“Drill Baby Drill” ignores lessons from the Deep Water Horizon Disaster

If you live in the Gulf of Mexico area, you already know the importance of April 20th. It’s a date where footprints continue on coastal beaches from Florida to Texas. Fifteen years ago, an explosion was blown away with a deep sea horizon drilling platform. Eleven people have been killed, 134 million gallons of oil have erupted into the ocean, leaving black eyes on the 1,300 miles of Bayshore Line in five states. The cascade effect has been felt for years, but it is still the same as us today.

This month, when the Trump administration advocates a fantastic national energy emergency, “drills, babies, drills,” the ugly reality of disaster comes to mind. The memories of that catastrophe and its lingering connection to death, pollution and fear reflect a significant threat that has been extended to many in many coastal communities in today’s country.

A 2012 survey estimated that the disaster lost $4.9 billion in commercial fisheries revenue and an additional $3.5 billion from recreational fisheries. Other estimates suggest that loss of tourist dollars would cost the Gulf economy up to $22.7 billion until 2013. If all the fish is contaminated, there’s nothing to catch and sell. If the town relies on ocean health for its economic heartbeat, oil spills have the same effects as meteors.

It’s not just that human life has been affected. The bursting Deepwater Horizon Pipeline was oiled into the unchecked Gulf Coast for 87 days before being capped. Marine life was not touched in those waters. Bottlenorth dolphin deaths increased by 35%, with almost all of the 21 species of dolphins and whales living in the northern Gulf being injured. Up to 173,000 sea turtles have been killed. Birds, fish, oysters and underwater habitats all suffered severe losses and damage. Scientists estimate that the spill wiped out 20%-22% of rice whales.

To put that into perspective, about 21.7% of Americans are under the age of 18. Imagine that everything about them is gone. And you will exert a sense of scale in the effects of this disaster on the very existence of rice whales.

Today, the second Trump administration is actively promoting expanded offshore oil drilling, and through the president’s executive order, President Joe Biden is trying to protect coastal waters, marine life and communities, protecting against the pollution, disruption and harm associated with the development of offshore oil and gas. The administration’s energy agenda is supported by the majority of Congress, and Congress is pushing the bill up to “drills, baby drills.” Additional drilling regulations have been introduced to address the Deepwater Horizon spill, but members of the Congress’s professional oil industry have forgotten their history.

But our coastal community remembers that. Closed beaches, billions of dollars lost to the fishing and tourism industry, the economy, oil-coated sea turtles, pelicans, dolphins of the dead. Those memories remain.

A 2021 study on the lasting effects of deep sea horizon disasters focused on mental and psychological damages, as well as physical damage. Parents were afraid to take their children to the Gulf Coast, even if the water was deemed safe. Even after Gulf Fisheries resumed and safely approved for consumption, shoppers bought fewer fish and seafood. The pain continues. The fear continues.

Fifteen years later, the Trump administration proposes a future where coastal communities across America risk revisiting those devastating psychological and physical wounds. However, the Gulf has not forgotten what ravaged the coast 15 years ago. Nor should Congress. Now, America must reject the next potential deep sea horizon threat and speak out for the health of our coastal communities and marine life. Silence is not an option when many are at risk.

Daniel Moss is Senior Government Relations Representative for Wildlife Advocates. Moss leads the federal advocacy of defenders to protect wildlife in a variety of diverse areas.