There is political and economic fall-out from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Since the $75 million limit on liability is to be lifted, small operators will not be able to drill in the deep water anymore; this will only be available to the big oil companies. Well, perhaps that is for the best. Why would such a minuscule limit have been set in the first place? At the time it was enacted into law, it must have been fairly obvious that $75 million was hardly adequate. I suspect lobbyists and sweet-heart negotiations.
The discussion over new regulations and the moratorium are not actually about energy policy at all; they are not about environmentalism and anti-business animus: they are about how we provide for disasters of technology.
Suppose it had not been an oil spill, but an explosion of spent nuclear fuel near these coast lines and beaches; or a nuclear reactor on the ocean. Suppose it. Picture it. What then?
Beyond the almost immediate deaths of the emergency responders and the slower, drawn out deaths of those receiving less immediately lethal doses of radiation, there would be the Dead Zones where radioactivity would remain high for hundreds and thousands of years... pretty much ending the shrimping industry and the tourism industry nearby for millenia.
There is already a push for more nuclear power. Shall we do it intelligently, or shall we Chernobylize the future?
And this applies to more than nuclear power; Gene Modification being done for commercial purposes is currently based on the same business plan that drives the oil industry: maximize profits and spend as little as possible of worst-case scenario remediation. The chickens will always come home to roost, and it is time we began planning things intelligently rather than "profit maximally".
Posts
2 comments:
You know, I don't think that even after the catastrophe in the Gulf is finally brought to a close, whenever that will be in God's time, the oil companies are going to go to any great expense to equip themselves for another disaster like this. After all, what can force them to do it? Can we legislate such a thing? Can you imagine the shrieks from the tea party yahoos?
Will the collective outrage of the citizens of the world be enough to cause the oil giants to prepare for repairing the havoc they wreak on the earth? What do you think?
No. We must rely on the good will of the oil industry to guard us against their depredations. Not an encouraging prospect.
Within less than 4 years, the collective outrage at the "leadership" that conspired to destroy us to enrich themselves will lead to something you have never dreamed of.
Post a Comment