They can stream it live, but they can’t fix it. Although this is a tragic spill, I think it’s also somehow really interesting. IIRC, Obama’s administration recently announced they they would begin planning for future oil drilling along the south-eastern coastline and in the Gulf. I’m not sure if it is something they really agree with, but I got the impression it is part of their bribe to opponents of the changes in health care. Create jobs. Rely less on foreign trade.

California seems to have largely rejected additional drilling off its coast. Obviously, the country depends on oil, and while I’m not a car owner, I do realize that I consume my share of plastic products. We seem to want and need oil. With Americans more and more leery about the “blood for oil” issue, reducing our reliance on foreign oil makes a lot of sense. Still, I think I heard that we only supply about 10% of our own oil domestically. So, we would have to do a lot of drilling to really reduce our dependence on foreign oil. Personally, I’m all about the clean, renewable energy. I would rather have solar and wind farms covering our beautiful prairies than have a bunch of smoke billowing into the air from refineries and the ridiculous amount of motor vehicles in the country. Seriously. Imagine an all electric, or clean alternative fuel future. Think of what a massive change that will make to air quality, lung born illnesses, and global warming. I am all about more people walking and bicycling more. I’d rather see a bunch of healthy hippies riding around than a bunch of lard-asses in single occupancy vehicles.

Anyway, a lot of conservative southern states wanted more oil drilling off the coast. Obama’s administration basically said, “Okay. Let’s make some future plans for the south-east.” Fortuitously, one of our pre-existing rigs falls apart, creating a massive “natural” disaster. The fisheries that people along the Gulf coast exploit are getting jacked. Tourism, jacked. The wetlands, in peril. Nature conservationists are saying, “I told you so.” However tragic, I find it really interesting, very timely, and considerably troubling.

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