We’re all very well aware, by this stage, what an environmental catastrophe the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has turned out to be.
But what continues to amaze me is the blame game being played out across the media every day, spun by people who are ideologically inclined to attack anything to do with oil, spilled or not. Aside from the obvious hypocrisy inherent in opposing all oil drilling everywhere (and using this spill as an opportunity to win political points) and continuing to use and benefit from oil products every day, there’s also the little matter concerning why the leak is so difficult to stop in the first place, and perhaps even why it happened at all: BP, unable to gain permission from the United States government to drill in safer areas on land and offshore, was forced out to deeper waters where drilling is much more risky.
Yes, the company should have ensured that all relevant laws were followed, and it’s possible that breaking one or more of those laws helped cause the problem. (If so, legal action is appropriate.)
But the bottom line is that a spill of this magnitude is the direct result of people who drive or ride in cars, travel by air, use plastics and many other oil products, and yet have a hypocritical ideological viewpoint which makes it hard to drill for oil at all.
Is it any wonder I have so little time for their blame game?