Like many of you, I have really been paying attention to the tragedy unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico. I check the news reports several times daily and I've written on this topic a few times before. I must tell you that the part about this whole sorry situation that I simply don't get is why our federal government has ceded so much power and territory to British Petroleum (BP).
When it comes to the release of information to the public, BP seems to be calling the shots. When it comes to collecting data about the ecological dangers and damage, arrangements must be made through BP. When it comes to coordinating the efforts of the groups and companies trying to mitigate or forestall the oil soon to come ashore, said arrangements must be coordinated with BP. Worst of all, when it comes to plugging the gushing well, it solely is up to BP. In every instance, BP -- the ones most responsible for this calamity -- are in the driver's seat.
Government officials insistently claim that they don't have the expertise to take the helm. This leads me to ask: Why the hell not?
We have a federal agency -- FEMA -- that supposedly has experience in all types of emergency situations. We have the Environmental Protection Agency that is supposed to possess the expertise to protect the environment. And we have federal agencies that oversee the various corporations that maintain thousands of oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico!
What more do they need?
Imagine if your local fire department took this sort of hands-off approach. A national big box store catches on fire. A call is made to the 911 dispatcher who relays the information to the Fire Chief. Unexpectedly, he doesn't dispatch any firetrucks nor personnel to put out the blaze. When asked about this decision, he states that it's the responsibility of the big box store to put out their own fire. His department is willing to assist on the periphery, but all the main decision-making falls on the president of the company.
Of course, the big box doesn't have a fire department! Company officials KNEW that there was a potential for a fire, but they were confident their meager sprinkler system would avert any kind of serious problem. Now that the building is burning out of control, they scramble to try to figure out how best to put the fire out.
The community is fortunate -- at least, in this specific instance -- that the big box is at the edge of town and not in the downtown core. While the huge blaze poses the potential to spread to nearby strip malls and residential areas, no one is too concerned about this at the outset. Unfortunately, as the fire continues to grow, this distant potential soon becomes a strong probability.
Most community members would become unglued (or worse) if the local fire department didn't rush out to put out the fire. Yes, maybe the fault lies solely with the big box, but our taxpayer dollars will pay the department personnel to put out the blaze and then the fire district can bill the company for the expense. That's the way things are done in this country...except when it comes to a giant corporation that is polluting the gulf in ways that few of us could ever imagine.
Does this whole scenario make a lick of sense to anyone?
When it comes to the release of information to the public, BP seems to be calling the shots. When it comes to collecting data about the ecological dangers and damage, arrangements must be made through BP. When it comes to coordinating the efforts of the groups and companies trying to mitigate or forestall the oil soon to come ashore, said arrangements must be coordinated with BP. Worst of all, when it comes to plugging the gushing well, it solely is up to BP. In every instance, BP -- the ones most responsible for this calamity -- are in the driver's seat.
Government officials insistently claim that they don't have the expertise to take the helm. This leads me to ask: Why the hell not?
We have a federal agency -- FEMA -- that supposedly has experience in all types of emergency situations. We have the Environmental Protection Agency that is supposed to possess the expertise to protect the environment. And we have federal agencies that oversee the various corporations that maintain thousands of oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico!
What more do they need?
Imagine if your local fire department took this sort of hands-off approach. A national big box store catches on fire. A call is made to the 911 dispatcher who relays the information to the Fire Chief. Unexpectedly, he doesn't dispatch any firetrucks nor personnel to put out the blaze. When asked about this decision, he states that it's the responsibility of the big box store to put out their own fire. His department is willing to assist on the periphery, but all the main decision-making falls on the president of the company.
Of course, the big box doesn't have a fire department! Company officials KNEW that there was a potential for a fire, but they were confident their meager sprinkler system would avert any kind of serious problem. Now that the building is burning out of control, they scramble to try to figure out how best to put the fire out.
The community is fortunate -- at least, in this specific instance -- that the big box is at the edge of town and not in the downtown core. While the huge blaze poses the potential to spread to nearby strip malls and residential areas, no one is too concerned about this at the outset. Unfortunately, as the fire continues to grow, this distant potential soon becomes a strong probability.
Most community members would become unglued (or worse) if the local fire department didn't rush out to put out the fire. Yes, maybe the fault lies solely with the big box, but our taxpayer dollars will pay the department personnel to put out the blaze and then the fire district can bill the company for the expense. That's the way things are done in this country...except when it comes to a giant corporation that is polluting the gulf in ways that few of us could ever imagine.
Does this whole scenario make a lick of sense to anyone?
Sadly, most of the the emergency response scenarios in the US (erm... New Orleans??) leave me wondering if anyone is in charge.
ReplyDeleteI get the feeling that everyone over there is too afraid of being sued for doing the wrong thing that disasters paralyse them.
Gavin,
ReplyDeleteThat's an excellent point in terms of the corporate response. However, people can't sue the gov't. So, our elected leaders can't fall back on that rationale.
This whole mess, to me at least, simply drives home the point that our government - our entire government - exists of, by, and for the corporations.
ReplyDeleteThis oil "spill" could have been stopped within days if not hours by simply blasting the hole closed, but to do so would have rendered the site unusable and unprofitable to the developers, BP.
Profits must always come before everything else, no matter the cost in lives, human or otherwise.