There’s always some sort of disaster ready to ravage our great state. But even in the midst of this year’s calamities, things were starting to look up — if only briefly.
 
BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil leak — that oily horseman of the apocalypse — was recently capped, and the most recent hurricane brewing in the Atlantic Ocean is heading away from us — though I’m sure we’ll catch the next one.
And, for the first time since I can remember, the sun was starting to emerge over our downtrodden domicile.
 
Gov. Bobby Jindal asked for the oil moratorium to be lifted, and things were looking up.
 
But, oh no! It’s happening all over again!
 
Vermillion Oil Rig 380, a Mariner Energy platform  located about 100 miles away from Vermillion Bay, exploded Thursday.
 
For a while, we thought oil was spilling from this platform, but the Coast Guard backed off its initial report Thursday, saying there was never an oil leak in the first place.
 
But still, the fact that the rig even exploded can make our hearts sink like the Deepwater Horizon rig did months ago.
 
We can surely expect more talks of a moratorium in the near future and for a much longer term. No big surprise there — except it was only yesterday that Mariner bused 5,000 of its own employees to Houston to speak out against the moratorium already in place.
 
Surely, this will not help their cause — or our nation’s dependence on oil.
Heaven forbid we place our energy needs in the hands of greener based initiatives. Imagine it — the utilization of renewable energy in our daily lives.
 
Crazy, I know.
 
But, as far as Louisiana is immediately concerned, this is but another addition to an already lengthy list of disasters we’ve recently encountered.
 
Our name has become synonymous with turmoil.
 
Whether it’s hurricane winds, a California-like state budget crisis or extra crude on our shores, it’s what we do best.
 
All we can hope for this time is more of the federal and oil company funding we’ve come to know and love to aid us in this, our perpetual hour of need.
 
Andrew Robertson is a 23-year-old English writing and culture senior from Baton Rouge. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_Arobertson.
 
 
 
_____
Contact Andrew Roberston at [email protected]