URI Multi Region

The Gulf oil spill is now identified as the largest environmental disaster in U.S. history.   The crisis has the potential for changes in the lives of the people along the Gulf Coast, and our country as a whole.

The incident for me, personally, brought up memories of the Santa Barbara, Califorina oil spill.  At the time of the Santa Barbara oil spill, I was attending college a few miles down the road in Thousand Oaks, California.  At the time the 11 days to cap the spill seemed like an eternity and the 200,000 gallons spread out on a 800 mile slick seemed hard to comprehend.   The numbers of this oil spill now seem to be dwarfed by the mammoth spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Some have noted that it was the Santa Barbara Oil spill that was the catalyst for the first Earth Day and the passage of several new environmental laws such as the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act, the creation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and more.   We even had a U.S. President in the 70’s calling for a reduction in oil imports, increased conservation, energy efficiency, use of renewable energies, the creation of the new Solar Energy Research Institute and symbolic solar panels put on the White House roof.

But then we faced new leadership in the form of Ronald Reagan who as one of his first acts symbolically took down the solar panels off the White House, and put more emphasis on oil, gas, and nuclear power and less on conservation, efficiency, and renewables.  Reagan told the American people what they wanted to hear, that there would be no need for sacrifices or changing lifestyles as President Carter had suggested.  Ever since no American President has had the courage to try to change course as Jimmy Carter did.  The result, our oil imports from Carter through Bush have doubled from 5 million barrels a day to 10 million barrels a day according to the U.S. Energy Administration.  See: http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/dnav/pet/hist/LeafHandler.ashx?n=PET&s=MCRIMUS2&f=A

Despite many warning signs such as the Three Mile Island accident (1979), the Exxon Valdez incident (1989), the Prudhoe Bay oil spill (2006), and several tragic refinery fires and mine disasters, the nation continues to pursue an unsustainable and increasingly dangerous energy policy.   Not even the Pentagon commissioned report published in the book Brittle Power by Amory Lovins, released in 2001 after the 9/11 attacks, warned of the national security threats of U.S. energy policy was enough for politicians to change course.

So now we have the inevitable result of a  poorly regulated energy industry, who has been taking increasing risks, to satisfy the increasing fossil fuel appetite of Americans, the tragic Gulf oil spill.

The losses are incredible and include destruction of wetlands, sea grasses, and other important ecosystems, the destruction of thousands of birds with the risk of more to come when the migratory season beings this Fall and birds return from the North, the loss of human life with the deaths of those killed on the oil rig explosion, the increasing number of health problems being reported, the loss and end for some of their family heritage of fishing, the loss of tourist dollars, and the loss of jobs, to name a few.  Consider the following:

• Over 40% of the U.S. fragile wetlands are in danger.
• Louisiana is already estimating 12,000 in job loss and that is just the beginning.
• The U.S. Government has already declared Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama a  fishery disaster and closed 30% of the Gulf of Mexico to Fishing.  Louisiana alone supplies 40% of the U.S. seafood supply, a $2.4 billion industry employing 27,000 people.
• According to John Hofmeister, an ex-CEO from Shell Oil, the offshore moratorium could cost 50,000 jobs in the oil industry alone.  The Wall Street Journal says the number could reach 75,000.
• Florida hotels are already reporting as much as 50% decrease in reservations in the Florida Keys.
• Thousands of birds could die from the oil spill with more impact to com in the fall when the migratory birds return to the oil infested marshes and wetlands.
• Many fish species are in danger including the blue fin tuna, 90% who spawn in the Gulf Coast.  Other fish who may experience major impacts include grouper, red snapper, oysters, and spiny lobsters to name a few.
• 28 species of whales and dolphins inhabit the Gulf of Mexico plus sea turtles who are all at risk
• Depending on the path of the oil spill, mangroves, coral reefs, and beaches in the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are all at risk.
• Health risks are increasingly being identified with over 70 people already diagnosed as ill from the Oil Spill with headaches, nausea, skin damage, respiratory problems, to name a few.  More serious long term effects are also possible.

While the full scale of this unfolding disaster is still unknown, the collective trauma, stress, and grief from this environmental disaster will not end when the the oil leak is finally plugged.  It will take years if not decades for ecosystems to recover, some communities and industries may never recover, and for many individuals life may never be the same again as they had known it.    The personal and cultural losses are at a scale that few in the U.S. have ever experienced.  Millions across the nation are expressing outrage and feelings of sickness as they view birds covered with oil and dolphins and sea turtles attempting to swim through the oil filled waters.  Fisherman who have had long family histories in this profession are grief stricken as they realize the family heritage and way of life may be ending, businesses dependent on tourism are stressed with the possibility of failing in an already tough economy, and the ecosystems that have supported much diversity in nature are threatened with a blow that may take them decades to recover if they ever do.

While the State of Louisiana has already deployed mental health workers to address this crisis, that comes not that long after Hurricane Katrina, the breadth and depth of the grief and trauma is likely to be to big to handle on an individual basis.

As my friend and colleague the late Dr. Howard Clinebell, founding President of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, asked after 9/11, “What is the missing piece in facilitating wholistic healing of collective trauma and systemic grief?”

This question led Howard and I to collaborate and identify some tentative answers that include:

1. The missing piece is an in-depth understandings of the unique dynamics and process of healing collective as compared with individual trauma, anxiety, terror, rage and grief.  Both the PTSD and the CISD (Critical Incident Stress Debriefing) literature focus mainly on individual and family trauma.  Although collective trauma trigger many responses like those elicited by trauma in individuals, the unique dimensions must be understood more fully and addressed effectively by caregivers who strive to be truly wholistic.
2. The key dynamic in collective trauma are terrifying, disorienting shattering of the collective identities that give large social systems like communities, states, and nations a sense of shared security and meaning.  In trauma produced by disasters such as the Gulf oil spill, this identity shattering often produces intense, defensive in-group bonding.  This defense is often expressed in uncritical political and economic responses and immediate, non-rational transference elevation of key leaders, along with self-righteous glorification of “us” vs the totally evil “them”.  In this case the people vs. BP  All this feeds the collective ethical craziness of the social psychology often found in disasters.
3. The unique role of pastoral psychotherapists is illuminated by awareness of the tidal wave of collective existential anxiety triggered by the terrifying awareness of our extreme human vulnerability and the unpredictable nature of loss and death for all we love and for ourselves.  This deep, fear, anger, and pain often creates a wave of defensive religious passion and expressions intertwined with intense, uncritical response.  Mobilizing our expertise in diagnosing and treating pathogenic faith and value systems will enable us to help care-receivers eventually move toward more wellness and healthy values systems.  Our knowledge of the healing potential of group rituals should equip us to coach clients in creating and participating in healing rituals for PTSD responses long after the Gulf Oil Spill.
4. The Gulf Oil Spill and other collective trauma highlight the inadequacy and incompleteness of stand-alone, intrapsychic pastoral or mental health counseling and the urgent necessity of integrating systemic, prophetic strategies in our caregiving responses.

The good news is like the Santa Barbara Oil Spill became a catalyst for new environmental awareness and a series of new environmental laws, the Gulf oil spill may become a catalyst for a serious shift in U.S. energy policy to get off its fossil fuel addiction and chart a new sustainable energy course.  The new sustainable energy course with an emphasis on conservation, energy efficiency, and renewables will also create new jobs, reduce the nations trade imbalance, reduce the national debt, and increase national security.   Groups like the Waves of Change campaign have already begun to chart a course for more sustainable, disaster resistant, and economically sustainable communities through its Blue Communities program.  see www.wavesofchange.org

The challenge of  the Gulf oil spill for pastoral caregivers and other mental health workers is immense and many faceted. Let’s hope is that we who are trained to think in disciplined ways about cultivating spiritually-centered, wholistic healing will use this window of opportunity to make innovative discoveries of healing modalities for countless wounded persons and families but also for our deeply and collectively wounded nation and global community.

Let’s hope and pray that we can somehow use our expertise to help our loved country stop contributing to the negative impacts of climate change and ocean acidification that will be experienced much greater in poor countries by increasing terrible poverty and economic oppression by our misguided energy policies.

If we do this, we will help many individuals and families experience healing of their collective grief and, equally important, we will perhaps also help our country to grow into a more mature and ethical member of the family of nations!

We need to channel the public outrage, into concrete practical actions, and move our nation decisively onto the path of a sustainable energy future.

Lets use the opportunity of the tragic crisis of the Gulf oil spill to say no more to energy companies dictating our national energy policy and begin moving toward a sustainable future.  This is perhaps the one thing that can bring rapid healing to the collective grief and trauma from this horrific event.
Dave Randle

Dr. David W. Randle is a Pastoral Care Specialist in the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, President & CEO of the WHALE Center, and Managing Director of the International Ocean Institute Waves of Change Campaign

The tragic Gulf of Mexico oil spill reminds us once again of the hazards of a fossil fuel based economy and the need to build more sustainable communities.

The current oil spill has brought on environmental, economic, and health challenges that could have been prevented if the U.S. had been willing to make the shift to sustainability years ago.

What we are faced with now includes:

• degradation of large amounts of wetlands, mutation, deformity, death of fish and wildlife, and destruction of many fragile ecosystems.
• potential catastrophic economic losses to the fishing and tourism industry.  The damages to the fishing industry alone could amount to tens or hundreds of millions of dollars.  Tourism on the Gulf Coast is a multi-billion dollar industry with hundreds of thousands of employees whose jobs may be at stake.
• potential economic damages to Gulf Coast ports that transfer over a million tons of trade cargo per year.
• health risks to humans from the toxic effects of oil that according to Physicians for Social Responsibility include headaches, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, irritation of the eyes, and difficulty breathing. (see http://www.psr.org/environment-and-health/confronting-toxics/blog/a-toxic-brew-in-the-gulf-of-mexico.html)
• potential long term effects to the food supply where the contaminates from the oil can cause elevated cancer risks for decades.  Louisiana says that there are over 400 species of oysters, shrimp, and fish that depend on the area the oil spill is impacting.
• risks from chemical dispersants that are poisons used from the belief that they can’t be worse than the oil itself.  The ingredients of these dispersants are claimed as “proprietary information” by Nalco the Company that makes Corexit the main dispersant being used in the Gulf of Mexico.  The impact of these dispersants on fish and shellfish and the ocean ecosystems are largely unknown.

As catastrophic as the Gulf oil spill is, it may be in a larger perspective just a small glimpse into the future of what may be coming if the U.S. does not address its oil addiction and the pressing issues of climate change and ocean acidification.

The U.S. has wasted the past decade when its international leadership was needed to address the global challenge of moving the world toward sustainability.

Senate Bill  1733, the Clean Energy Jobs & American Power Act proposed by Sen. John Kerry and Sen. Joe Liberman is at best is a small and weak start.  While the bill has many good features it is not near enough to get the U.S. economy off its dependence on foreign oil and reduce carbon emissions to meaningful levels to address climate change and ocean acidification threats.

A few years ago the World Business Academy publication “Freedom From Mid-East Oil”  outlined a blue print for a more sustainable energy policy to (see: www.whitehouse.gov/issues/energy-and-environment)

In the plan the World Business Academy noted what needs to be done including:

• increase the CAFE Standards to a minimum of 40 MPG
• accelerate the use of plug in electric and plug in hybrid vehicles to a million per year along with 100,000 hydrogen fuel cell vehicles
• increasing our electricity production from renewables to at least 20%  of total.
• improve energy efficiency as the cheapest source of energy.
• raise the price of carbon so there are meaningful incentives to make the transition off oil to renewable technologies more quickly.

These simple strategies would eliminate the need for new nuclear power plants and off shore drilling for oil while creating thousands of new jobs, reduce the balance of trade deficit, and reduce the national debt.

It has been argued that while the World Business Academy makes both economic and environmental sense, that our U.S. Senate has to follow a mediocre plan due to their ties to big oil.

Leadership on behalf of humanity and other living creatures is needed now.   Planet Earth can not wait for the U.S. Senate to be ready to respond to a crisis.

The Obama administration along with leadership in State and Local governments is going to have to take initiatives with or without the U.S. Senate support.

Fortunately there are many excellent blue prints for how State and Local governments can act independent of the U.S. Government.  Both Green and Blue Community initiatives provide an abundance of strategies that state and local governments can act upon. (see two examples at: http://greencities.com and http://www.wavesofchange.org/topics/view/17903)

At the same time, the Obama administration can use the regulatory power of the EPA to address climate change and can push for regulatory reform to hold both oil and chemical companies more accountable for incidents like the Gulf oil spill.

It is time for real political leadership to take a stand on behalf of both present and future generations.  It is time that political leadership be willing to take stands such as Senator Bill Nelson has done against off shore drilling.  It is time that political leadership put first the health safety and environment over that of short term corporate profits especially with the consequences of climate change, ocean acidification, and other challenges before us.  We can not waste another decade.  There really is no other choice.  The time to create more sustainable communities is now.