BP oil spill leaves students feeling hopeless

Editors Note: The following is an analysis of the British Petroleum (BP) Oil spill accompanied by the opinions of SUNY Fredonia students.

April 20, 2010 began the ordeal that has engulfed mainstream consciousness for some time. The BP oil spill is intruding on thousands of species across numerous ecosystems and into our daily newspapers, whether we care about it or not. BP was reluctant to admit any guilt in the matter until it became apparent the situation had gotten out of control. What can students thousands of miles away do about this tremendous problem? SUNY Fredonia weighs in.

Morgan: What do you think?

John Fredericks: "I'm not really up on the event but from what I've heard, it is not a good thing."

Morgan: How can we prevent such a thing from happening? Are we responsible as citizens?

John:  "I'm against modern advances in some ways. Like use of cars I think is excessive. In theory,  I'm against conveniences that are at the expense of the environment. But when it comes to my daily life, the things I'm habituated to, I am for them. And when I think about it, I can rationalize it too. I'm not going to be around one-hundred years from now, so what does it matter anyway?"

Morgan: Suppose everyone was willing to sacrifice their conveniences to reduce the expense on the environment, do you think that's possible?

John: "No it is not possible. Well --It doesn't seem possible-- like at harmony with nature is that what you mean?"

Morgan: No not necessarily at harmony with but not at the expense of.

John: "That would be a good thing, I would like that. Who wouldn't like that? But, at this point I think that's pretty far gone."

Morgan: What role does the individual play in preventing something like this from happening?

John: "You can go to lengths to try and prevent something like this from happening but ultimately there is too much force against you. But then you can just rationalize, the way I do, I do care but I don't take any measures to change anything."

John is a senior Psychology Major

Morgan: What do you think of the BP disaster?

Seth Carlson: "From a biological standpoint, as a biology major, it is really hard to see that. It is almost impossible to fathom the scope of the disaster."

Jenn Danna: "How is this not being resolved any faster? It's really frustrating to me. How were plans not put in place faster? The fact that we're not creating ideas to solve the idea is really depressing and devastating. Like to see a picture and know ‘this is happening because you guys aren't getting your act together."

Morgan: So is that the politicians' fault, the corporation's fault or the citizens?

Seth: "I think the greed and desire to profit from the oil is where this problem stems from."

Jenn: "I think that responsibility somewhere along the line was dropped. Something wasn't secured, some tiny detail wasn't taken care of. And because of that we're dealing with such a huge problem."

Morgan: You said you're frustrated, do you feel helpless? How can an individual make any sort of difference when the problem is so insurmountable?

Jenn: "I think the people in power need to set up some way for people to help out in some way, places set up, everywhere around the country. I could really want to help out, and even do it but to be honest what I do really isn't going to go very far. If citizens were directed in some way to work things into their lifestyle and do things, with direction, that would work."

Seth: "I don't think they're going to stop drilling but they need to set up procedures so we know what to do when this happens."

Jenn: "I think we need to wean ourselves off of oil period. But that is not going to happen."

Morgan: Would you be willing to make sacrifices so we could live a lifestyle that isn't at the expense of nature?

Both: "Yes."

Jenn: "I think a lot of people would be willing, if they were given direction beyond the cutesy things we've been told forever, like recycle this. Of course every little bit helps but the oil isn't going anywhere."

Jenn Danna is a senior music education major, Seth Carlson is a senior biology major.