Oil

            Fifty-one days ago, eleven people woke up and went to work.  Those eleven people had no idea that they had woken up to their final day of life.  Now, eleven people are dead, millions of gallons of oil have poured into the Gulf of Mexico, and the cost to the marine wildlife is yet unknown.  Fifty-one days later we are still waiting to hear of containment.

            When this explosion first happened, what I thought about was the loss of human life; it did not occur to me at fifty-one days later the oil would still be spewing into the Gulf. 

            This weekend the oil reached Florida, coming ashore in tar balls, with the oil sheen then only three miles away.  It is hard to imagine that this catastrophe has continued for so long and that so little progress has been made to resolve the issue.  Yet, here we are looking at pictures of birds and fish covered with oil, and of course, in these very difficult economic times, listening to men and women whose livelihood has been destroyed by this leak.  Fully, one-third of the Gulf is now off limits for fishing!

            I heard an interview with Dick Morris, who worked in the Bill Clinton White House.  Mr. Morris pointed out that like the Fanny May and Freddie Mack driven mortgage meltdown, (where they were instructed to make more sub-prime loans available to those who could not actually afford the loans) that this crises also began during the Clinton administration.  President Clinton wanted to stimulate deep sea drilling, and thus urged Congress to pass legislation that would exempt oil companies from paying royalties, for the first two years, on new wells.  The exemption was later extended to six years, until 2000.  Mr. Morris went on to say that this was the most regulated industry in the world; one has to wonder if that is true?  http://video.foxnews.com/v/4232339/bill-clinton-to-blame-for-bp-leak

            Morris said that nothing changed through the George W. Bush administration, and that a year and half into the Barack Obama administration, who is supposed to be an environmentalist, (though his choices regarding whaling certainly put that into question  http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/06/05/obama-backing-deal-lift-global-ban-commercial-whaling/) things have remained the same.  Why?

            British Petroleum has paraded itself in front of the media, announcing its various failed attempts to address the situation, and its promise to pay all legitimate claims.  Somehow I am having trouble believing anything said by British Petroleum and their spokes people. 

            Meanwhile, I keep looking at my birds.  The blue jays daily perch themselves on the back porch to await their peanuts, the pigeons literally knock on the glass door, announcing their presence, looking for seed, and the ducks bring their babies to rest under the patio furniture while, the mothers stretch their wings.  How far will this oil spill reach? 

            Our nightly news is filled with fears about the loop current picking up the oil, and carrying it around the tip of Florida, and up the east coast into the Carolinas!  Is this what America has to look forward to?  I do not understand why the United States government has not acted to help contain this disaster.  Why the President talks about accountability, he continues to say that it is British Petroleum’s problem – really?  I do not think so.  This problem is ours; it is our Gulf and Ocean waters being polluted, our coastlines under siege, and our wildlife being killed. 

            Was this tragedy stoppable?  Should someone have foreseen the possibility of an accident and the need to clean-up after an accident?  Did the government utilize all of its resources to try and stop this leak, and later worry about who was going to pay the bills? 

            Last night, I went to bed with hope.  British Petroleum had announced that the leak would only be a trickle by next week; I woke up to find that might have been an overly optimistic assessment of the situation.  At the end of this, there is one thing for certain, while everyone postured we paid.  That is all for now.

This entry was posted on June 9, 2010 at 2:56 pm and is filed under From the Editor, SlideShow. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.