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Barack Obama: “A Full and Vigorous Accounting of the BP Oil Spill”

Barack Obama: “A Full and Vigorous Accounting of the BP Oil Spill”

June 1, 2010

0Points

This is good, now let's hear a clear, compelling, powerful moral narrative about the policies that led to this disaster, how this situation stemmed directly from our addiction to fossil fuels (and our failure to kick that addiction), how the power of corporations vis-a-vis government oversight and regulation is completely out of whack (in favor of the "robber barons"), and how we need to move forward to a completely different energy economy. I'd also love to hear that, in addition to the moratorium on "new" offshore oil drilling, that current oil rigs will not be allowed to operate unless and until they can prove that they truly have "fail safe" methods to deal with any contingencies and to prevent a future catastrophe like this one. I'd give the oil companies 60 days to present their plans to the federal government. If acceptable, they can continue drilling. If not, they should be shut down until they prove they have satisfied the stringent requirements to drill in our waters. Period. Unfortunately, to date, I haven't heard either the compelling moral narrative or the tough, new conditions for offshore oil drilling. The question is, why not?

This is good, now let’s hear a clear, compelling, powerful moral narrative about the policies that led to this disaster, how this situation stemmed directly from our addiction to fossil fuels (and our failure to kick that addiction), how the power of corporations vis-a-vis government oversight and regulation is completely out of whack (in favor of the “robber barons”), and how we need to move forward to a completely different energy economy.

I’d also love to hear that, in addition to the moratorium on “new” offshore oil drilling, that current oil rigs will not be allowed to operate unless and until they can prove that they truly have “fail safe” methods to deal with any contingencies and to prevent a future catastrophe like this one. I’d give the oil companies 60 days to present their plans to the federal government. If acceptable, they can continue drilling. If not, they should be shut down until they prove they have satisfied the stringent requirements to drill in our waters. Period.

Unfortunately, to date, I haven’t heard either the compelling moral narrative or the tough, new conditions for offshore oil drilling. The question is, why not?