This past weekend around 160,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into Galveston Bay following a collision between two ships.

High waves driven by wind made containing the spill impossible. As a result, oil reached some areas on shore while also leading to the closure of the Houston Ship Channel during the early phases of the cleanup effort.

Besides the container ships and tankers that were left waiting for the Ship Channel to reopen, passengers aboard two cruise ships were delayed, and the ferry linking Galveston Island and the Bolivar Peninsula was closed as a result of the spill.

While 160,000 gallons of oil sounds like a lot of oil, it is a mere drop in the bucket compared to some of the worst oil spills in history.

Still, even a drop in the bucket can have long reaching implications.

When that drop of oil in the bucket occurs during prime bird migration season, the sticky situation can be even worse.

Oil covered birds have already been discovered, and there will likely be more found before the cleanup is complete. There is more to the impacts of the spill then some oil covered birds and fish, however.

Impacts of crude oil will likely be felt all the way to the bottom of the food chain with the total impacts not known for years.

Few would argue that oil is an important part of life and is needed for everything from transportation to power generation. While efforts can be taken to reduce the world’s dependence on oil, it is not realistic to say that society needs to be completely oil free.

While there are alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power that can help reduce the amount of petroleum products society needs, the simple fact is the industrialized world cannot function without fossil fuels.

As such, every possible precaution is taken to ensure the safe manufacturing and transporting of oil from the time it leaves the ground until the final product is placed in the consumer’s hand.

Despite all of these precautions, there are occasionally spills and other accidents such as the one that occurred over the weekend.

When things do go wrong in the oil manufacturing process and entire ecosystems are put at risk, it becomes time to look at all sides of the argument and ensure that impacts are minimized and the oil is removed in the safest way possible.

We are approaching the fourth anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon incident where the Gulf of Mexico was inundated over 87 days with an estimated total discharge at 4.9 million barrels of oil, which is roughly 210 million gallons.

The 2010 spill, which is also referred to as the BP Oil Spill, was the largest oil spill to occur in the waters off of the United States.

Even now, many groups are monitoring the Gulf of Mexico for signs of damage to the ecosystem. While trends such as a rise in dolphin fatality rates have been observed the total impacts related to the spill will not be known for decades.

It should be noted that there are ships and other modes or transport that travel safely through the waters and roads on a daily basis. So, oil spills are certainly the exception more than the rule. However, it is an exception with dire consequences.

Generations of people have counted on the Gulf of Mexico for food and relaxation. And with the right steps now it should be available for generations to come.

The same is true of Galveston Bay which has large recreational and professional fishing communities that count on the wildlife within its waters to be free of contaminants and safe to eat.

There is certainly more to life than a stroll on the beach or a quiet day out on the fishing pier. But everybody deserves the option to stroll on that beach and fish from that pier oil free when the time to does come.

It is time to take a hard look at alternatives to oil so that we are no longer dependent on the remains of dinosaurs to fuel a 21^st Century society.

The birds and marine life certainly deserve better and so do we.

Now if you’ll excuse me, all of this talk about marine ecosystems has me craving some scallops with Old Bay Seasoning.

Copyright 2014 R Anderson