Analysis of a Congressional Hearing: The After Affects of the BP Oil Spill


The After Affects of the BP Oil Spill

Most experience disasters through movies, books, news broadcasts and newspapers that often paint a picture demonstrating heroism and giving us glimpses of lives and events of real life drama as it unfolds. However; rarely do we see the long term effects such as social and mental disorders associated with the prolonged exposure splashed across the headlines and screens. Although the effects of a disaster appear to be almost instantaneous the initial impact is not the end of the impact felt by all. All too often the long range effects on wildlife, economy, ecology, health and more importantly the psychology of those affected is forgotten or left by the wayside as they tend to lose that luster so desired by our media hounds.
A shining example of this type of response can be seen in the BP Oil Spill. This manmade disaster affected thousands of individuals and businesses in the Gulf Coast region as well as creating a cascade affect in ecological, healthcare and economical stability throughout the United States. Like ripples created in a pond when a tiny pebble is thrown in the after affects; experienced by the individual as well as the communities; generated from the original event are similar though they may be experienced at lesser degrees nationwide.
The BP Oil Spill news reads like a Steven Segal movie script. It begins on a beautiful spring day (April 20th) with a failed preventer and ends with mass destruction of the surrounding environment and a way of life for those live in the Gulf area. According to the timeline published by the Guardian; a website produced by Guardian Research out of the UK; the environmental disaster began with the failure of a man made blowout preventer. Its sole purpose is to prevent crude oil from escaping the pipeline in the event of mechanical failure or damage to the rig (Guardian, 2010).
After the preventer failed the rig capsized and sank an amazing 5,000 feet and produces an oil slick five miles long in the Gulf of Mexico. By April 25th the search for survivors is suspended as the realization that the blow out preventer has failed and is now spewing approximately 1,000 barrels of crude into the ocean per day. With no seemingly intelligent ideas left the Coast Guard is charged with setting fire to the oil in order to slow its expansion and the MMS plans for two relief wells to stop the leak. On April 27th the US Government recognizes the potential impact and releases this statement “Release of crude oil, natural gas and diesel fuel poses a high risk of environmental contamination in the Gulf of Mexico (Guardian, 2010).” Unfortunately it would take five months to stop the leak into the Gulf and affect the lives thousands in the area as well as the entire economy of the US and other countries dependant on the resources of the Gulf.
Congressional Hearing Analysis
In a hearing of the Energy and Environment Subcommittee chaired by Democratic Representative of Massachusetts Edward Markey the long term affects to the economy, wildlife, ecosystems and community stability were considered and discussed at length. Through all the posturing and discussion there was little talk of the long term psychological affects or the immediate response plan to diminish these affects. It would not be until the Democratic Representative from Louisiana, Charlie Melancon, speaks that anyone addresses the psychological impact the disaster as a real and long range concern for both the state and the nation as a whole. He states “We've learned from Katrina that the end of the immediate disaster doesn't mean the end of the response. Mental health issues that still linger in our communities are constant reminders that the unanticipated impacts of a disaster may last for years or even decades to come. In disaster response, the best way forward isn't always in black and white (Congressional Hearing, 2010).” Although Representative Melancon shows some optimism in the address of these very important issues his common sense approach is glossed over and the talks quickly return to the immediate concerns created by the initial impact with a greater concentration of the standard event response questions. In their defense the hearing was conducted fairly early in the event timeline and the issues that seemed imminent at the time were those that the members of the hearing felt they could affect some control over.
Psychological Impact
I could tell you that the oil spill affected the economy by cutting off the fishing and tourism to the states affected by the spill but that is common knowledge. What I would like to focus on is the human impact, the psychological impact of such a disaster. According to an article published by the University of Maryland and written by Sharron Boston and Claudia Adrien the BP spill created more than loss of life, loss of a way of life, and loss of desperately needed resources; it created a psychological response that never made the news. The article states “there is significant psychological impact on people living in coastal communities, even in those areas that did not have direct oil exposure (Boston & Adrien, 2011).” According to their study they discovered that those in the direct impact zone suffered from clinical depression and anxiety. The loss of income and way of life is directly correlative to the results found. Those in the less impacted areas still experienced levels of depression and anxiety but at a decreased rate and to a lesser degree (Boston & Adrien, 2011).
In the study conducted by Boston and Adrein they found evidence that linked the ripple effect to other non impact communities such as Florida’s coastal areas that had not been directly affected by the spill. These coastal communities exhibited signs of impact depression and anxiety as they were indirectly affected by the ecological, economical and even social impacts of the spill. They stated “The people in Florida, where oil had not reached shore, showed similar elevated levels of anxiety and depression as those living in Alabama who had direct oil exposure. Both groups had similar high levels of worry about the impact of the spill on the environment, health and seafood safety (Boston & Adrien, 2011).”
The impact of such a disaster has far reaching effects; economical, ecological, health and social stability. In their examination of the aftermath they noticed a sense of vigilance among all involved in the study that was shared nationwide.
Influence on Field
The influence on the field of Environmental Psychology is only now being realized as the BP Oil Spill event is relatively new. However the response to such events both through congressional recognition such as is the case with the hearing and the first responder actions has changed over the last 20 years alone. Since the days of the Exxon Valdese disaster the use of Environmental Psychology has become more common and more relied upon as the years have taught us that there is more to the recovery and cleans up than just the initial response and accountability. The natural diversity of this field makes it a growth field where the implementation of theoretical response modules and applications is constantly growing along with the greater understanding of how environment, health and mental well being are linked.
Conclusion
The economics of it all seem almost elementary in their understanding; the loss of the fishing industry obviously affects those who consume it so yes this was the easy one. However the psychological impact felt nationwide is a little more in-depth as people across the country felt pain for the victims and shame for having allowed it to happen. The anxiety felt nationwide was bolstered by the repeated news updates, the day to day of the spill and clean up. Even now; almost two years later we are feeling the effects of such a disaster as we watch our coast lines and oil expeditions with hawk eyes and the fear of yet another disaster that will threaten our stability as people, individuals and as a nation.
In the congressional hearing the immediate concerns of physical and environmental well being were addressed. Each speaker looked at the cause and effect and each found that there were no easy answers to the recovery of this event as its magnitude is equal to very few manmade events in our history. Much to my disappointment there was little discussion about the long term social emotional affects of the event and how to delegate resources and man power to this aspect. However the hearing was conducted fairly early on in the event as it states that the leak has as of yet to be stopped. I believe the point of the hearing was to give weight to the event and recognize the magnitude of its affects; in this the goal was accomplished.
The reality of such events are becoming more and more common in our modern world and the use of specialty fields of research and application such as Environmental Psychology are paramount to our understanding of the full effect and long range recovery plans. This type of event is traumatizing to all; even those who are not in the immediate wake of the event. It creates an aftershock that can felt for many years to come and can drastically affect the world perceptions of those who inherit the earth. Our responsibility is not only to the survivors of such an event to the legacy of a plant we leave behind. If fail to address the psychological issues of such events then we leave a scar that is felt by all who come after.

References
Boston S. & Adrien C. (Feb, 2011) BP OIL SPILL CAUSED SIGNIFICANT PSYCHOLOGICAL IMPACT EVEN TO NEARBY COMMUNITIES NOT DIRECTLY TOUCHED BY OIL. University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Florida Researchers Report On Broader Public Health Impact of 2010 Spill. University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). Retrieved from: http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/bp_oil_psych_impact.htm
Broder J. & Zeller T. ( May 3, 2010) Gulf Oil Spill is bad, but how bad? Editors Note Appended. The New York Times. New York, New York. Retrieved from www.nytimes.com/2010/05/04/science/earth/04enviro.html
Guardian. (Thursday 22 July 2010 05.25 EDT) BP oil spill timeline. Follow our step-by-step timeline of the BP oil spill, from the construction of Deepwater Horizon to date. Guardian research,guardian.co.uk, Retrieved from http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/29/bp-oil-spill-timeline-deepwater-horizon
Hearing of the energy and environment subcommittee of the house energy and commerce committee subject: The BP oil spill: Human exposure and environmental fate chaired by: Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) witnesses: Chris Reddy, associate scientist, department of marine and geochemistry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Edward Trapido, Associate Dean for Research, Professor and Wendell Gauthier...(Congressional Hearing). (2010, March 25). Congressional Hearing Transcript Database.
McMahon, K. (2011, March 17). The Psychology of Disaster. The Energy Bulletin. Post Carbon Institute. Retrieved from http://www.energybulletin.net/stories/2011-03-17/psychology-disaster

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