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oil spill
Trinidad and Tobago Mulls Historic Disaster Declaration After 'Ghost Ship' Oil Spill
"Right now the situation is not under control," the prime minister said Sunday on the eve of the Caribbean nation's world-renowned Carnival.
Feb 11, 2024
The government of Trinidad and Tobago this weekend said it is considering what would be the island nation's first-ever Level 3 diaster declaration amid a worsening environmental disaster caused by an oil spill from a mysterious ship on the eve of the Caribbean country's famed Carinval.
As more than 1,000 emergency workers and volunteers raced to clean up the massive spill off Tobago's southwestern coast, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Keith Rowley told reporters Sunday that "cleaning and restoration can only begin as soon as we have the situation under control. Right now the situation is not under control."
The spill came from a vessel of indeterminate origin that capsized off the coast of the Cove Eco Industrial Park on Wednesday. As Agence France-Presse reported, the ship—named Gulfstream—"made no emergency calls, with no sign of crew, and no clear sign of ownership."
Officials said the spill has affected over 25 miles of coastline and has damaged a coral reef and Atlantic beaches, threatening not only the environment and residents' health but also the vital tourism industry as the country prepares to host its world-renowned Carnival this week.
Farley Augustine, chief secretary of the Tobago House of Assembly, told reporters Saturday that the government may declare a Level 3 disaster for the first time in the nation's history. Level 3 spills require "substantial" international support.
"Everything indicates that we are going in that direction," Augustine said.
There have been hundreds of oil spills off Trinidad and Tobago's coast over the past decade. These accidents rarely attract international media attention and often go unpunished.
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Red Sea Oil Spill Averted, No Thanks to the Fossil Fuel Industry
Transnational polluters like TotalEnergies, Exxon, OMV, and Occidental should be paying the estimated $140 million cost of the FSO SAFER salvage operation.
Aug 15, 2023
After more than eight years of relentless effort and numerous hurdles, the U.N.-led hazardous operation to remove more than a million barrels of oil from the decaying FSO SAFER supertanker off Yemen’s coast and scrap the ageing vessel has taken a major step towards a safe conclusion.
This momentous achievement means the almost decade-long saga is in the home stretch, highlighting the power of collective action, but also exposing the heartless indifference of the oil industry to the consequences of its actions.
Crisis Averted
The FSO SAFER, once a looming threat on the horizon of the Red Sea, is now rid of its perilous cargo. This success stands as a testament to international cooperation, determination, and the unwavering commitment of organizations like Greenpeace, Holm Akhdar, and other allies who played a pivotal role in galvanizing global awareness about the impending dangers posed by the deteriorating supertanker.
Years of tireless advocacy and collaboration have culminated in the commencement and successful completion of the operation. The fact that the operation was necessary in the first place underscores not only the remarkable feat of averting disaster but also serves as a stark reminder that too often, communities and governments are left to clean up the mess created by the oil industry.
The potential consequences of an oil spill in the Red Sea cannot be overstated. It could inflict irreparable damage on coastal communities, fragile ecosystems, and marine life, exacerbating both the ongoing humanitarian crisis and the impacts of the climate crisis in the region.
Make Polluters Pay
As we commemorate this significant milestone, it is crucial to confront a disheartening reality: The very oil companies behind this perilous situation have demonstrated a glaring lack of responsibility. Despite reaping record profits, these major polluters have abdicated their obligation to address the potential risks and consequences posed by the FSO SAFER.
Oil giants such as TotalEnergies, Exxon, OMV, and Occidental, beneficiaries of the SAFER’s operations, have not taken meaningful action to forestall a potential oil spill catastrophe in the Red Sea. These transnational polluters should be paying the estimated $140 million cost of the salvage operation. Instead, U.N. members, the private sector, and individuals from all over the world have contributed $121 million, with another estimated $22 million still needed.
This underscores the urgent necessity for heightened accountability within the oil industry, laying bare the stark disparity between financial gains and ethical responsibility.
Shipbreaking: Do No Harm
Even as we celebrate the successful resolution of the immediate FSO SAFER crisis, it is crucial to acknowledge that the journey is far from over. The legacy of neglect and disregard for environmental consequences demands a transformative shift in the oil industry’s practices. Oil companies that have used this vessel to shovel money into their coffers should pay for its scrapping in environmentally sustainable ways that safeguard against potential harm its disposal could inflict on other communities.
We agree with the NGO Shipbreaking Platform call for the vessel to be recycled in a yard that complies with the E.U.-Ship Recycling Regulations. Such facilities are also found in non-E.U. countries. The concern lies in the possibility of the U.N. opting for cheaper options to scrap the ship, driven by insufficient funding. This scenario could lead to the SAFER winding up on one of the ship scrapping shores in South Asia dismantled under rudimentary conditions, with harmful consequences for the host country and its people.
It would be a tragedy to have averted one disaster in the Red Sea only to have another impacting people elsewhere.
Yemen Oil Risk Not Over
It’s also vital to emphasize that storing the oil in a new vessel cannot be a final solution. Although the YEMEN tanker is in notably better condition than the SAFER, the crisis can only be fully mitigated by safely and completely removing the oil from Yemeni waters.
Demand Climate Justice
The salvage operation serves as a poignant reminder of the pressing need to liberate ourselves from the shackles of fossil fuels. The long-running FSO SAFER saga underscores the imperative for the oil industry to reckon with its complicity in the climate and nature crisis and to take decisive measures to rectify the damage it has caused.
Success in averting a catastrophic oil spill in the Red Sea offers a moment of reflection and inspiration, reiterating the urgent demand for accountability, sustainability, and climate justice in our relentless pursuit to safeguard our planet and the generations that will inherit it.
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The Cure for Climate Anxiety? Climate Action
What we’re seeing is a pressing need for people to connect and become active in their communities—for the health of their communities as well as their own mental health.
Aug 06, 2023
I remember being a young girl, no more than 7, and older people telling me: “Sorry we destroyed the planet. Now it’s your responsibility to fix it.” At such a young age, I didn’t understand what those words meant. But it wouldn’t be the last time I heard them.
I live in New Mexico. In my 22 years, I’ve seen our winters becoming less and less white, each summer getting hotter, and the water slowly disappearing from the great Rio Grande. It’s a story my peers in other states could tell just as well.
The continuous occurrence of these events—and the lack of meaningful action by our representatives to stop them—have been a source of constant stress. I’ve spent years of my young life battling intense feelings of uneasiness, dread, and fear—all of which would become exaggerated whenever I read about a natural disaster or an oil spill.
For many years I felt alone with these feelings. But then I learned that they had a name: “climate anxiety.”
It turns out I’m not alone.
These feelings are valid. But we can’t let them overpower our desire to see a future in which renewable energy is flourishing and fossil fuel pollution is a thing of the past.
In one large study of 10,000 children and young people in 10 countries, 45% of respondents said their feelings about climate change negatively impacted their daily functioning. Another 75% found the future frightening—and 83% said that they think people have failed to take care of the planet.
A Yale and George Mason report called “Climate Change in the American Mind” said that about 1 in 10 Americans report having experienced anxiety because of global warming for several or more days out of the last two weeks. Almost as many report experiencing symptoms of depression for the same reason.
These feelings are valid. But we can’t let them overpower our desire to see a future in which renewable energy is flourishing and fossil fuel pollution is a thing of the past.
So how do we keep going? By turning climate anxiety into climate action.
And fortunately, there’s promising research in that area, too. A 2022 study published in Current Psychology suggested that collective action could bring a sense of community, connection, and social support.
“Engaging in collective action can have a multitude of benefits including social connectedness with people who share similar goals and values,” study coauthor Sarah Lowe told Yale Sustainability. “We also thought that individuals who engaged in collective action—particularly if they saw those actions as having an impact—could have a stronger sense of self-efficacy and hope for the future.”
Proponents of a mental health approach called “ecotherapy” have suggested that developing an environmental identity and engaging in environmental conservation may be another effective approach to treating climate anxiety.
What we’re seeing is a pressing need for people to connect and become active in their communities—for the health of their communities as well as their own mental health. The possibility of hope begins when you can see paths for change, however small, in your own community.
Over the years my own waves of climate anxiety have been eased by watching climate organizations like YUCCA and New Mexico Climate Justice demand just energy transitions in my home state and across the country.
I’ve felt the crippling effects of climate anxiety. But we must be able to use our emotions to fuel positive change. I’ve learned these feelings can help us create communities focused on empowering and motivating each other to stand up to those who disrespect and pollute the earth.
The greatest strength of humanity lies in our ability to come together, support each other, and fight for the future that we and future generations deserve.
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