I recently learned something that nearly made me weep. The oil that the earth so far has volcanically disgorged from the failure of BP's Blowout Preventer is about the amount that we in the United States of Blatant Profligacy use in just one day. One day.
The pelicans that nest in the marshlands where the oil is Beaching Preternaturally, were recently removed from the endangered species list. Now, in the hundreds, dead sea turtles have been found that never even made it to shore to nest. They were a threatened species Before Petroleum brought them to their premature demise. One day's supply of oil in exchange for the decimation of at least 2 species of fauna. Are we out of our minds? What has to happen before we come to our senses? There are 100+ bird species that migrate through the Gulf marshes on their way to and from Latin America. Do you think BP gave a thought in its paltry permit application about what sort of Gulf detour instructions the birds were likely to follow?
Three quarters of the shrimp, over half of the shell fish and over one-third of the fin fish consumed in the US come from where this Beyond Perverse, irresponsible and preventable catastrophe is unfolding. One day's supply of oil and--poof--there goes much of what this country eats. Exactly how much risk is too much? Where is the line between risk and ecocide? It looks like BP has breached it with a vengeance.
Only twenty percent of that one day's supply of oil is on the surface. The rest is wafting in huge Billowing Plumes under the surface, wreaking unimaginable havoc on unknown quantities of sea life. Some of the oil is already in the loop current that feeds the Gulf Stream. Is the East Coast prepared? Is the UK prepared? Or Scandinavia? How about the fin whales in Svalbard? The Gulf Stream already delivers untold amounts of pollution to the North Atlantic. It isn't fussy. It will deliver whatever lands in its path.
This Blindingly Pernicious addiction to fossil fuels that clearly is compromising the planet's ability to sustain human life, is doing what addictions do. Having literally transported us into a way of life that we can't fathom without our fix, it is poised to be what destroys us. In the remote, fecund waters of the Arctic, Shell is determined to drill wells that are almost twice as deep as the Deepwater Horizon's. In a non-addicted universe, could any rational human being believe that this is a sane idea?
BP's permit application, clearly not worth the paper it was written on, assured MMS that it had a comprehensive clean-up protocol. It appears that the protocol was not much more than wishful thinking. Well, I have some wishful thinking. In Citizens United, the US Supreme Court held that corporations are people. The law comes down hard on people for all kinds of acts in which BP clearly has engaged, such as trespass to chattel, criminal conversion, criminal negligence, to name but a few. How comforting it would be to see the CEO, the COO, CFO and all the other BP Bastard Profiteers spend every day for the rest of their lives in prison stripes, wading in the waters and marshlands of the Gulf shore, toothbrushes in hand, cleaning every drop of oil off every single plant, animal and grain of sand! In a world not addicted to oil, this could be more than wishful thinking.