THE BARBADOS GOVERNMENT and all other countries that were negatively affected by the BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico deserve to be compensated for economic losses caused by the disaster.
As a Barbadian-born United States citizen who frequently returns to my country of birth, I am deeply disturbed by the polluted condition of our formally pristine coastal waters.
In recent years the waters surrounding the island and the formerly world class beaches have been invaded and polluted by brown, dead seaweed, and my fears were confirmed by your article entitled Marine Biologist Blames Humans For Seaweed Problem in your July 22, 2015 edition. It reported that marine biologist Andre Miller believes that “the current Sargassum seaweed has been linked the 2010 BP oil rig explosion”.
My contention is that while the US has been rightly compensated with $20 to $56 billion in damages and clean-up costs, Barbados currently faces coastal pollution, loses in its fishing and tourist revenue directly due to this oil leak.
BP needs to be held accountable by the Barbados government, or some international tribunal for the ecological and economic destruction caused by their carelessness and greed.
In our current state of fiscal deficits, the people of Barbados deserve to be compensated.
The government of Barbados must not be intimidated by corporate pariahs that exert their power and influence at the expense of sovereign states, no matter how small we may be.
Further, our government in recent years has given permission to BHP to explore oil and gas extraction just 40 kilometres southeast of the island . . . . just imagine the potential damage if a similar event occurred in our “backyard”.
– Dr Paul A. Patrick