Kayaking off Delray Beach, Florida, the other day. I marveled at pelicans gliding low between the waves, a school of dolphins rolling along, their fins arching in and out of the water, and a giant sea turtle exploding through the surface, taking a gulp of air and vanishing just as quickly. This beauty is present on the every day in South Florida. And there's a good chance it will eventually be blighted by the sickening oil slick BP's negligence and government corruption is spreading across the Gulf of Mexico.
If, as scientists suspect, the loop current that runs down the west coast of Florida, through the Keys and up the east coast along Miami Dade, Broward and Palm Beach County (where I live), we probably won't have the same level of devastation they're experiencing in Louisiana, but there's sure to be oil covered, dead wildlife -- maybe even the stunning creatures I marveled at -- washing up on our shores.
The anger anyone who knows and appreciates the natural wonders down here feels is hard to contain. My blood boils whenever I hear commentators on TV describe what is now rated as the worst oil spill in American history as an accident.
Just like the Exxon Valdez spill off Alaska in 1989, there's nothing accidental about this. The Exxon Valdez spill -- considered one of the worst examples of human-related disasters up to this point -- wasn't caused by any factors that couldn't have been easily prevented. It was caused because Exxon didn't bother to fix faulty sonar on the ship that would have spotted the reef it struck, and the ship was under the control of a third mate who couldn't handle it. There was even suspicion that the captain left his post to the third mate because he was drunk.
Details are starting to come out that similar cost-cutting and corner-cutting by the three companies involved in the oil exploration project in the Gulf of Mexico -- BP, Transocean and Halliburton (How is this company still in business after its criminal behavior around the world?) set the scene for this disaster. Details are emerging from witnesses that the companies cut workers on the rig to the point where preventive maintenance was not being performed according to schedule, didn't follow standard protocol to seal the well, and didn't pay attention when earlier tests indicated a problem with the blowout preventer that was the failsafe to stop a blowout.
The government has been a true embarrassment in this situation, too. Over a year ago, it was reported that the Interior Department's Minerals Management Service -- which is responsible for monitoring the oil companies -- was actually in bed (literally) with the oil companies. Head are rolling, but not fast enough. The government is also embarrassing itself by not mounting a concerted effort to keep oil from sloshing into Louisiana's marshes -- critical to the nation's fisheries -- when it was clear BP had dropped the ball. Reporters and scientists who boat into the thickest slicks just off the coast say there's no clean-up crew in sight.
This whole thing is disgusting and a sign of negligence on behalf of the companies and our government. Don't ever say there's anything accidental about it within earshot of me.
