johnmdemarco posted on May 25, 2010 05:48
An oil well at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico continues to spew crude, in the aftermath of the tragic April rig explosion that left 11 workers presumed dead. And as BP and the government scurry and scramble and duck and dodge, many across the country are spewing hatred toward the former through the use of every media vehicle imaginable.
The oil spill is a horrible incident. I hate the thought of what is happening to the ecosystem, to the wildlife, to the fishing and tourism industry along the beautiful Gulf Coast. I’m quite perturbed that more oversight and preventative measures have not been in place, and how "oversight" officials travel so easily back and forth between corporate gigs and government assignments under both Democratic and Republican presidents. And I’m at a loss that no one has been able to stop the additional oil from flowing out already, damn it!
But it would be so convenient and popular to jump on the “We Hate BP” bandwagon. The truth is, BP is probably as careful and intentional as any member of Big Oil. But there is only so much care that is possible when it comes to something as edgy as drilling for oil off of a coastline. BP and its entire industry exist—and risk the health of ecosystems across the world every single moment—because we want their product.
The hypocrisy of demanding something and then blaming the producer when things go terribly wrong certainly spreads beyond the shores of the oil industry. Americans love their fast food, but get perplexed and angry when heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and other nefarious health-destroyers strut their way across the stage. A sizable chunk of the population still chain-smokes a few packs a day, and then blames Big Tobacco when lung cancer or emphysema or macular degeneration ravages the body. I could go on and on, discussing car accidents that occur while texting; cirrhosis of the liver through ridiculous consumption of perfectly legal alcohol; melanoma related to over-exposure to a sun that simply shines without prejudice toward the fair-haired or the olive-skinned.
We cannot escape the fact that we are addicted to consumption, and that we want the things we consume right now. Developing alternative forms of energy takes time and costs extra money; both of these commodities, time and money, involve sacrifice on our part. The same goes for healthy eating and rigorous exercise. They requires trade-offs, giving up part of what we want now for something greater that is yet to come.
So it’s somewhat hypocritical and ultimately rather silly for us to blame BP for the oil spill, without taking a deep consideration of what lies far beneath the surface of this and other downsides of industrial progress. Until we decide to get and stay sober in the face of our addictive consumerism, its dysfunctions will continue to manifest themselves when we least expect them and threaten the well-being of emerging generations across the globe.