Beyond Petroleum

BP has become a lightning rod for public outrage over what has become the largest ecological disaster in U.S. history.  Much of that is richly deserved, given the amount of times this immensely profitable foreign oil giant has been cited by regulators for all kinds of major violations, the way they and other oil companies have maintained a cozy relationship with these same regulators, the heartwrenching stories from the survivors of the platform explosion that killed eleven workers and BP's initial downplaying of the oil spill.   Government is culpable as well, with lax enforcement that led up to this disaster and officials coming across as detached while BP seemed to run the show.  President Obama denied this, but there's a time for staying cool and a time to forcefully let BP, its contractors and most of all the public know who's in charge from the beginning.  The Obama administration was slow to recognize that.  They would be wise to heed the passionate statement of Democratic strategist and Louisiana native James Carville.  True, the blame game may not "plug the hole", but Carville's call for prison sentences is not out of line.   Our economy and quality of life cannot survive repeated hits like this.  We need to learn some lessons that go beyond energy independence and certainly beyond the idea that what's good for the oil companies is always good for the country.  Wasn't the Exxon Valdez spill bad enough?