just some oily wondering

“…We need to understand that an act of God, just sometimes happens…”, so said (R) Governor Rick Perry of the Lone Star (we can secede state) of Texas regarding the BP oil spill in the Gulf. Spills happen and that is what we must face to be less foreign oil dependent. (Not less dependent on oil but the foreign kind.) “…It’s the environment, worse things happen to the environment, that is why it is called the environment…stuttered Rush Limbaugh on his bigoted talk radio. “…the environment will get over this he added…” And then just so those who desire Obama conspiracy theories could make their day complete he added, “…funny how this environment incident happened when Obama was talking about off shore drilling…makes you wonder if the President had anything to do with this incident?”

And “drill baby drill Palin has remained silent so far perhaps she is asking one of her handlers to locate the Gulf.

And the people of Louisiana are a bit stymied over the whole oil spill fiasco. The economy of that state is still in a deep repression never quite recovering from Katrina. The state has bountiful reserves of natural gas and oil, but at what price shall the state drill baby drill, when the results can result in a man made disaster with unnatural effects. The shrimp and fish industry is also a key source of income for the many at the poverty level and slightly above. What bounty the sea offers is the bounty available at the dinner table for many, and what bounties the sea now suffocates leaves many worried about their next meal.

BP Petroleum has asked for volunteers to help clean the beaches, but many who volunteered during Katrina, just digging through the rubble and ruin, have never quite finished digging through their own depressions and despair. So volunteering, as noble as it may seem, is too altruistic and does not pay the bills. So the billion dollar business of BP may have to forgo some of its profits to pay for the clean up. (Even though they did say they would pay their share of their part of the fault of tis spill, even though they are now debating as to which part of the whole thing was their part of the fault.)

The right side of politics is just pooh poohing this a means to the end, the left side of politics is calling it the foreshadowing of global warming/haphazard energy use Armageddon.

So when does the cost of doing business equate to more than the bottom line of share holders? When does the toll on humans, animals, the environment, weigh more than a billion dollars? What happens next? Do we fix this spill (like did in Alaska with the EXXON and the Valdez by paying off law suits and still allowing no real fix for failure? Do we continue to enjoyAMERICAN oil, thinking that all that is drilled in this country actually stays in this country? Do we play the Tea Bagger game stating that states rights usurp national rights and let the Louisianans decide the future of their beaches and fish and flora and fauna? Do we all ring our hands and pray it won’t happen again? Do we watch the politicians make this an issue for the polls? What do we do that looks at the entire picture, not just what is on the screen right now, but the screens of the future. Do we ever say enough is enough lets change what IS broken?

Just wondering.