The gulf region has been decimated with oil. We have all watched the depressing video of the wildlife smothered by the oil. Americans have no doubt been pondering this tragic event and wondering “What could we possibly have done differently to avoid this, click this link?

The oil spill is, by all means, a direct result of BP’s failure to maintain the well. However it can be argued that the volume of oil entombed there before the fault was a contributing factor.

BP’s oil wells are a result of a growing societal dependency on petroleum, which has been fueled for decades by both industrial and personal development. The International Energy Outlook 2010 of the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows that worldwide petroleum and liquid fuel consumption has increased from less than 150 quadrillion Btu per year in 1990 to more than 175 quadrillion Btu annually in 2007. The trend will continue with the projected increase in oil consumption from 86.1 millions barrels per day to 92.1million barrels by 2020. Oil is as important to Americans’ health and well-being as water. It has been a key component of economic and industrial growth in modern times. Oil is not only consumed by the automotive and fuel industries. Manufacturers and industrial centres also exploit it at an alarming rate. They justify their usage with the demands of commercial and consumer markets.

The oil usage will not improve, and disasters like the one that engulfed the south coast in the past are likely to happen again. Despite the fact that many industrial sectors choose to ignore the imminent reality of oil dependency in order to gain short-term profits, certain manufacturers have taken active steps to promote environmentally sustainable manufacturing processes and reduce our nation’s dependence on it. ECORE International, based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania has created a thriving company by finding innovative ways to reuse and recycle. They are a small privately-owned manufacturing company that recycles over 80,000,000 pounds of tire rubber each year into various products. This company saves enough energy to heat over 600 houses each year.

It is disappointing that the vast majority of industrial companies aren’t embracing alternative production methods, but those who have remain unabated in their campaign for change. While the oil spill continues to cause havoc in nature, these companies are fighting to preserve it.