Eruptions and Spills: Aftershocks of the Recent Disasters
May 7, 2010 by Admin · Leave a Comment
We have all seen the arresting images: billowing clouds of ash spewing into the sky, a torrent of black oil spreading throughout the blue sea. The twin travesties of the Icelandic volcano eruptions and the sinking of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig strike home the precarious balance that exists between nature and industry. As both disasters continue to unfold we must ask what we can learn from these terrible events.
The giant mushrooming ash plumes continually cast up by volcanic activity under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier since March have caused immense disruptions to flights, stranding passengers at airports, costing British Airways alone an estimated £20 million a day. As the Met Office issues warnings that the ash clouds may continue to affect flight patterns for at least another week, the significant impact the unpredictable forces of nature can have on our economy and lives has been strongly highlighted.
A great number of tour and airline companies operating in Europe have been financially hit by the flight ban, not only by the immediate cessation of sales but by plummeting shares caused by stockholders panicking as the turbulence intensified. However, it was in the departure lounges, upon the faces of the distraught passengers simply wishing to get home, that the impact was most vividly evident.
It is difficult when our lives, endeavours and industry are shaken by an event such as the Icelandic volcano eruptions, an event unavoidable, uncontainable and blameless in the terrible influence it wields. All we can do in such situations is take responsibility for the safety of each other, which is what the EU, national governments, corporations and passengers have succeeded in doing.
At the same time, in the Gulf of Mexico, a different and yet no less catastrophic tragedy took place, as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and toppled burning into the ocean, killing 11 workers. Since then, oil has been gushing out into the sea at a rate of 800,000 litres a day and, despite one leak having been stopped, BP has come under fire for not responding to the spillage with sufficient speed and urgency.
After facing the turmoil of natural disasters like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the people of Louisiana must ready themselves for the manmade disaster of the incoming oil slick, which poses a terrible threat to the surrounding ecosystems and the industries built upon them. Fishermen have been employed to save their trade by helping BP slow the approaching slick with oil booms and preserve the Mississippi estuary, which flourishes with plants, birds and marine animals, an abundant source of life and livelihoods.
President Obama himself has flown in to assess the devastation amid mounting criticism that the US government and BP have failed to handle the escalating crisis with due assertiveness. As with the Icelandic volcano eruptions, it is heartening to see people striving together to predict and contain an unfolding catastrophe. The difference here is that the blame can and has been directed, by the President himself, who said: “BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill.”
So how should we feel viewing media images of the flightless luggage laden passengers and oil tarred birds, when we see nature impacting on commerce and vice versa? We should be reminded that all corporate bodies must balance their desire to satisfy consumer demand with respect and responsibility toward the fragile and awesome powers of nature.
Nathan Francis
