by Svea Sauer

Will Louisiana be made whole again? Well, the president says so. I don’t know what kind of miracle workers will be hired by British Petroleum but they will surely distinguish between the damage they have caused and that which the whole industry is responsible for. They may do their part. What about the others?
Louisiana has encouraged wholesale drilling to the extent that only in the past ten years, before the BP explosion, the Coast Guard records show routine activity has resulted in 40 million gallons of oil spilled in Louisiana waters, “which amounts to a Valdez-class spill every three years.” This news, reported by Oliver Houck in The Nation, has not been on the front pages of any newspaper I read. It does not take much imagination to see that Louisiana was already in deep trouble.
We have been led to believe the propaganda, that the oil industry in coastal waters is safe for the environment. Even today, the very people who are so angry at British Petroleum are insisting that drilling, at least in shallow water is safe. The facts are otherwise.
In order to drill, it is necessary to have access and this requires the assistance of the Army Corps of Engineers who dug canals through the wetlands. Katrina taught us that these made pathways for hurricanes, but worse, they brought in sea water to kill the plants. A study of the oil industry reveals that all companies take the cheapest way, not the best way to gain access and they do it at our expense. There is no more greed here than anywhere else, but here the greedy are invited to plunder.
If it is true that nature can be restored to health under conditions which are beyond repair, it may also be true that the people who live there can recapture their way of life but I doubt it. Just as it is hard to believe New Orleans can ever be the same without the people who gave it flavor, it is hard to imagine bayou culture remaining the same after the destruction of the coast. Just as for the thousands of birds who make it their temporary home during migration, who in coming years must find new shelter or perish, it is hard to imagine sea life surviving when it was already in weakened condition.
For now the hue and cry is for money. The damage is so pervasive it is doubtful the courts will ever be able to determine just awards. There will be no end to the claims because the damages themselves will be self perpetuating. Probably the first to be helped will be the owners of rental homes on beaches whose summer vacancies are most easily identified; then, those who fish for a living and those who process the catch. Those who are prohibited from drilling will make claims. First claims may be easy to adjudicate, but who will pay for gradual erosion? Who will pay for lost futures? Who will pay for broken homes? Money is not an antidote for such a vast loss and it cannot repopulate the sky and the sea.
Sadly, the story does not end in Louisiana. Far northeast Atlantic too is vulnerable to the damage in the Gulf. The fish caught there begin life in the Gulf and soon may never make the journey north. Oil threatens the crystal sand of Florida, coral, and species already threatened with extinction. We are beginning to assess the real value of money. In the face of tragedy, money has no value.
So what can British Petroleum do? Keep on drilling, of course. If it is oil we want, it is oil we will get at any price.

sveasauer@gmail.com