not connected

Every day thousands of gallons of oil enter the Gulf of Mexico. The spectacle, now surely the worst environmental disaster in US history, is making people mad. Images of dying birds, floating tar balls and once-pristine beaches covered in muck are making America angry. That much makes sense. But do these same Americans make the connection to their gas-guzzling SUV's, their oversized pickup trucks and all the miles they drive each and every day? Hardly.

When asked, people sounded frustrated, angry and upset. Their rage was directed at BP and big oil companies; their sympathies were with the fishermen of the Gulf. But did they for one instant think they themselves were playing an active role in this disaster? Did they ever sit back and think about the true cause of this travesty? Fat chance.

All the journalists heard was people explaining how they NEEDED to drive all those miles, how they NEEDED their big truck, how they NEEDED their cheap gas, how they NEEDED oil and how America NEEDED to free itself from foreign imports of oil and gas.

Well then, there is only one logical conclusion one can draw from all this: we godt what we deserved. And surely there is more to come.

don't blame us

The oil industry has it right," Don't blame us for the oil spill. It's not our fault." Spoken like a true drug pusher. Blame the addict.

Unfortunately, in this case, there is more truth to it than meets the eye. While oil spills cause a lot of damage, they are "hardly the most baleful consequence of America's oil addiction" according to The Economist.

Furthermore, devastating as they may be, spills are not even the main source of oil floating around in the oceans. Offshore drilling accounts for only 1%, tankers and pipelines for only 4%, compared to 33% from other shipping.

What you also may not realize is that much of the oil spilled in this disaster is expected to evaporate before reaching the coast. So never mind the poor sea gulls, watch what you breathe. Honestly people, if you get upset about this look no further than your own garage. That is where the true culprits are.

oil slick

Heard another debate on BBC America about the disaster that is about to unfold in the Gulf. What was truly surprising was that an industry representative stated matter-of-factly that we need the oil and nobody flinched. Everyone just took it for granted. We need the oil and gas to support our way of life. That is a given.

Now if we could just get it out without those embarrassing incidents. Because that is really what matters here, it doesn't look good. When the commentator asked about a major spill in Indonesia, the industry representative's answer focused on regulations, and how some countries don't have good regulations! Duh.

Once again, deafening silence from the opposition. As if regulations is what matters. Never mind the spill, worry about the rules. Never mind either that those rules were probably dictated by the industry, all too happy that there are plenty of countries with little or no regulations!

Nobody, but absolutely nobody mentioned the outrageous living-room-on-wheels SUV's that Americans need to drive to and from work. Nobody questioned our life-style. Even the environmentalist, or should I say the so-called environmentalist focused on the problem at hand, not the bigger picture.

It is obvious that when people think this way, we are never going to solve our problem. If people take our outrageous life-style for granted, we are doomed. We are doomed to repeat what has happened so many times before: arrogant civilizations running into a brick wall at 100 mph. Collapse.

gusher

The proponents of offshore drilling better take a good look at the Gulf of Mexico. The disaster that is unfolding there should be reason enough to ban all offshore drilling forever. But I doubt that it will have any impact at all. Because the only right response to such disasters is not to protest, or to demand tough penalties, but to get rid of your gas-guzzling SUV.

That is right. Without demand, there won't be any reason to go look for oil in the Gulf or any other place, such as the Alaskan wilderness for example.

More than half the oil we "use" is wasted. It is wasted in traffic jams and needless driving. It is wasted in oversized and overweight vehicles, and it is wasted heating buildings that are empty or sparsely occupied.

It is wasted in generators that produce electricity to power lights, appliances and other devices that are left on 24/7 whether anyone needs them or not.

That is one giant oil spill that nobody wants to contain.