By Alan Caruba
I am the last person to subscribe to conspiracy theories, but I do find it incredibly convenient for the opponents of offshore (and domestic) drilling for oil that the BP oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico had an explosion and the subsequent leak.
Opponents of coal mining also received a gift in the form of the Massey coal mine explosion in West Virginia that killed a number of miners.
All-in-all, a bad few weeks for what the Greens call “dirty” fuels.
The decades-long ban on off-shore drilling along the 85% of the U.S. continental shelf was declared rescinded at the end of the second term of George W. Bush (why did he wait nearly eight years?)
Even President Obama made some comments regarding it about a month ago, but I thought then and think now that it was a subterfuge to make the announcement of the approval for a giant wind turbine field off of Hyannisport, Massachusetts more palatable to the public.
Now the President, who has never had a good word for coal or oil, gets to fly over the giant oil slick on Sunday and return to the White House to further damage any prospect of Americans have access to their own oil.
Frankly, I do not ever recall an account of an oil rig “exploding.” These giant rigs are technological wonders, filled with all manner of safety devices. Coal mines, on the other hand, have a long history of such events.
The irony is that BP (British Petroleum) Oil has for years trumpeted how environmentally concerned it was. BP would have had us believe that they were about more than just oil and a good corporate citizen championing environmentalism. They are about to learn whether their Green friends come to their defense. It’s doubtful.
The real losers in this disaster are Americans who will eventually see the price of a gallon of gasoline rise along with the cost of all other oil-related products. It’s not like any common sense will be applied wherein someone in government says it’s time to drill in a tiny area of Alaska’s desolate ANWR to make up for the supply loss from the BP rig.
If anything, the BP disaster will be used as “further proof” that all offshore drilling should be stopped.
Tell that to Mother Earth. Oil from beneath the oceans and seas escapes all the time. The difference is that it cannot be captured, refined, and used for our benefit.
Editor's Note: For a timeline from April 20 when the explosion occurred through the week or more that followed, visit http://tinyurl.com/2ansut6 It's always being called "Obama's Katrina"
© Alan Caruba, 2010
I've found it somewhat suspicious that ever since this rig blew up, we haven't heard the first word about what caused it. Although I think it's extremely poor journalism, the media typically trips all over themselves to report every half-baked theory and rumor they can get their hands on when something like this happens. For some reason, this time they've been uncharacteristically quiet.
ReplyDeleteNow we hear that Obama is dispatching SWAT teams to the remaining rigs to "inspect" them. Now, I'm no expert on the matter, but just what would SWAT teams be "inspecting" the rigs FOR? SWAT officers certainly aren't oil rig safety experts, so can we assume they're being called in to look for weapons and/or explosives?
The way I see it, this tragedy was caused by one of three things.... an accident, or a terrorist attack, foreign or domestic. If, after further investigation, this turns out to be a case of domestic enviro-terrorism, the Obama administration had better be prepared to re-think their position on which "radical" groups pose the greatest threat to America. I know one thing. The Tea Party certainly isn't one of them....
Of course, it would be difficult to be surprised if this were domestic terrorism. We have left-wing politicians and radical environmentalists running around encouraging aggressive interference with nearly every "non-green" energy project in America. It's only a matter of time before someone does something stupid....
And now the anointed one is sending out DHS Swat teams out to all the rigs in the gulf? Could this be the evidence he is looking for to combat and lock down the right-wing patriot groups? If this was a terrorist event you can bet he would never blame Greenpeace or Earth Firsters. his will be interesting to see. Keep us posted.
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