The Green News

September 2010

QUOTE OF THE MONTH: "Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground." - Anonymous. Submitted by Joshua Martarella, Grade 10, Boulder CO.

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By Sophie Barrett
UC Santa Cruz
Green News Co-coordinator, CA

What would you suggest to prevent an oil spill similar to the recent one in the Gulf from happening?
- Posted July 13, 2010

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	This is a very complex issue, and not one that can be fixed simply, cheaply, or quickly. However, it is clear that more government oversight is needed. If this tragedy teaches us anything, it's that, at least in this industry, Self-regulation is not enough. It's easy to point to renewable resouces and call for an end to oil, and while that is a laudable goal and certainly achievable in the long-term, in the short term people are going to want cheap, domestic fuel, and unfortunately that often means drilling for oil. In the meantime, it's time for the government and industry leaders to come together and find a safe way to drill. - Jessie Kathan, Grade 11, Campolindo, Moraga, CA
	The best way is to find a better energy source than oil because the US depends on foreign oil too much. People should focus on making solar panels more efficient or maybe use algae instead of oil. We have a lot of algae just sitting there. It's easy to grow, too! - Stephenie Huynh, Grade 12, San Lorenzo High School, San Lorenzo, CA
	I've been out of school a long time but I wanted to suggest an answer. The real issue is how to prevent disasters. There are many different kinds of disasters, from environmental, engineering, economic and personal. They range in seriousness from spilling red wine on a white carpet to loss of many lives. But they all have one thing in common. We fail to listen to our consciences and the little voices inside our heads which tell us that we're about to do something which has the potential for disaster. This is why people drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol or fatigue. So while we condemn the actions of people who may be responsible for disasters such as we read in the news, we must also look at what we do to create disasters much closer to home. - Shelly Rosenblum, US EPA, San Francisco, CA
	The best way to prevent an issue like this is to find a better source of energy other than oil. However, the reason for why this event occurred in the first place is because of improper regulations and problems in the wellhead and the blowout preventer. At this point, I think that companies that are conducting oil drillings should have more detailed inspections of their equipment and maintain the equipment efficiently in order to prevent such a terrible disaster from happening again. - Shree Patel, Grade 12, Dougherty Valley High School, San Ramon, CA
	If anything, the oil spill in the gulf served as a wake up call to many people. The reason for this is that most people didn't think about oil pipes under the ocean, or worry about them for that matter. The world needs to have a greater awarness of what is going on around them that is endangering the earth. This incident opened peoples eyes, but in order to prevent it from happening again, people need to learn not to close them again. If everyone did something, instead of letting just acting like they cared, then the world would have a chance to save itself - Emmalyn Tringali, Grade 12, Benicia High School, Benicia, CA
	I think that oil companies should use more money to make sure that there is a very low percentage that an oil spill could possibly happen when they are transferring the oil by boat. Although it may be a downside to the oil companies the environment also affects them because they also live on this Earth. Also we could drive less and take public transportation more often to reduce the amount of oil being transferred. - Stephanie Hang, Grade 11, Oakland High, Oakland, CA
	Although certain oil spills like the one that recently occured at the Gulf of Mexico, are sometimes unavoidable, there are protective measures that can be used. Many pollution preventive companies encourage checking all industrial machinery to ensure that all pipes are properly tightened and to check for signs of leaking glands, seals, and gaskets. Also when changing the oil on a certain piece of machinery, it is vital to make sure no oil drips outside the machines surface. All these preventive measures must be taken before starting any feuling, defeuling, or internal transfer operation. Taking these preventive measures will highly reduce the chances of a tragedy like this occuring in the future. - Rebecca Rashid, Grade 11, Dougherty Valley High School, San Ramon, CA
	I think there should be more regulation on the oil industry. The only way to guarantee that this won't happen again is to stop using oil altogether and switch to renewable energy. After all, can any catastrophy like this come from green energy? It's unlikely. - Kim Mejia, Grade 11, Media Academy, Oakland, CA