Deepwater+Horizon+Oil+Spill

The first decade of the 21st century was one of an increase in awareness and progress for the environmental movement. The premiere of the film //An Inconvenient Truth// launched public concern for global warming that hadn't been seen since the early 1970s in the environmental revolution. Songs were written, protests were demonstrated, and, in the 2008 presidential election, young women voters placed global warming at the top of their "concern" list for what would influence them to vote for which candidate. Wind power, solar, and geothermal energy has seen a large spike in usage. Would this at last be time for positive environmental change? **__ The Environment and Barack Obama __** Obama hopes that these ambitious goals will make the U.S. a global leader in positive climate change (Obama). **__ The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill __** However, in spring of 2010, an oil-rig explosion rocked the Gulf of Mexico with the largest petroleum spill in the history of the world. Although monitors had warned BP that the rig, called //Deepwater Horizon,// was not functioning as well as it should, BP continued to use it. On April 4th, the high-pressure rig catapulted methane gas up to the platform, causing the drill to unplug from the oil hole. Initially, there wasn’t much press, but after about 41 days oil began washing up on the coast of Louisiana. Soon, it was reported that the well was spilling out 163,000 barrels of oil a day (Weisse). This enormous number was causing untold damage to the Gulf’s economy, the marshlands, native animals, and the people who shaped their lives around fishing and living on the coast. The well continued to spew out the “black gold” relentlessly until, on August 1st, a new method of control was issued. Drilling mud was pumped slowly into the hole, and, suddenly, on August 4th, the spillage ended. Although the oil leakage ended much more abruptly than expected, the damage will take hundreds of years to erradicate (Roberston).
 * __ A New Age for the Environment __**
 * · Put 1 million Plug-In Hybrid cars -- cars that can get up to 150 miles per gallon -- on the road by 2015, cars that are built in America.
 * · Within 10 years save more oil than we currently import from the Middle East and Venezuela combined.
 * · Ensure 10 percent of our electricity comes from renewable sources by 2012, and 25 percent by 2025.
 * · Weatherize One Million Homes Annually. [[image:http://www.pacificariptide.com/pacifica_riptide/images/2007/11/12/ba_oil_spill_0299_kr.jpg width="122" height="179" align="right" caption="BP slick covers the coast"]]