Gulf oil slick: A boon to future alternative energy?

Timon Singh

The Obama administration has always supported alternative energy, but the recent decision to support offshore drilling projects has backfired with the recent Gulf of Mexico oil disaster. With world opinion galvanised against offshore drilling and an environmental catastrophe in the making, could the future be bright for alternative energy?

Of course it seems cold-hearted to think that with such an disaster currently happening, that someone could actually benefit from the chaos but often it takes a catastrophe to shake the world up and make people actively pursue alternative  methods, and this could be the case for the future of alternative energy.

In the face of the US economy being stricken by fisheries and local businesses being ravaged by the oil slick, even the most pro-drilling politicians have kept quiet on the subject of offshore drilling with some even reversing their stance. Californian governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, for example, withdrew his support for a plan to expand oil exploration off the state's coast saying the recent spill had changed his mind about the safety of oil platforms in the Pacific Ocean. In previous years, the Governor had pushed for more offshore drilling but with pictures of the recent devastation on every TV around the world, he has reversed his policy saying, "Why would we want to take that kind of risk?"

And that is exactly what other people are saying.

A bane to alternative energy?

While the President may seem committed to offshore drilling, with the White House saying he has "no plans to reconsider his proposal for new offshore oil drilling" in the aftermath of the spill, it would appear that the need for alternative energy in the future has never been more clear and that the oil spill is another reminder on why we need to wean the world off oil.

However the oil spill could ironically threaten the future of alternative energy and possible legislation. According to the Wall Street Journal;

"Lawmakers said the catastrophic spill could further dim the White House's hopes for securing legislation aimed at reducing U.S. consumption of oil and other fossil fuels, by making it impossible to forge a compromise that includes expanded undersea drilling [...]

Coastal senators, such as Democrats Robert Menendez of New Jersey and Bill Nelson of Florida, vowed to block expanded drilling in any bill. Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R., Ariz.) said legislation can't move forward without three "pillars": expanded oil and gas exploration, more nuclear power and a price on carbon-emissions in exchange for the first two.

"At least temporarily, this has knocked one of the legs of the stool off to the side, so my guess is that nothing proceeds at the moment," Mr. Kyl said.

Mr. Nelson agreed, saying, "It makes it more difficult to get 60 votes," the number to break a Senate filibuster. "You're not going to get offshore drilling in an energy bill."

Essentially, certain members of Congress would block the energy bill unless it also catered for offshore drilling, despite the recent disaster, making efforts to reduce oil dependency and lower greenhouse gases even further.

It's amazing to even think about; that an environmental disaster caused by oil drilling that has caused so much damage could actually make it harder to tackle climate change by pursuing alternative energy, but if the US government wants to get Republican support for its climate bill then it would have to make certain concessions to offshore drilling. And this is what the President did, a trade-off in order to get Republican and conservative Democrat senators to back a new climate bill.

Now the spill has throw everything into array with sponsors now withdrawing from the bill such as Robert Menendez from New Jersey who said, "I have let the administration know that if they do not protect New Jersey from the effects of coastal drilling in the climate-change bill, then my vote is in question."

However while the Gulf of Mexico deals with the oil crisis, alternative energy projects such as the giant Cape Wind Farm in Nantucket Sound, off Massachusetts are still facing opposition from certain pressure groups, but it is thought that the oil spill will now solidify support for the scheme.

It is indeed a crazy world, where up appears to be down, left is right and an environmental disaster could actually hamper alternative energy progress.

There is a silver lining however, the spillage has definitely led to more discussion on oil drilling and the pursuit of alternative energies in the media and around the world. Wind turbines may be eyes sores and solar farms may be expensive, but they don't destroy ecosystems and entire communities.

Relevant articles:

Is wind energy the future? | What does the oil spill mean for US drilling policy? |US's first offshore wind farm