Saturday, June 12, 2010

Masters of Disaster & Irony

British Petroleum, the company that is responsible for what may be the most catastrophic man-made ecological disaster in human history, has spent nearly two months trying to persuade the world that it bears little or no responsibility for the devastation that is currently going on in the Gulf of Mexico. That's why people find notices like these, posted at BP gas stations around the USA, ironic.


I didn't know anyone was still buying gas from BP. I guess someone has to do it, though, if we want BP to pay for cleaning up its mess. For some truly awful looks at the disaster than continues to unfold in the gulf, check out this photo essay. Some samples of what they have:





Americans missed an opportunity to start weaning ourselves from oil during the energy crises of the 1970s. Nearly 40 years ago. It sickens me to think about how far we could have come in the nearly half century that has passed if we would have made some efforts to change our ways then. I wish I could say that this disaster will be a wake-up call. But, I doubt that it will be. We'll muddle through this, then continue doing the same irresponsible, wasteful stuff we always do. What a confounding species we humans are; we can investigate the outer reaches of the universe, the depths of the sea and the structure of DNA, yet we don't have enough sense to avoid fouling our own nest.

H/T to Think Progress and Boston.com

3 comments:

Barbara said...

this whole thing just makes me ill. It could have happened to any of the big oil companies so I think they should all be held liable. I think I need to get an electric car.

Catharine said...

This whole situation makes me furious. The habitat loss we have done is intolerable. We, as the "smarter" species, are the caretakers of animal habitats. We have grossly failed in our job throughout the wowrld. Just as I believe a society's health can be determined according to how it treats and takes care of its needy and disenfranchised, I also believe the health of the human race is determined by how we take care of the planet. We have failed miserably and it greatly saddens me. I could so easily become a radical environmentalist - it is a mater of urgency how we take of this and other like situations around the world.

Unfortunately, I agree with Evie. As a global society we have become dependent on oil, and not just for our cars. Almost everything we buy these days is connected to oil in some way.

I also agree with Barbara, I wish I could afford an electric car so I can feel that I am, in some way, helping. I does not fix the problem, but it may help.

One good thing has come out of this - we are now recognizing how dependent we are on a nonrenewable resource and how we need to fast track better solutions to maing most of what we use.

Dave said...

Back-up and other measures that have been in place in other countries to limit such spills have either been not required or have been removed by a deregulation movement in effort to save gas firms money. Deregulation and not implementing what is available is nothing short of responsibility. These firms, like the banks, have again demonstrated that self-regulation yields unfortunate results.