#42 Hubris

Recently the five major oil company CEO's meet before Congress to be questioned about their recovery strategies, should an accident occur in deep water drilling. All of them (BP included) without exception presented virtually identical written bogus reports that not only fabricated the success of unproven technology to cap blown wells in deep water, but also played down the effects of spills on the environment for animals in the region. They all featured the Walrus as one of the Gulf of Mexico mammals that could be impacted. What is curious is that the Walrus doesn't live anywhere near the warm waters of the Gulf, but instead as any school child can tell you, resides in the frigid waters of the Arctic.

Almost worse then the recklessness of the oil companies is the blatant favoritism offered so willingly by our government's watch dog agency, the Mineral Management Services. The inspectors and regulators have happily fed their greedy appetites with extravagant gifts from the oil giants, in exchange for signing off on safety and proven technologies. And don't forget US, the thirsty consumers, who get outraged if the price of gasoline goes up, and our life styles are altered. We would all prefer to embrace complacency then sacrifice and make our voices heard.

I have featured a Walrus covered in a bit of oil in the warm waters of the Gulf.