This week, the pilot of the Cosco Busan was charged with negligently causing the 58,000 gallon fuel spill that will impact the San Francisco Bay Area for years to come. While it is rewarding to see the slow wheels of justice turning, have we really put anything in place that will prevent another such spill some time in the future?
Global shipping vessel traffic is on the increase. Worldwide new ports are being built and expanded.
Organizations such as Friends of the Earth are leading the charge to ban bunker fuel nationally, while Seaflow is calling for speed limits for large vessels in National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine Protected Areas. These actions are part of the solution.
But on a larger scale, we need to be smart about this increased shipping traffic. More large vessels will inevitably lead to more incidents whether in the San Francisco Bay Area or Korea or the Black Sea. Do we have the rules and regulations in place to address this increased traffic?
On a society-wide level, support the efforts of FOE and Seaflow to get some of these rules in place. On a personal level, you can take a stand against this increased traffic by buying locally sourced and locally made products. Sounds a bit simple, but every little step moves us along in the right direction.
