APLEblog.com

Political Columnist
ALPEBLOG

In the wake of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill many have voiced concern, or in the case of Rep. Melancon (D-LA), cried about the loss of 11 oilrig workers along with the livelihoods of the coastal residents of Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida. No later than 4 days into the Gulf oil spill, republican leaders in Congress were calling on the Obama Administration to take charge, with claims that he was not doing enough to be at the forefront of this potential gulf oil disaster, and that the oil spill was the making of Obama’s Katrina. There were even whispers of sabotage and assertions that the oil spill was the doing of the Almighty God. Have they no shame?

The Obama Administration’s response to the gulf oil spill was deliberate and expeditious. Within 24 hours of Deepwater Horizon’s rig explosion, the Obama Administration established a command center; the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration assisted the coast guard as they commenced search and rescue operations; the Deputy Secretary of the Interior was deployed and an interagency command composed of five agencies (Coast Guard, EPA, Commerce, Interior, Homeland Security) was established to coordinate and oversee the oil spill response. Shortly after 24 hours, the President was already assuring the affected regions as well as BP that every available resource was available for use. And these efforts by the Obama Administration were prior to the discovery of the oil leak.

In 2005 Hurricane Katrina hit the coastlines of Mississippi and Louisiana causing massive devastation to those areas, destroying homes and businesses, separating families, and killing many of the residents that were left behind. The flood damage, which was caused by a breach in the levees, was widespread. The city of New Orleans was under an average of 12 ft of water for as long as 7 days. At night the city was cast into darkness, plagued with noisy swarms of mosquitoes, humid, hot and heavy with the stench of decay.

Jails and hospitals were flooded and overwhelmed; heat and exhaustion vanquished prisoners and patients alike; much needed medical supplies were in short supply. A dozen hours after the levees breached reports of criminal anarchy proliferated; news agencies and reporters on the ground broadcasted videos and pictures of tens of thousands of hurricane victims trapped without food, water and medical supplies.

The media coverage was extensive. Cable news, public radio, internet news, and foreign nations covered the disaster as it began to unfold. Scenes of elderly men and women restrained to the bounds of their wheelchairs and caretakers, smoldering in the Louisiana sun, littered our computer and television screens. Newborns and pregnant women were not spared from the squalor. The world was captivated by reports of bodies floating in the streets and stories of separated and reunited families for close to three days before President Bush convened a task force to coordinate a federal response.

It is thought that as many as 80,000 were trapped in New Orleans at the time the levees broke. Tens of thousands lost their homes and businesses, hundreds lost their lives. A year after Hurricane Katrina’s landfall the final death toll stood at approximately 1,800 – more than half of the deaths related to 9/11. Yet congressional members said little to nothing concerning President Bush or his Administration’s response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

The gulf oil spill is turning out to be the worst man-made environmental disaster in history. The death toll sits at 11 and the devastation has directly affected wildlife and ecosystems; indirectly hundreds of thousands employed in the fishing and boating industries are incurring severe financial losses. And the devastation extends past the coastline to include the industries that support fishing and boating such as hotels, restaurants, trucking and financial institutions.

If only the Obama Administration’s response to the gulf oil spill were in effect during the time of Hurricane Katrina, more people would be alive today. If only the acrimony in the political arena existed, as it does today, it would have stirred some congressmen to cry, scream, shout and blame the president, and then maybe 100 less lives would have been lost. If Bush had taken action within 48 hours, just as Obama did in response to the rig explosion, and deployed 2 Coast Guard cutters, 4 helicopters and 4 other rescue vehicles on day 2 of Hurricane Katrina’s landfall, maybe fewer lives would have been lost.

The response by the congressmen, businessmen and political leaders was inappropriate and unbalanced. Real human lives were being lost everyday for weeks during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Americans were suffering for weeks and many are still impacted today, yet the outcry was not as boisterous as the response to the gulf oil spill. Granted the animals impacted by the oil spill cannot speak for themselves, neither can they string letters together to form the word “help,” however they are animals and not equal to one American life.

The BP oil spill cannot be compared to Hurricane Katrina. Neither can Bush’s actions or more appropriately inaction after Katrina compare to Obama’s actions after the rig explosion – oil and water just don’t mix.

For more information on the response of the Bush Administration to Hurricane Katrina and the hearings please visit:
http://thinkprogress.org/katrina-timeline/

For the response of the Obama Administration to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill please visit:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/05/05/ongoing-administration-wide-response-deepwater-bp-oil-spill

Thank you for your readership.