Who’s to blame for oil spill?
To the editor:
There’s a great deal of anger aimed at BP over the Gulf oil disaster. After all, they drilled the well and started working it without a proper backup plan to cap it if something bad happened, and, sure enough, it did.It is clear that their corner-cutting and cheating on safety rules were driven by greed and the need to show stockholders a profit. And they did it with total disregard for the consequences. The mess is their fault and they should pay dearly for it.
However, being angry at a big corporation because they cut corners and cheated on safety rules in order to maximize profit is meaningless. It makes about as much sense as being angry at lions because they eat gazelles.
They are both simply doing what they do. They are genetically wired to do it.
Anybody who thinks that BP is the only big corporation that cuts corners is really being nave.The only thing that sets BP apart is that it was their rig that blew up, not somebody else’s.
I know who I’m mad at. Somewhere out there is a mid-level bureaucrat (who may still be working for the Mineral Management Service), who signed off on the permit which allowed the drilling to begin in March of 2008. I want to know who that person is. I also want to know who that person’s superiors were. They created the atmosphere where the agency which was supposed to be safeguarding the public’s interest was doing the exact opposite. It is well-documented that during that time MMS was rife with people hired straight out of the oil and mining industries. If ever there was a case of the fox being put in charge of the henhouse, MMS is it.
Let’s see 2008 was right at the end of the terms of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney – both oil men. Hhhhmmm!
Finding out what really took place during Cheney’s secret meetings with oil executives suddenly becomes much more important. The secrecy surrounding those meetings screams out for exposure. Why there hasn’t been a greater public outcry for the truth amazes me.
When it comes right down to it, the American electorate is to blame for the disaster. We got what we deserved. We elected people who openly campaigned on eliminating the government’s ability to safeguard the public interest. They were good to their pledge and the public got screwed.t turns out that the enemy is us.
Why is anyone surprised? Will anyone learn anything from this?
Jay Light
Fort Myers Beach