The Sp(Oils) of Politics. Tragic and blameful.

I’ve decided to break off again from writing my book to weigh in a bit on the catastrophe in the Gulf that is rapidly threatening to spread out even farther. Let’s first take a look at this from a consumers standpoint and we will eventually come full circle.

In 2007, the US was the #1 consumer of oil. We used approx; 20 bbl/day. (billion barrels of oil per day). China was #2 at around 7 bbl/day and Japan 3rd with around 5 bbl/day. In 2008 China actually overtook us at #1 and we moved to #2. Complete statistics are now muddled in truths/untruths and profits.

The AAA Atlas of Population & Environment list the US as the Worlds largest consumer in absolute terms. On the list of the Worlds 20 major traded commodities, the US takes the greatest share in 11 of them. We like our big cars and energy. We want our heat in the cold as we must be comfortable. We have a need and desire to have all we want when we want it. I know I do. Do you? This creates demand. Demand creates opportunity to supply. This is where it gets corrupt my friends.

Snapshot of the last 10 years or so:

Bush’s regulations and Cheney’s deregulations & Clinton’s lack or foresight enabled the current state of events. The current Administration’s Interior Department inherited a cesspool of corruption from the back room meetings and backdoor deals that went on during the Bush Administration. BP didn’t start drilling and changing their practices over the last 16 or so months. The relationships between Big Oil companies and the Federal Government had been a love-fest during the Bush/Cheney years. Personal relationships between Cheney & executives from BP, TransOcean and Halliburton had been widely known. Cheney had secret Energy Commission meetings with Big Oil Execs &  hunting trips with Supreme Court Justices. Did those meetings help the Big Oil companies get the OK to pass on the $500,000.00 remote shut-off switches that could have prevented this spill from being as bad as it was? Is this type of information getting any play on Fox News or at Tea party rallies? If oil starts showing up on the beaches in Florida, would that be enough to really find out who is really at fault.

Also, to call this catastrophe Obamas ‘Katrina’ is not really appropriate in my opinion. This event can and will probably have an impact on a Generation of people who make their living in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Restaurant owners and employees and more. I am in no way minimizing the impact now or to come. However, with Katrina, people were dying in the streets. They are two totally different measure of tragedies. I believe that Bush inherited a very much broken FEMA, as Obama has inherited a very much broken Minerals Management Service.

Everything now relies on how we respond right? Here’s a response for you. GOP Rep. Joe Barton from Texas during the Congressional hearings with BP CEO Tony Hayward last week said ” I think it is a tragedy in the first proportion that a private Corporation can be subjected to what I would characterize as a $20 billion shakedown”. He of course was referring to the $20 billion escrow account the President demanded of BP to pay out claims against BP by people of the affected Region. Republican Rep Barton then went as far as apologizing to BP on Americas behalf. I REPEAT: “Apologized to BP on Americas behalf.”

Who do you want in your corner America? Again, don’t let petty prejudices and misdirection allow you to vote, think, compromise and protest against your own interests.

Something to think about anyway.