Isn’t life ironic ? A mere weeks after President Obama decided to embrace offshore drilling, the United States are facing one of the biggest – if not the biggest – oil spill in their history.
After the explosion of the BP drilling rig in the gulf of Mexico off the coast of Louisiana the equivalent of hundred thousands of barrels of oil are reaching and polluting the shores of the US East coast.
This catastrophe – which already claimed 11 lives and is due to cost billions of dollars – is occurring after another explosion, but this time in a coal mine.
The West Virginia Coal Mine killed 25 people in what is the worst U.S. mining disaster in over twenty years.
Fossil fuels are highly polluting when they are burned. These events are reminding that their very exploitation is also a huge source of problems and pollutions of all kinds.
Subsequently I believe it is high time to put massive efforts and money in alternative energy. And since America seems to have little problems with safety rules and regulations, I am not so sure anymore that getting back to nuclear would be a good idea…
America also needs huge cuts of its energy use. Indeed, Americans are consuming twice as much energy as Europeans and Japaneses.
In any case, the situation has to change, and change fast as time is running out…