Big Oil can say we’re all to blame for its disaster

WHILE the BP Gulf of Mexico disaster continues to dominate world media attention, the response of the offshore oil exploration companies appears to be self-preservation, dodging responsibility and denial.

This disaster, however, has to be seen in the overall context of the new US administration pandering to Republicans and the oil industry in order to get the Kerry/Lieberman Climate Bill enacted. On March 31 last, President Obama announced plans to allow oil and gas exploration and drilling over a vast expanse of US coastal waters that have been protected for decades.

Conservationists said Obama’s plan would expose the waters off southern Atlantic states and the eastern Gulf of Mexico to oil spills and other dangers, threatening many tourism and fishing-dependent communities.