FROM: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2010/05/oil_reaches_louisiana_shores.htmlI stated in an email that "America planned to have an uncontrolled oil blowout," but I'm not sure that anybody puts one-and-one together anymore, so I wanted to elucidate.
Canadian regulators require drillers in the Arctic to drill a relief well at the same time as the main well. The BP disaster could have been avoided if the US had the same regulations for deepwater drilling. But, through our crude democracy we had come to an agreement, a 'social contract,' to deregulate everything and enhance profits. Therefor, the risk of investment to BP was lessened and we, in our collective consciousness, decided that when a deepwater blowout occurred we, as a nation, would suffer most of the environmental and economic losses.
The risk to BP was lessened by deregulation, the cost of gas was lower, the profit incentives to pursue alternatives were reduced, and "we the people" were content that we were reaping short-term material gains and knew that in the future society as a whole would bear the brunt of any harm. America believes in privatized profits and socialized risks!
BP may pay for the clean-up and may pay fines, but the nation has lost things that BP can't buy. If a man is wrongfully imprisoned for 50 years, and then he is released, do you think any amount of money would make up for those lost years? The money that BP will pay for this disaster is insignificant to BP, barely a few months normal profit, but the costs to the Gulf economy and environment are huge, and the affect on the human lives are incalculable. There needs to be a coin of the realm that represents both material and moral goods. Money doesn't replace what has been lost, you can't buy time, you can't eradicate horrible experiences, you can't speed-up the healing.
America's lack of regulation is de facto planning. America planned on minimal investment by oil companies and no expensive relief wells drilled at the appropriate time. Therefor America planned to have an uncontrolled oil blowout -- despite that many now act as though this is an "accident." If a person is driving down I-95 at 180 mph with no functioning brakes one would perceive that individual as planning on crashing .... and wouldn't think of it as an accident when it does happen.
A corporation taking huge risks with our property is not what I call a "free market," but apparently the majority of Americans do feel that way.
I believe a highway with NO SPEED LIMITS is dangerous. I believe unregulated corporations (pursuing shareholder profits to the exclusion of all other concerns, including disregard for national security, the environment, human rights, etc.) are dangerous to the USA, capable of more damage to the nation than any terrorist.
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