Remembering the Deepwater Horizon Victims One Year Later

---

One year ago today, an explosion tore through the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil drilling rig, about 40 miles off the coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven workers died. The rig was owned by Transocean, and was producing oil on contract with BP. There will be much coverage today (indeed, all week) about the current state of the Gulf, the health of Gulf residents, the changes (or lack thereof) in offshore drilling regulation, and the future of the industry.

Too little attention will be paid to the workers who lost their lives.

Consider the words of Teresa Carpenter, the mother-in-law of one of the lost rig workers: "These men are all but forgotten except by their families."

They aren't forgotten by us. We are thinking today of the eleven workers and the families they were taken away from. We're thinking of the real costs of our country's energy demands. We're thinking of our own oil consumption, and it's connection to this great human tragedy.

We send out deepest condolences and warmest wishes to the families.

You can consider the lives lost, and send your thoughts, through the Deepwater Horizon Memorial.

Photo: Deepwater Horizon Memorial