With no end in sight, the worst oil spill in United States history continues. It may very well rank as our worst environmental disaster when all is said and done. Over 5,000 barrels are gushing from two large leaks every single day. Unless these are closet, that number could rise as high as 60,000 barrels per day. That’s a pretty staggering number. Consider that this particular rig is forty miles from the coast of Louisiana. This region on the gulf coast provides twenty-five percent of the nation’s seafood and approximately half of our oysters and shrimp, both of which are about to come into season. Fears that this industry could be decimated are completely justified, not to mention the possibility that the oil will reach up into the Mississippi. Already, birds and other animals are turning up on the shore covered in oil. This is seriously terrible and catastrophic.

So you’re probably wondering, why did these leaks occur in the first place and why is it taking us so long to close them. The rig is actually fairly new and technologically advanced; it was designed to make such a spill a mathematical impossibility. The issue is that the rig is designed for ultra-deep water. At five thousand feet down, where the tubing on this particular rig reaches the sea bed, only robots can repair the damage. It’s too deep for humans. The oil itself is located another four miles below the ocean floor. While the technology of the rigs themselves has substantially improved, our ability to stop the damage is extremely limited. This is problematic when the future of domestic oil supply depends on the expansion of these deep sea rigs.

The primary issue here isn’t that we’re using old technology in the rigs or to stop the proverbial bleeding in such a catastrophe. What is central to this debate is that we’re continuing to invest money into oil, a rather old and outdated technology. Certainly, I’m as staunch of an advocate as anyone for creating energy security for the United States and utilizing out domestic sources of energy to avoid fighting expensive wars around the world, being held at the whim of the OPEC oil cartel and funding petrol-dictators. Offshore drilling seems like a rational tactic while next generation technologies are being developed, but this crisis is a wake up call that it is not. Besides, if we were to begin a new rig now, the process from start to finish would take six or seven years – if everything goes smoothly – before it goes online. An already existing technology such as a wind farm takes a mere two years to build from start to finish.

You can see where I’m going with this. Any rational thinker would say that this is exactly the kind of focusing event needed to rally support around the Senate’s climate bill. Afterall, the original Earth Day was created in response to a 1969 bill and landmark Clean Air Act Amendments were mobilized by Exxon Valdez.

Yet as we all know, today’s Washington defies logic. Seeing the wealth Sarah Palin returned to her constituents in Alaska from oil profits, others wanted a piece of the pie. This concession was considered the key to getting moderate Republicans and Democrats on board. Now, it would be not only insensitive to form a compromise bill around increased drilling, but the emboldened left wing of the Democratic party will surely put their foot down. Making matters worse, Harry Reid, now arguably in legacy mode, saw the opportunity to get a slam dunk on immigration reform, a divisive issue for Republicans, while tabling an issue that splits his own party. The one Republican taking heat from his party and genuinely working with Democrats on a bill that he was to co-sponsor, Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, has become upset and withdrew his support.

Given the deaths of eleven workers in this rig and twenty-nine in the recent coal mine collapse, we need to realize that “all of the above” is a comprehensive solution but maybe not a wise one. Neither of these events are isolated. Isn’t it time we switched to a base load of geothermal and nuclear energy, supplemented by wind and eventually solar? As November 2010 inches closer, it seems that incumbents in both parties are running scared, doing whatever it may take for them to cling to power. This is the time for someone to step forward, rise above, and show some leadership. Will anyone actually do it?

For more, read:

Spill Brings Opportunity – The Hill

No Fooling Mother Nature – Thomas Friedman

The Need to Beat Our Oil Addiction – John Podesta and Joseph Romm