What US Citizens Feared About the Oil Spill

I looked into a series of articles published by TIME magazine throughout the immediate crisis of the spill. I found three articles that discuss different aspects of the fear that accompanied reports of the spill.

The primary concern was the uncertainty regarding BP’s ability to produce a mechanism that would effectively stop the leak from the well. In this article, various scientists discuss the near unprecedented depth at which the well had been drilled and the enormity of the pressure that the water would exert on any valve that could be installed to stop the leak. The concerns of US and global citizens therefore largely stemmed from the prospect of a leak that was unstoppable due to a lack of technological advances within the field. This is clearly demonstrated within the article: “’People always fear the worst in a spill, and this one was especially scary because we didn't know when it would stop,’ says Michel, an environmental consultant who has worked spills for NOAA for more than 30 years.”

Those who live in coastal regions of the Gulf held secondary concerns regarding losses within the fishing and tourism industries. Some areas recorded a loss of 50% of tourism, as many of their regular tourists were keen on avoiding areas that were directly affected by the spill. Some residents were optimistic about BP’s methods of cleaning up and restoring the once pristine beaches, whereas others were more skeptical. Their varying reactions are evident in this article.

Lastly, many local families that have been affected by the spill are experiencing psychological hardship as the spill has immediately followed the recovery from the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans in 2005. In this case, the morale of the citizens in the affected areas has dropped significantly as reports of stress, excessive drinking and domestic violence rise (as cited in this article). It then follows that US citizens are concerned that the people in these areas will have an even harder time recovering from the second bout of trauma that the oil spill has dealt them.

I found a few more outlandish concerns while I was looking around on the internet. I was trying to find information about the responses of average citizens to the spill, and I think this blog post stands as a valid response of a single individual. At the end there is a note that states that upon further investigation the majority of the fears listed have proven to be scientifically invalid, but I think it was an interesting response nonetheless.

Trimira Garach December 9/10

Grunwald, Michael. “The BP Spill: Has the Damage Been Exaggerated?” TIME, July 29, 2010. Accessed December 8, 2010. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2007202-2,00.html

Reeves, Jay. “BP-Deep Cleaning Beaches Amid New Worries.” TIME, November 18, 2010. Accessed December 8, 2010. http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,2032222,00.html

Walsh, Bryan. “Understanding the Oil Spill’s Psychic Toll.” TIME, August 15, 2010. Accessed December 8, 2010. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2007429,00.html