Six Things to Do Now About the BP Gulf Disaster

Instead of sitting helplessly on the sidelines, here are things every American can do.

BP has failed repeatedly to stop the gushing oil disaster
in the Gulf. It's trying again--using a technique that risks making matters
worse--and saying that there may be no repair until August, when it finishes
drilling relief wells.

The media, meanwhile, is treating much of the news from
the Gulf like it's a contest between the "Drill Baby Drill" crowd and
the Obama administration. It's not. It's a national disaster.

While those of us outside the world of deep-sea
engineering have limited knowledge, there are some things we can and should
demand:

1. The federal government needs to take charge and put BP under temporary receivership as recommended byformer Labor Secretary Robert Reich. BP was dishonest about the quantities of oil flowing into the Gulf, and theirinitial repair efforts have failed. The federal government is accountable to the American people, and it needs to decide whatto do to protect our nation's water, wildlife, and shorelines of the Gulf (and whereverelse the oil travels). As Reich argues,receivership would allow the government to act with full authority and accountability, and to call on all theexpertise available (not just BP's) to help make the difficult calls.
2. The cleaning and protection of coastlines needs to be ramped up.Whether that means hiring more local fishers, bringing in National Guardtroops, or deploying citizen brigades on the beaches, the response needs to beaggressive and sustained. Even if the oil stopped flowing today, thecontamination would continue washing up in sensitive coastal regions for monthsor longer. All workers should have training, equipment, and protective gear tokeep them from being sickened by the oil and the toxic dispersants.
3. There should be generous pay for the armies of bird-rescuers and beachcleaners, and those out protecting shorelines with boats and booms. Families who are the immediate victims of the disastershould get first crack at the jobs, and their wages will help sustain the region through this economic storm. Charge BP (and anyother companies responsible for the disaster) the full costs for as long as ittakes to get this region clean, whether it's months or years.
4. Use the least toxic chemical dispersants and insiston full disclosure of the makeup of all the dispersants being dumped into theGulf. The U.S. EPA should determine which dispersants, if any, are used basedon the long-term health of the Gulf and its shorelines and estuaries, not basedon which companies have ties with BP or which chemicals will be most likely to hide the effects and protect BP fromembarrassing images of oil slicks. Use emergency powers, if necessary, to get a full disclosure of the makeup of the dispersants from BP or whoever is refusing to release it.Without this information, there's no way to keep the emergency responders safe,to properly treat stricken birds and sea life, and to assess the long-termdamage.
5. Boycott BP, but also other oil companies. They are allspilling oil (see what Shell is doing in Nigeria, for example),and causing direct environmental damage. But using oil, no matter what company pumps it, is putting our entire planet at risk through disruption ofthe climate. Melting ice caps, changing rainfall patterns, mega-storms andfailing crops are already happening, but that is only the beginning if we starthitting climate tipping points. We must kick our fossil fuel addiction.This is our part of the solution.
6. Begin a massive conversion to energy efficiency andrenewables. There is a lot of blame to go around for this disaster, from the practice of puttingcronies in charge of regulation to the corporate culture of putting profitsabove all else. But this disaster is above all happening because the oil that is easy to getto is already taken. Now oil companies are trying to get the oil that's hard toreach, from deep under the oceans, from hostile regions of the world, and from dirty and destructive sources like tar sands. We've entered a time thatanalyst and author Michael Klare calls "The Age of Tough Oil," andthe costs-human, environmental, economic, and strategic-are rising with eachnew barrel. Making our economy more energy efficient and building a renewableenergy infrastructure offer immediate benefits in terms of jobs and economicstimulus and will sustain generations to come.