The Politics of Oil
Everyone wants to end the BP oil spill, stop the oil from gushing, and get to cleaning up the Gulf. Having oil gush out doesn't help anybody--Republican or Democrat.
The problem with the oil spill (besides, of course, the massive economic and environmental damage) is what happens next. Republicans keep chanting "Drill, baby, drill!", while Democrats are sitting quietly in the corner chanting, well, what exactly are they chanting?
The oil spill is a crisis. As Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel says, "Never let a crisis go to waste". This is a crisis gone to waste.
While Republicans are winning the message battle yet again, the Democrats have a chance to win the policy battle--a much more important battle in the long run. Proposals of wind, solar and geothermal energy can be passed now.
This is not a climate change issue. It's a "Holy shit the Gulf is filled with oil, and these sources of energy don't spill like this" issue. Bill Maher put it best when he said: "You know what happens when a windmill falls into the water? A splash." This has to be portrayed as a safety issue. We don't have to deal with costly cleanups with wind, solar and geothermal.
If we are to mitigate the effects of climate change, then we can't use climate change. Climate change is a hoax, remember? We have to push safety and economic growth. Put the 10% unemployed to work by setting up wind farms, harvesting solar and geothermal energy, outfitting homes for energy efficiency and more. This horrible oil spill has a chance to change the world.
But, as we've seen so far, that hasn't happened. We're worried more about hitting BP hard, making it look like the government is the knight in shining armor, and BP is the bad guy. Which is true. Except that's not what matters. People know BP fucked up. People know that the government couldn't do much about it. It's not rocket science. There's no conspiracy here. People know that BP, right now, is a fucked up company that doesn't have a fucking clue how to stop an oil spill. We're not that stupid.
But, the government seems to think we are. Instead of leveling with us and saying that this is the time for clean energy economy, because we can be the world leaders in this, put people to work at jobs in America, and prevent costly and life-altering spills like this one, they're more concerned with putting their boot on the throat of BP. BP is going to pay for this spill. Every cent. You really expect BP to dodge a bullet here? Please. This isn't the time to show muscle. It's the time to get serious. It's the time to get wind, solar and geothermal energy. The words climate change do not have to be mentioned. People are scared about climate change. But, they're not scared about stopping spills and getting our economy moving.
The time is now. Convert to wind, solar and geothermal energy. Get our economy moving. Get our necks out from the iron fist of oil companies and oil producing nations. And, in the process, work to mitigate the effects of climate change. It's a win-win. Let's just hope the people in charge see it that way.
Tweet This Post 
Digg This Post 
Reddit This Post
