Oil. We can't seem to live with it but we also can't seem to live without it. What can we do? For one thing, become an informed voter. Follow what's happening. Know who's doing what. Or at least try to.
Personal politics have no place here. I've tried to put together an across the board collection of some of the newest information about the Macondo Deepwater oil rig accident, and the resulting gush, as a reference page. Many of these will be constantly updated, so look for newer versions if referencing after today.
Know that 20 years after the Exxon Valdez spill, the 257,000 barrels (11 million gallons) spilled at one go, are still showing up under rocks and in wildlife. Exxon says it spent $2.1 billion on the cleanup.
Compare that to what's going on with BP in the Gulf of Mexico today. BP claims to have already spent $2 billion to contain and clean up after an estimated 125 million gallons have escaped from the deepwater drilling rig Macondo's broken pipe.
Why can't anyone seem to get a grip on this before it fouls more of the most beautiful beaches and valuable wetlands in the world? Oh. It's never happened before, but that sounds just a little like "the dog ate my homework," in spite of the obvious technical difficulties.
How did we get here? Perhaps by not being informed. Perhaps by not voting. Perhaps by making uniformed votes that put the wrong people in power. Perhaps feeling that our little opinion did not matter. Or perhaps some combination of them all.
Get smart. Choose your news from a variety of sources and use your noodle to make sense of it all. Get motivated. Is there something positive you can do instead of just complaining? Then, know you've done your best, sit back, and listen to a little JB. It's good for the soul. He's opening a hotel on the gulf, playing a benefit concert, bringing tourists, smiles and margaritas to a battered economy. My kind of guy. Do what you can, then smile and be happy.
Energy and Capital news: http://www.energyandcapital.com/articles/gulf-oil-spill-updated-news/1177
Upstream Online: http://www.upstreamonline.com/
BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/us_and_canada/10369918.stm