We’re starting to realize we’re really in trouble here.  This is not going to be the usual ‘oh no, let’s get that fixed and now we just have the hearings to worry about’ scenario.  It’s a Pandora’s Box, a genie out of the bottle – a fix that still needs more fixing, news that the Gulf Stream could become the Oil Stream, and a US government that’s decided to play ‘Who Moved My Cheese?’ big time.  A liability cap that goes from $75 million to $10 billion (or maybe $80 billion?) and an MMS that might dissolve and turn into two agencies and a revenue collection group.  Poof.  This just turned from a sprint into a marathon, BP, with no end in sight.  Forget the Exxon Valdez, think Bikini Islands.

BP, in case you didn’t notice you are on your own.  We’re in the middle of the blame game right now with plenty to go around.  Politicians are using words like ‘cover up’ and ‘un-American’.  Nobody is going to own up to any part of this, nobody wants to appear sympathetic in any way.  Your private business friends?  Gone.  Deepwater Horizon’s in major protection mode, other oil companies are touting the super safe procedures they use (yeah sure), and we’re all wondering whether we’ll ever be able to go to a beach on the East Coast or the Gulf of Mexico again.  So, not a good time. 

Truthfully, we’re all partly to blame.  We didn’t cause this, companies failed us and our government failed us, but we’re a part of the chain.  These companies took a risk and they’re paying the price, but they aren’t extracting oil in deepwater just for the challenge.  They’ve got customers, and their customers have customers, and eventually we’re the customer.  This is a hard wake up call, but with a clear message nonetheless. We don’t have another planet to move to. We’ve got to fix this as best we can, and we’ve got to encourage a different way to live.  We’ve got to seek and support solutions that are sustainable, renewable and safe.  And that save the places we love, not destroy them or put them at risk.