Gulf Madness
What the hell is wrong with us?
It was a few weeks after the oil well started spewing millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico that I heard a radio reporter ask the increasingly commonplace question -- "Where's the outrage?"
Here's a better question: where isn't the outrage?
I'm outraged that 11 men died because a criminally negligent oil company (BP has a long track record) was cutting corners to save money. I'm outraged that this same oil company clearly had no plan, no idea what to do in the event of such a catastrophic accident. I'm outraged that their methods of "cleaning up" the oil haven't changed since the Exxon Valdez spill 20 years ago, and that most of them are either ineffective (booms that only work when the sea is calm), or worse than the oil itself (dumping highly toxic "dispersant" into the ocean). I'm outraged that they have clearly been lying about how much oil is pouring into the Gulf, and have been trying to keep reporters from seeing the worst damage.
I'm beyond outraged that our federal government has left this horrible, criminally negligent oil company in charge of the operation. What happened in the Gulf (and will continue to wreak havoc for years to come) is the equivalent of a nuclear weapon explosion. What the hell has to happen before the President organizes a truly national response? Why hasn't he mobilized every damn engineer in the country to try to stop the gusher? Why hasn't he brought any of our trillion dollars worth of military hardware and personnel, sitting on the other side of the planet in a different Gulf, back to help deal with this very clear and present threat to our nation?
I'm seething with rage that our government has allowed, if not helped, BP to hide the extent of the disaster so far. And that government regulators were, once again, in bed with the industry they are supposed to oversee. (Are they ever not?) And that we have to settle for kabuki theater Congressional hearings where everyone blames everybody else, and you just know that no BP executive will go to jail for this horrendous crime.
I'm so outraged that when I think about it too long I start to shake. And for the most part I can't think about it -- it's just too much. Instead I am continually, deeply depressed, because we are watching the greatest environmental catastrophe in history unfold before our eyes, and I have no idea what to do about it. I suspect a lot of other people feel the same way.
And then I am stricken anew when I see a picture or think about the countless birds and turtles and fish and dolphins being choked to death on oil and wiped out, some species perhaps permanently since we are destroying their breeding grounds and nurseries. Have we become so divorced from nature that this type of staggering devastation no longer registers with us?
About a year ago I was discussing climate change with my god kids, and I joked that they needed to grow up fast and solve these problems. "We hear that a lot," my goddaughter responded.
My God, is that what we humans have become? The species that destroys the planet and then just turns to our kids and says, "Oops, sorry?" What has to happen before we make radical changes in the way we live on this planet? What the hell is wrong with us?
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission from the outset was simple. To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It’s never been this bad out there. And it’s never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed and doing some of its best and most important work, the threats we face are intensifying. Right now, with just two days to go in our Spring Campaign, we're falling short of our make-or-break goal. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Can you make a gift right now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? There is no backup plan or rainy day fund. There is only you. —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
It was a few weeks after the oil well started spewing millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico that I heard a radio reporter ask the increasingly commonplace question -- "Where's the outrage?"
Here's a better question: where isn't the outrage?
I'm outraged that 11 men died because a criminally negligent oil company (BP has a long track record) was cutting corners to save money. I'm outraged that this same oil company clearly had no plan, no idea what to do in the event of such a catastrophic accident. I'm outraged that their methods of "cleaning up" the oil haven't changed since the Exxon Valdez spill 20 years ago, and that most of them are either ineffective (booms that only work when the sea is calm), or worse than the oil itself (dumping highly toxic "dispersant" into the ocean). I'm outraged that they have clearly been lying about how much oil is pouring into the Gulf, and have been trying to keep reporters from seeing the worst damage.
I'm beyond outraged that our federal government has left this horrible, criminally negligent oil company in charge of the operation. What happened in the Gulf (and will continue to wreak havoc for years to come) is the equivalent of a nuclear weapon explosion. What the hell has to happen before the President organizes a truly national response? Why hasn't he mobilized every damn engineer in the country to try to stop the gusher? Why hasn't he brought any of our trillion dollars worth of military hardware and personnel, sitting on the other side of the planet in a different Gulf, back to help deal with this very clear and present threat to our nation?
I'm seething with rage that our government has allowed, if not helped, BP to hide the extent of the disaster so far. And that government regulators were, once again, in bed with the industry they are supposed to oversee. (Are they ever not?) And that we have to settle for kabuki theater Congressional hearings where everyone blames everybody else, and you just know that no BP executive will go to jail for this horrendous crime.
I'm so outraged that when I think about it too long I start to shake. And for the most part I can't think about it -- it's just too much. Instead I am continually, deeply depressed, because we are watching the greatest environmental catastrophe in history unfold before our eyes, and I have no idea what to do about it. I suspect a lot of other people feel the same way.
And then I am stricken anew when I see a picture or think about the countless birds and turtles and fish and dolphins being choked to death on oil and wiped out, some species perhaps permanently since we are destroying their breeding grounds and nurseries. Have we become so divorced from nature that this type of staggering devastation no longer registers with us?
About a year ago I was discussing climate change with my god kids, and I joked that they needed to grow up fast and solve these problems. "We hear that a lot," my goddaughter responded.
My God, is that what we humans have become? The species that destroys the planet and then just turns to our kids and says, "Oops, sorry?" What has to happen before we make radical changes in the way we live on this planet? What the hell is wrong with us?
It was a few weeks after the oil well started spewing millions of gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico that I heard a radio reporter ask the increasingly commonplace question -- "Where's the outrage?"
Here's a better question: where isn't the outrage?
I'm outraged that 11 men died because a criminally negligent oil company (BP has a long track record) was cutting corners to save money. I'm outraged that this same oil company clearly had no plan, no idea what to do in the event of such a catastrophic accident. I'm outraged that their methods of "cleaning up" the oil haven't changed since the Exxon Valdez spill 20 years ago, and that most of them are either ineffective (booms that only work when the sea is calm), or worse than the oil itself (dumping highly toxic "dispersant" into the ocean). I'm outraged that they have clearly been lying about how much oil is pouring into the Gulf, and have been trying to keep reporters from seeing the worst damage.
I'm beyond outraged that our federal government has left this horrible, criminally negligent oil company in charge of the operation. What happened in the Gulf (and will continue to wreak havoc for years to come) is the equivalent of a nuclear weapon explosion. What the hell has to happen before the President organizes a truly national response? Why hasn't he mobilized every damn engineer in the country to try to stop the gusher? Why hasn't he brought any of our trillion dollars worth of military hardware and personnel, sitting on the other side of the planet in a different Gulf, back to help deal with this very clear and present threat to our nation?
I'm seething with rage that our government has allowed, if not helped, BP to hide the extent of the disaster so far. And that government regulators were, once again, in bed with the industry they are supposed to oversee. (Are they ever not?) And that we have to settle for kabuki theater Congressional hearings where everyone blames everybody else, and you just know that no BP executive will go to jail for this horrendous crime.
I'm so outraged that when I think about it too long I start to shake. And for the most part I can't think about it -- it's just too much. Instead I am continually, deeply depressed, because we are watching the greatest environmental catastrophe in history unfold before our eyes, and I have no idea what to do about it. I suspect a lot of other people feel the same way.
And then I am stricken anew when I see a picture or think about the countless birds and turtles and fish and dolphins being choked to death on oil and wiped out, some species perhaps permanently since we are destroying their breeding grounds and nurseries. Have we become so divorced from nature that this type of staggering devastation no longer registers with us?
About a year ago I was discussing climate change with my god kids, and I joked that they needed to grow up fast and solve these problems. "We hear that a lot," my goddaughter responded.
My God, is that what we humans have become? The species that destroys the planet and then just turns to our kids and says, "Oops, sorry?" What has to happen before we make radical changes in the way we live on this planet? What the hell is wrong with us?