Villains

It would appear that we need villains to blame for the problems we encounter. The trouble with this approach is that it is frequently used to divert the observer’s attention away from the accuser or some other component of the problem. The Gulf oil spill is a good example to use for pointing out the problems related to this tactic, but the tactics that are cited should not be restricted to just the oil spill. This exercise is important if one is to become immune to the manipulation that is being applied to us on a daily bases.

            Let’s take a look at the two major players involved in this situation.  The first one is the oil corporations; BP is the main focal point in this group. The second is the government; there are four focal points in this group: the President, Minerals Management Systems (MMS), Congress, and state governments. BP is being portrayed as the villain, but if we look past the rhetoric it will be clear that there are many more villains associated with this problem. It is not the intent of this presentation to exonerate BP, but to present a more complete picture of the contributing factors related to this disaster; this is the only way we can realistically arrive at some reasonable solutions to this problem.

            At this point it appears that BP has made a number of mistakes and has not conducted itself as a responsible driller in the Gulf. One point that stands out is the number of citations that were issued to BP for infractions in the operation of its drilling rigs; the number of infractions far exceeds the total of all other drillers in the Gulf.  This one aspect should have initiated a closer examination of BP’s operations in the Gulf, especially with the deep water drilling rigs. MMS was the responsible government agency for evaluating and licensing BP’s rigs, and yet in spite of BP’s history, it still approved the drilling system that had a questionable safety rating, according to specialists in the field. One has to question the inspections and approval procedures for BP’s operations given its track record; clearly, MMS did not conduct a very effective oversight operation. It also appears this agency did not give BP’s plans for mitigating a disaster the attention it should have. Given these shortcomings MMS should have been called before Congress along with BP; this omission is great enough to call Congresses’ behavior into question. If the real purpose was to find out what lead up to this calamity all responsible parties should have been queried.

            Congress was satisfied that it had found its villain, and could divert attention away from any malfeasances by a government agency, and in so doing they inserted themselves into the problem. The administration compounded the problem by not acting quickly enough when it was clear the BP could neither seal the leak nor contain the spreading oil; at this point the government should have stepped in with all the resources at its disposal. Regardless of whose responsibility it was, the government either had no plans to manage the disaster or failed to initiate them. Since the fear of a major oil spill has been debated for at least a decade, one would have thought that the government would have had a well thought out plan to address this situation. The President took his time in waving the Jones Act that would allow the use of ships from other nations to suck up the oil (a straw at his disposal). When states attempted to take the initiative to mitigate the impact of the oil spill on their coastline they ran into massive bureaucratic red tape.

            To add to the impact on some of these states the government placed a six month moratorium on drilling in the Gulf, which for all practical purposes, given the economic conditions of these states, was the same as a death sentence. A judge has lifted that moratorium, but the President said his administration is going to appeal that decision. One really must question the actions of the government throughout this catastrophe; indeed, government’s competence to address any of our problems should be called into question. Putting our future in the hands of ineffectual politicians does not appear to be the direction we should be going in. The government continues to create problems in its effort to resolve them.  Government, at all levels, continually reinforces the fact that it is not equipped to think outside the bureaucratic box when addressing problems.