Anyone who sits down and thinks about the Gulf of Mexico’s current oil disaster for more than five minutes realizes pretty quickly that British Petroleum has the most to lose of anyone involved. The oil deposits off the Gulf Coast are the largest in North America. Can a logical individual blame BP?
North Americans around the world are loved and hated. In general, people think that we are naïve, uneducated, and selfish. This incident is currently bringing about the best and worst of North America. Canadians are looking down on Americans lack of legislation, and Americans are blaming Britain’s largest company for the Gulf of Mexico’s oil disaster. Where does the blame lie?
Individuals are quick to judge when their jobs are affected, and they are constantly shown pictures of wildlife suffering on television. The cause of the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon on April twenty-second will probably never be known. The possibilities of its cause are endless. Could it have been terrorism, sabotage, human error, a competitor, another country, a disgruntled employee, or someone shorting BP’s stock?
Since, we cannot answer these questions we have to move forward. How can we prevent this kind of future disaster? The answer is in legislative governance of the industry.
Engineers on these drilling rigs would like you to think that their jobs are extremely technical. In fact, they are not. Like most work today, the majority of the digging is automated. The reality is that we will never be as technically gifted as we think. We need to take a step back and put safeguards in place to protect the oceans, the industry, and our own livelihood.
Alternative fuel proponents are unrealistic. If you are doubtful, I suggest that you inquire with any mechanic or mechanical engineer about the current performance of alternative fuels versus oil. The answer is that oil alternatives do not exist on the scale that we would like or with the efficiency requirements of consumers in today’s world. Therefore, our dependence on oil is not likely to subside in the next couple of hundred years. If you still do not believe me, look at your computer monitor or the shirt in your closet. They are probably made with petrochemicals.
How can we prevent terrorism, sabotage, human error, a competitor, another country, a disgruntled employee, or another capitalist from blowing up oil rigs and causing natural disasters? The answer is to level the playing field by requiring mandatory relief well drilling prior to production wells for all extraction of natural resources in our oceans. Our oil dependence will only decrease if we choose to compromise our way of life.
Presidents Obama’s anger over the Gulf of Mexico’s oil crisis is commendable but misguided. His administration has been dealing with the fallout from the greatest national disaster on American soil ever. The laws governing the extraction of oil need to be ratified to be consistent with natural, social, and financial requirements for proper oil extraction. Oil spills will always occur. Americans need to focus on the prevention of oil spill disasters. The answer lies with a heightening production costs slightly and creating an industry standard through the mandatory drilling of relief wells. This will not stop terrorism, sabotage, human error, a competitor, another country, a disgruntled employee, or another capitalist from blowing up oil rigs, but it can prevent an uncontrollable disaster.
The oil spill is nothing to laugh at but I just saw a kid wearing a t-shirt that cracked me up. BP – We’re bring oil to America’s shores. I died laughing because BP’s billion dollar image change to their new sunflower logo is forever going to be associated with the worst environmental disaster to strike America. Check out the shirt here – http://bit.ly/bJAuTb
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love reading more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.
Thanks for good article. Hope to see more soon. . . . .