Ok, look. I'm not TRYING to offend anyone. At the same time, I'm not trying NOT to offend anyone.
If you do not at least work WITH people you can learn from in the drilling business; shut the hell up about the BP spill.
Quite simply, it is almost 100% likely that you (yes, YOU) bear some indirect resonsibility for this mess. Drilling for oil is dangerous work. The men who do it know this, and are compensated accordingly in my opinion. HOWEVER ... they do this because the rest of us cannot break our addiction to petroleum.
If you drive more than 150 miles a month, for whatever reason, shut up. If you do not recycle 80%+ of your plastic in a given month, shut up. If you have and electric bill over $100 a month and cannot be sure that your power is generated by a means other than oil, SHUT THE HELL UP!!
Yes, BP fucked up. Yes, Transocean fucked up. Yes, drilling for oil bears risks. In fact, drilling for oil bears risks we should all find unacceptable. How many of us sacrifice ANY part of our lifestyle in order to reduce these risks? Almost none of us.
So ... if you aren't actively curtailing your petroleum consumption and object to $7.00 a gallon gas, SHUT THE HELL UP!! If you do not actually KNOW what goes into oil exploration and drilling, SHUT THE HELL UP!! If you are not willing to live in a 400 square foot space, bus to work, and get your electric bill under $100 a month, SHUT THE HELL UP!!
Unless you have managed to fit yourself into this mold, YOU are part of the reason BP was drilling a well 5,000 feet below the surface of the gulf. You are the reason that they, and everyone else, will keep doing so in the future.
You can have your comforts, or you can have a clean environment for your children. You cannot have both.
If I offend anyone, too bad. THIS is the reality we have all made for ourselves by ignoring the long-term effects of our lifestyles. We have no one to blame but ourselves and our parents.
Reform now, as a culture and society, or condemn our decendants (YOUR decendants ... I have no children) to pay for our lack of foresight. Your call, ALL of you. No one person can make a difference, true ... but if enough people change their ways, the future will be more manageable.
In the meantime, if you will not change your ways ... SHUT THE HELL UP!!
