The Gulf Coast oil spill that began in late April has caused irreparable damage to the environment and wildlife along the coast. Loudoun Valley students harbor a deep sense of remorse for the destructive consequences of the spill.

When looking to assign blame, environmentally aware students continue to point their fingers in different directions. “I think mistakes happen…it’s sad and unfortunate and it really sucks. The BP corporation should be punished for trying to get work done cheaply,” said junior Devin Gannaway.

Sophomore Baily Sternberg agrees, saying “I love baby ducks. I love pelicans. I love turtles. I hate all of them covered in oil. I think that by now they should have found a quick solution to clean up the oil spill instead of letting it go so out of hand.”

There is also a strong focus on the ecological repercussion that the oil spill may have on the Gulf of Mexico itself. As thousands of barrels of oil are released into the Gulf every day, optimism continues to grow dim.

“The Gulf Coast is screwed... but it’s just one of those things that happen. I mean, hurricanes happen, and oil spills happen. This is going to sound really calloused, but mistakes happen and sometimes they cause catastrophic results,” said junior Joel Fletcher.

As the situation in the Gulf progresses, many people worry what the aftereffects of the oil spill will be. In a recent interview with CBS, President Obama was quoted saying, “I think this disaster is going to shape how we think about the environment and energy for many years to come.”

Though the responsibility for the oil spill is being shared, there is no end in sight for the gushing of oil into the once prosperous Gulf waters. “What we can predict is that the availability of fossil fuel is going to be diminishing; that it's going to get more expensive to recover; that there are going to be environmental costs that our children, ... our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren are going to have to bear,” said Obama.