Not an anniversary to celebrate.
It's been 365 days since BP's negligence, and the arrogance of the wider oil industry, led to the worst oil spill in US history: killing 11 rig workers and unleashing five million tonnes of oil, wrecking the Gulf Coast and killing birds and other wildlife.
The causes behind the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe remain unclear - but still oil companies are desperate to carry out similar drilling in UK waters.
Just a few days ago, Valiant Petroleum applied for permission to drill in deep waters off the west coast of Shetland. This is the third application to drill in the deep waters of the UK in the last year.
Tell your MP exactly how you feel about this risky and unnecessary drilling.
The UK government has only just launched its official inquiry into why the Gulf of Mexico disaster happened, and how they could prevent a similar one in our waters.
But, what we know already is this:
- An oil spill in the Shetland region would be "an absolutely enormous environmental disaster," according to Chris Huhne, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change
- It could reach as far as Greenland, Norway and the north coast of Germany, admits oil company Hess
- "There are serious doubts about the ability of oil spill response equipment to function in the harsh environment of the open Atlantic in the West of Shetland", says the parliament's Energy and Climate Change committee
- The computer modelling software oil companies use to model major oil spills ... can't model major oil spills, as revealed in Chevron, Hess and Valiant's spill response plans
Yet, despite the obvious hazards, the government is seriously considering approving Valiant's application for deep-water drilling.
It's outrageous and unnecessary.
We don't have to drill for more oil. By cutting down our oil use - through cleaner, more efficient transport - we can protect local environments like the west of Shetland and our climate.
We don't want a Deepwater Horizon spill in our waters.
But, if we don't tell our politicians that, you can guarantee it'll be business as usual.
