At Fault

...it isn't who you think


I have been reading and hearing a lot about the British Petroleum (BP) Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Indeed, it is hard to miss it, since it is the 'Crisis de Jour' (crisis of the day), plastered on headlines, talk shows and the Internet.

To say that it is a colossal cluster-fuck would be an understatement. Sucking liquified compressed organic matter from over a mile beneath the ocean just to feed our addiction to the benefits of modern life is always going to be a risky undertaking.

But the problem I am having with this whole scenario is the 'blame game'. The current talk show pun-dents and reporters are all pointing fingers at BP and the Federal Government screaming for action and threatening lynchings and retribution for spoiling the pristine gulf coastline.

Much like the immigration debate that is raging here in Arizona about Senate Bill 1070 (the immigration reform act), everyone is boycotting and protesting the fact that Arizona is attempting to do what the Federal government is mandated to do, but has also failed to do....secure the border. Instead of looking to past administrations going back to Nixon and Reagen for their failure to properly fund INS, we are instead yelling at the people that are trying to make a difference. I don't see anyone indicting past administrations for their willful failure to protect the sovereignty of our country.

When it comes to blaming someone for the pollution in the Gulf of Mexico, I would first start by taking a good long look in the mirror. We have known for years that DDT is bad and causes cancer. We took the led out of our gasoline because we found out it was producing too much smog and pollution. We took the fluorocarbons out of spray cans because we found out it was harming the ozone layer of the planet.

Well, ya know what....there is nothing good that comes out of burning fossil fuels people! It makes it easier to turn on the lights and keep your house cool in summer and warm in winter, but it also pollutes the planet in a thousand different ways. So, we keep shelling out the big bucks to Chevron, Exxon/Mobile and BP to keep us swimming in all that sweet crude....and sometimes it leaks out!!!

There wouldn't be any oil lapping at the shores of Louisiana if we didnt' keep demanding gas for our Ford F-150s because it wouldn't be worth BP's time and effort to drill for it. In the end we all have to take responsibility for what we do to the planet.

We can't blame God for causing a volcano to spew toxic clouds into the atmosphere, or cause coastlines to slide into the sea from an earthquake, or blow down a city with a hurricane. Disasters happen, sometime we can't prevent them, and sometimes we accelerate them (thanks BP).

Life would be hard without all the wonderful things that Standard Oil and Dutch Shell have told that we want and need, but it would also be better. Living the 'good life' is never easy. Living the easy life, is often harmful, to ourselves and the planet. If you really want to protest the pollution in the gulf.....Sell your car and start walking to work or turn off your A/C and learn to sweat a bit more in the summer. You won't like it, but you might find yourself a lot wealthier and healthier in the long run.