The world is still fixated on the Gulf of Mexico, and the crisis that has gripped the area for well over a month now.
The oil spill, thousands of feet underwater, has been spreading fear, as well as oil, as coastal regions brace for an impact which could change the very way of life for thousands upon thousands of people.
Solutions for the problem at the British Petroleum site have been tested, tried and so far, largely have failed.
Company engineers and specialists have been working around the clock to devise a solution, which so far has remained out of reach.
The amount of oil which has gushed out into the ocean has been mind boggling, and a sure sign governments around the world will be playing much closer attention to offshore-drilling operations in the future.
It is amazing such technology exists to reach depths in the ocean, years ago thought unaccessible to oil exploration, though technology does not exist to fix a very serious problem, which certainly raises questions.
The disaster might just turn out to be a positive for Alberta, however, as the United States, in particular, is going to be very gun shy about approving any new offshore drilling operations.
Until the science is there, and the Environmental Protection Agency in particular is sure any new project is 100-per-cent safe, our friends south of the border just may be seeing Alberta’s oilsands operations in a brand-new light.
Only time will tell if the U.S. government will back off on its promises to not buy “dirty oil” from Alberta but for sure, the events in the Gulf of Mexico might have changed some minds.
The full environmental and economic impacts of this deep-water oil spill will likely not be realized for many years to come. Impacts on the ecological health of the waters surrounding the spill, the shorelines and the rivers which will be impacted could be enormous, not to mention how the livelihoods of many will be forever altered.
Maybe, just maybe, we will look back on this oil spill and see it as a turning point for Alberta’s industry.