Nobody Knows what to Do--And It Will Happen Again

For all the botched efforts, an angry president rocking his jaw about responsibility and the environment, the media's response, the cries of outrage from residents and those watching from a distance; oil spills will happen again...and again. And the most likely candidate--once again--will probably be BP.

When this whole shitstorm went down, there was a part of me that almost rejoiced at the possibility that this could be the beginning of the end for the oil giants. That was my first thought; not the fragile ecosystems, not the ocean, not even the residents of the gulf coast whose livelihoods depend on its waters. It was to the company that all my steam was directed. And now that the oil has stopped gushing, I realize nothing has been learned, and that nothing will be changed, until we change it.

In the past week, BP's shares have actually risen. In fact, they are enjoying a 2nd week gain of around 23%, since hitting a 14 year low of $27.02 per share on June 25th. Source: The News Tribune In fact, BP remains the 4th richest company in the world--marginally trailing behind Shell, Exxon, and Walmart. Surprised? I'm not. Since when have governments or people made a difference? Corporations spend big money each year to protect their necks against the finger pointing public--which is arguably ineffectual at best. They don't care. Let me repeat that: They don't care. They can afford it. With the worst track record, and the least amount of money going into efforts to avoid spills in future, BP is on a 'grab and dash' frenzy to make all they can before the wells run dry. And it seems that nothing can stop them. Even the 60,000 barrels that were spilling out of the Deepwater Horizon each day--for around 70 days--is a drop in the bucket. Oil spills are not random catastrophe. They are part and parcel of the job. And as long as we use oil, we must live with oil spills.

The truth of the matter is that while the public's outcries may be as non-consequential to the big corporations as a mosquito bite is to an elephant, we are not as ineffectual as we appear to be. The fact of the matter is that we are the consumer, through and through. It is for our pleasure that such trouble has been made. We are the Big Mac munchers, the nicotine addicts, the boozers, the dickhead purchasers of Hummers. March the streets, burn a parked car, start a petition--you'd be better off teaching trees sign language... Boycotting is the only thing that works. We are the problem--not the pusherman. Blame him all you like, get nowhere, except maybe 16 miles per your Hummer gallon. Remember: We demand...They supply. You don't like it? Move to the city and buy a bicycle.

Photo Source: Mark Vallen's Art for a Change