The BP deep sea drilling adventure in the Gulf of Mexico began years ago. But on April 20, 2010 something happened. The consequences of incompetent and reckless risk assessments caused the greatest environmental disaster the civilized world has ever experienced.
In the US, greed, deception, corruption, and incompetence reared their ugly heads the second time in just three years. There seems to be no end in sight on how money interests can steal from the great middle class of the US and get away without punishment.
It has become painfully clear that BP neglected its obligations to keep its employees and contractors safe and that it did not make the most elemental preparations for the potential failure of an extremely risky endeavor.
But there is more blame to go around; the Department of the Interior and the US Coast Guard were similarly unprepared for a very likely disaster occurring on any day and on any of the many oil platforms along the thousands of miles of vulnerable coasts and beaches bordering the US.
The long, continuing BP Oil Spill and the spectacle played by the media is becoming embarrassing. This tragedy has been going on for more than fifty days and is continuing. Every day the public is not only bombarded by a mindless repetition of images and commentaries but has to suffer through the thoughtless grandstanding of politicians. It seems that the best actors get unlimited airtime, never mind the inconsequential statements that all seem to have plagiarized from the same speechwriter. Naturally, the Obama administration is chiming in on the chorus.
While tourism is suffering from the threat of soiled coasts and beaches, the continuing visits by government officials and media have at least one small positive impact; they are making major economic contributions to local economies.
One of the most confounding facts in the ongoing tragedy is the total lack of constructive ideas by BP, the media, and the Obama administration. The USA has a huge pool of highly qualified scientists and inventors that are forced to stand by helplessly and watch on the sidelines while vibrant economies along the Gulf are being destroyed.
Nero played the fiddle while he watched as Rome was burning. BP, the Media, and the Obama administration are giving speeches without constructive content while the Gulf is perishing. US citizens deserve more than staged performances in front of cameras by clueless politicians. We need some major cleanups not only in the Gulf but also in some highly paid government positions. Preventive actions are sorely needed.
1.US Congress must increase fees for oil leases and impose taxes on the revenues from oil production for creating a fund that has to pay for a new emergency preparedness program that must be instituted and planned by an independent agency, which is led by a qualified and intelligent administrator with an engineering background.
2.US Congress must discard any liability limits when companies drill for oil, natural gas, or mine for coal. There is no reason for having people killed for making rich people richer. Only by instituting the threats of personal bankruptcy and prison can gambling with taxpayers' monies be brought under control.
3.The Administration has to charge the US Coast Guard with installing and administering a Disaster Emergency Preparedness Agency. This agency has to assure that sufficient assets for preventing, for containing, and for reducing the impact of drilling and mining disasters on innocent bystanders are available. The US needs to have sufficient equipment and trained personnel, which is ready for instantaneous deployment.
4.The Administration must establish a standing committee that reviews international emergency response technologies and that has a handful of highly experienced engineers and inventors readily available for sifting within days through novel ideas and solutions for those disasters, which cannot be solved by industry or government agencies.
5.US Congress must appoint a couple of independent prosecutors with the power to impeach members of Congress, industry executives, and government officials in case gross negligence and reckless endangerment of US citizens is suspected. The perishing of the BP Deepwater Horizon drilling platform, the death of eleven crew members, the compounding economic damages to coastal states, to citizens and businesses, and the incompetence of BP and the Feds to come to grips with a still ongoing disaster, are another wake-up call for breaking the corporate domination of US Congress.
Solutions for containing the broken well, for containing and cleaning the daily growing spill, and for manually cleaning soiled and destroyed wetlands, estuaries, and beaches are available. Nobody at BP or the Feds dares to make the call for initiating the very costly solutions that are strikingly obvious.
Close the damned leak, prevent the spill from making landfall, and manually clean already soiled shores. Protect US citizens and damn the torpedoes from moneyed and political interests.