shrimpers reject BP settlement
Communities along the Gulf Coast continue to monitor the oil washing up on shore and demand that the government hold polluters accountable but these efforts are falling on deaf ears at both a state and federal level. In two years not a single legislative action has taken place to make the way the oil and gas industry extracts oil safer. And with the coming Presidential election the chances aren't getting better that action will happen in soon.
We have effectively squandered the nation's largest environmental disaster leaving communities devastated and people sick. Allowing instead for companies to put Gulf Coast residents lives in danger to make a profit with little to no accountability.
The BP oil disaster is a national issue with national impacts. Without a strong Gulf Coast our nation's seafood is at risk, the environmental barriers that keep strong storms for moving up the middle of the country will erode, and the cultural heritage that brings Tabasco, Jazz, and second lines will become extinct.
But we can change this. If you keep talking about the BP oil disaster in your communities, especially if you live near oil and gas facilities and keep reading and supporting the work of those on the Gulf Coast, we can make sure lessons are learned and people are held accountable.
Check out these great Gulf Coast organizations:
Related Posts
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of MomsRising.org.
MomsRising.org strongly encourages our readers to post comments in response to blog posts. We value diversity of opinions and perspectives. Our goals for this space are to be educational, thought-provoking, and respectful. So we actively moderate comments and we reserve the right to edit or remove comments that undermine these goals. Thanks!