News and musings of Fine art pet photographer Laurie Meehan-Elmer based in Tampa Bay area, Florida
Saturday, June 26th, people across the country (actually, across the world) met along the coastline at 12pm and joined hands in in opposition to off-shore drilling and in support of clean energy solutions. The “Hands Across the Sand” movement began in Florida back in February in protest to efforts by...
It’s been nearly two months since the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico. For those of us living along the Gulf Coast, this avoidable but now seemingly unstoppable tragedy hangs heavily over our day to day routines. As I listen to friends and neighbors, the tone has evolved from disbelief, to extreme...
by LME
3 comments
Great article!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I will also share a few of mine. This tragedy is beyond mind-boggling, for sure. I live on the Atlantic coast, and hopefully, this will never affect us. I keep my fingers crossed.
There is a ton of blame to go around for sure. But, none as culpable as BP, Transocean and Halliburton. I would also add Dubya and his dick for indeed setting the stage for this disaster, and encouraging any lack of oversight by the regulatory agencies. Dickwad’s secret energy meetings are testament to that. And, of course, DOI and MMS, for sure. The conflicts of interest were legendary, and also the conflicts of interest by having two oilmen in charge of the White Wash, I mean house.
And finally, as much as I really know in my heart that we need to develop new and more sustainable energy sources, I don’t really blame those of us who use gasoline to fuel our cars, or oil to heat our homes, or any other petroleum products, except for the plastics that are overloading our environment. Our needs do not, in any way, absolve BP or the government for the lack of oversight and deregulation of the industry. Given the $$billion$$ profits that those industries got, their abject greed was the primary driver for this mess. It’s no secret that spills occur or have occurred in the past. It has happened before, but greed, along with the above-mentioned conflicts of interest are what caused this disaster. It’s that simple. May they all rot in hell. But, not until they spend their last evil dimes cleaning up this mess, and do time in prison for neglegent homicide.June 13, 2010 – 10:42 am
Hi Diane, Thanks for visiting and for sharing your thoughts! I don’t disagree with you. BP is certainly not deserving of absolution. My point is we are naive to think a corporation whose primariy obligation is to shareholders will put the environment above profits. While we can’t be blamed for using gas, we can be blamed for using it in such great quantities, fueling those over-sized sport utility vehicles that never saw a dirt road or a mud puddle. Don’t even get me started on the Hummers! There are so many ways we can reduce our use of oil. It just seems society as a whole won’t do it for environmental reasons. It will require a hit to the pocketbook first.
There is certainly blame to be placed at the feet of government as well, especially the Bush administration. However, our current president also supported opening up more of the Gulf to drilling even though he was aware of issues with MMS and the cozy relationship with the oil industry. My impression is that it was a compromise to gain support for his energy policy. As we can now see, it wasn’t a wise compromise. We have to remember too that the government is us. We elect them. We’re the ones who ultimately decide what issues the government addresses. I’m not sure how many of us could say, with a straight face, we were confident in the safety practices and disaster response capabilities of those companies drilling in the Gulf.
BP certainly needs to pay up.
Government needs to develop and enforce stringent policies regarding safety and regulatory compliance.
WE need to stay on top of government to make sure they’re doing what they should be doing.
WE need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels.
WE need to insist on clean energy solutions and energy conservation practices.
WE need to be better stewards of the environment in general.June 13, 2010 – 11:35 am
Every time I see photos of this man-made disaster, it brings tears of anger and sadness to my eyes. I completely hold BP, Halliburtin, and Dubya & his dick responsible. Their entire administration was wrapped up in the oil industry, and the war machine, which also supported oil profiteering. The American people have been held hostage to these priorities, and are now suffering the consequences.
I NEVER want to see another oil rig built; not even in the interim. That would be diverting enormous amounts of money away from developing clean, green technology. In addition, it would continue the profiteering of the entire oil industry.
As far as the present Obama administration is concerned, they inherited this huge mess, as well as all the other disastrous gifts of the Bushwacked administration. I believe he is trying to solve the problems, but the Republicans are continuously trying to tie his hands behind his back. Their only goal is to dead-lock the current administration, blame everything gone wrong on Obama, and see him fail. And, if they are successful in this goal, the American people are the ones who ultimately suffer the consequences.June 13, 2010 – 12:29 pm
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by LME
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