We have lost lives, jobs and an entire season of productivity for some industries. Our entire nation has learned of government corruption which otherwise may have just flown under the radar. The estimated amount of oil spewing out of the seabed increases all the time.

According to CNN, “government scientists Tuesday (06/15/2010) increased the estimate of oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico to between 35,000 and 60,000 barrels per day, up to 50 percent more than previously estimated. […] The government's previous estimate, issued last week, was 20,000 to 40,000 barrels per day.” (http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/15/oil.spill.disaster/index.html?hpt=Sbin)

It’s forced us to look hard at the industry. There’s been an all too cozy relationship between Big Oil and government regulators from the Gulf States to Alaska. An independent government report cited a thoroughly corrupted Minerals Management Service including comped tickets to major sporting events, fishing and hunting trips and industry sponsored recreation for people in the agency. (http://www.cbsnews.com/htdocs/pdf/OIG_May_2010_redacted.pdf?tag=contentMain;contentBody)

It was so bad government oil rig inspectors had a habit of filling in inspection sheets with pencil in some instances and then government inspectors would go over them in pen. (http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/5917196-ig-report-mms-ethics-violations-included-bribes-and-cheating) We’re not talking about the count of how many straws and napkins are out on the floor at the local Burger King. We’re talking about inspections with ramifications the kind of which we’re looking at today. It could happen again if people continue to let the industry do as it pleases.

After the President’s speech regarding the spill on Tuesday the 15th Charlotte Randolph, president of Lafourche Parish said, “quite frankly with his continuance of the moratorium he is saying to the people of South Louisiana you’re not worth the effort. His message about safety is disingenuous, because[…] there was one explosion on one rig based on the terrible horrible actions of some people. This is not an industry wide problem these rigs were inspected right after the explosion occurred and now he wants a re-inspection. And, it’s obvious by the selections he’s made to this particular commission that his agenda is being reinforced by it. There are safety regulations in the industry […] They police themselves.” (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127868284)

That is a sentiment echoed by many. The want to get people back to work is definitely understandable especially in these times and of economic hardship, but the industry and certain government employees brought some of this on themselves. An isolated incident? Police themselves?

The IG report noted an industry wide epidemic bad enough they decided to actually split up the agency in charge of rig inspections and industry revenue collection. When industry employees were filling out government inspection sheets in pencil to be traced over later by government inspectors, that was the industry policing themselves. Can we really feel safe with that?

There are dangers in this industry and the ramifications are not like a plane crash, a comparison often made. Entire tourist seasons in certain areas of the gulf have been destroyed. At least one entire fishing season for many has been wiped out by this. Tangential industries have been hobbled by this for at least the season. We still have no idea how long the marshlands where the next season’s fishing industry harvest will hopefully spawn will be affected.

As far as an agenda we are talking about a president who, just previous to crisis, was proposing to increase offshore drilling in US waters despite the political backlash from his own constituency. He was taking heat for the idea.

In terms of inspections done right after the blast, the industry already had a bad report regarding a culture of corruption at administrative levels. There had to be some understanding of the problem that caused this. The report gave the industry and government ties unilateral F’s.

The incident is not isolated. The New York Times reported there was an “Australian accident, known as the Montara spill, [which] began Aug. 21 with a blowout of high-pressure oil similar to the one in the gulf. With the well spewing 17,000 to 85,000 gallons per day, precious weeks passed before the relief wells were started. When efforts got under way, the first four attempts — drilled on Oct. 6, 13, 17 and 24 — missed the original well. A fifth attempt finally intersected the original on Nov. 1, and about 3,400 barrels of heavy mud were pumped through the relief well into the base of the original well. The spewing oil finally stopped Nov. 3 — more than 10 weeks after the original explosion.” (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/us/03montara.html)

This is the second such incident in two years. Can the Gulf Region really stand another? Can the economy really afford to suffer that? Rigs already pumping oil have been allowed to continue. Those 500 feet or closer to shore are continuing unabated. The pause button has been pushed temporarily for safety reasons on some not all and because of the magnitude of the potentialities of the crisis. Can we really gamble with fishing, tourism and related industries for the sake of one very powerful/ rich one?

When testifying on the Hill Wednesday the 16th Oil Industry executives were asked to explain why exactly they had the exact same contingency plans for dealing with similar incidents in the Gulf of Mexico as the BP spill. It turns out the plans were even drawn up by the same company. They included the now ridiculed plan to protect walruses which don’t even exist in the gulf. ABC News reported, “ExxonMobil has revealed its emergency response plan includes 40 pages on dealing with the media and only nine on dealing with an oil spill.” (http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/06/16/2927986.htm) Police themselves, huh?

Not every politician in the Gulf region feels exactly the same way as Charlotte Randolph. In an interview on Wednesday the 16th Mayor Tony Kennon of Orange Beach, Alabama explained,”I'm absolutely a drilling proponent. However, they were obviously not prepared for some type of catastrophic event at 5,000 feet. Now, no matter how much I want to drill, you have to have a contingency plan. I have a contingency plan if my dog catcher is out sick. So, it makes absolutely no sense they were not prepared for this situation in 5,000 feet of water. So, until we get in a situation where they can handle something of that nature, we can't drill again deep water. That's my opinion.” (http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1006/16/ltm.01.html)

It’s not easy to know what to do, but what’s clear is things were not safe on more than one rig, inspections had been botched for years and the entire industry in the Gulf of Mexico was thoroughly unprepared for a similar catastrophe. We know we need safe deepwater rigs. We know we need meaningful enforcement of drilling safety regulations. We know BP needs to pay and that it’s really hard to say what something like this will cost or would it ever happened again. This wasn’t just an accident; it has devastated lives and livelihoods. There will be more to come as we deal with this slippery mess we all find ourselves in.

To read about my inspiration for this article go to www.lawsuitagainstuconn.com.