I’m leaving for San Francisco in the morning, so I guess it’s the perfect time for there to be a large oil spill in the bay. Early Wednesday morning, in dense fog, a container ship headed for South Korea struck a supporting tower for the San Francisco- Oakland Bay Bridge, creating a large gash in the side of the ship, although thankfully the bridge did not suffer any structural damage. (http://www.ktvu.com/news/14541458/detail.html). This spill is reported to be the largest in San Francisco since 1988. Although it is technically considered a medium sized spill it’s impact will be great considering the environmental sensitivity of the people of northern California and the bay area especially.
One of the most troubling things about this spill is the slow reporting of the actual extent of oil that was released into the bay. The first accounts that were given reported that there had only been 140 gallons of oil spilt, however we now know that the number is actually 58, 000 gallons. Because of the delay in accurate information the city workers who were trying to control the spill handled the situation much differently. Knowing what we know now they are upset that they weren’t able to better stabilize the spread of the oil with the proper amount of boom lines.
The oil that is in the bay is now at the mercy of the currents and winds and has been seen as far as 40 miles up the coast. Marine life is also being affected and workers are doing everything possible to help those animals that are soaked in oil.
This oil spill seems so senseless to me. I realize that it can get very foggy in the bay, but a boat should never crash into a bridge. There is so much technology in navigation and other ways of “seeing” now that this occurrence is simply unacceptable.
Although the number of oil spills and the quantity of oil spilt has dropped since the 1970s (http://www.itopf.com/stats.html) it is still important that we work to make sure that accidents like the collision in the San Francisco bay don’t occur. Besides the obvious fact that oil is a huge commodity in our nation right now, as well as around the world, our growing environmental problems will only worsen at a quicker pace with occurrences like these. San Francisco and the surrounding beaches in Marin County are some of the most beautiful in California and it is important that we protect that beauty and the marine life that call these places home.
When I get to San Francisco tomorrow I want to be able to go to fisherman’s wharf and enjoy myself, instead i'll be reminded of yet another careless mistake we’ve made with our environment.
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When you say reporting was slow, and that information was lacking--you should probably point out that those who "reported" the low number were members of the U.S. Coast Guard. It was the news media that did some digging, and eventually reported the fact that the number was low-balled by the powers that be. The Coast Guard eventually admitted the "mistake" and now has the somewhat hypocritical task of blaming the spill on human error. It begs the questions--who made the error...the Captain steering the vessel, or the Coast Guard station guiding the ship? And if the Coast Guard says it was the former...should we believe them?
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