Feature story - September 14, 2005
Satellite imagery, which captured evidence of several large oil
slicks left in the wake of hurricane Katrina now - thankfully -
shows only two smaller slicks. The Gulf of Mexico is riddled
with oil rigs and thousands of miles of pipelines, which were in
the direct path of Katrina.
Despite accounts of oil rigs being knocked off platforms during
the storm, little information has been revealed about the status of
the rigs and we still have almost no information about the status
of the pipelines.
Early images of the gulf clearly showed oil slicks emanating
from multiple platforms.
Meanwhile, members of Congress and the oil industry are using
the Katrina catastrophe as an excuse to expand offshore drilling.
Last week, more than 100 companies sent a letter to Speaker of the
House Dennis Hastert and other Republican leaders, asking Congress
to open up coastal areas in other parts of the country for offshore
oil and gas exploration.
The oil industry has clearly demonstrated that it cannot safely
operate offshore drilling operations, and the last thing Congress
should be considering is exposing the rest of the nation to these
risks.
If any lesson is to be learned from hurricane Katrina, it is
that the nation must move to renewable sources of energy, which
will cut down on global warming and reduce dependence on unstable
and dangerous forms of energy like oil and gas.