This blog is meant to be a commentary on the world I see, and with that in mind I can’t help but comment on the oil spill. I’m sure my remarks will come across as defending BP and oil companies in general, so I’d like to start by expressing just what a horrible disaster this is, lest I offend those whose livelihoods are affected. Like most people, it almost literally sickens me to think about the horrific waste and unnecessary damage to entire ecosystems, and am saddened by the plight of those in an already battered area who are once again finding themselves and their families in an economic challenge for reasons beyond their control. The event clearly should cause us as a community to reflect on what behaviors could or should be changed to prevent such calamities. And so I’d like to do just that, think about what really ought to be changed.

I’ll start by commenting on what appears to be the general reaction of the public to the spill – at least as the media portrays it – anger toward the oil companies and blame placed on BP. Even the President’s primary reaction was anger rather than some constructive plan. This saddens me almost as much as the spill itself. First of all, there is nothing proactive about blame and anger, all they do is make us feel like we’re on the morally right side of whatever bad happened, but they don’t at all address the underlying issues or prevent future problems. Not only is anger unhelpful, I believe in this case it is misplaced. What are we really angry about? All the proper safety regulations were followed, the fail safes just didn’t work as they were supposed to. Do we not think BP is doing everything they possibly can to fix the problem? They had every incentive to prevent the problem and to solve the issue as quickly as possible once it happened, just look at their stock prices if you find that hard to believe. Do we somehow think that just because people (and let’s be clear when we talk about BP or any other company that it’s a collection of people – not some faceless entity) work for an oil company that they must be selfish and greedy with no care for the environment? Is it not more likely that they, even the CEO, are more likely just men and women working hard and doing the best job they can to support their families if a tough economy just like everyone else in the world? Their company and their jobs exist because we, as a global community, demand it of them. It seems to me we’d be just as angry if they weren’t doing their job of supplying us oil as we are when our insatiable demand for oil leads to some inevitable environmental damage. We need to understand that what happened in the Gulf is not anyone’s fault, it’s the result of the world we’ve cumulatively created. The oil companies were doing exactly we what all ask them and pay them to do, and taking all the safety precautions the government demands of them. An unwanted and unexpected accident happened, and everyone on every side of the issue wants it resolved as soon as possible and is doing all they can to that end – the technology and resources simply don’t exist to make the problem disappear.

So if anger doesn’t fix it and blame doesn’t help, what are we to do? We first of all need to recognize that our choices – our collective individual choices as a global community – have certain consequences and we can’t ask the government or anyone else to separate choices from their consequences. When the world is producing tens of millions of barrels of oil a day there will inevitably be some environmental costs. If we don’t like the consequences we need to make different choices. Perhaps we shouldn’t beg our government to introduce subsidies or other consumer protections when the price of gas rises enough to force us to make changes in lifestyle. Perhaps we should demand that if our government is going to try to spend its way out of a recession that at least the money is spent on research and development of sustainable energy solutions. Even closer to home, maybe we should make the necessary lifestyle changes on an individual level that will reduce our dependence on oil as a global community. In short, if we have a problem with what is happening in the Gulf, we ought to look in the mirror for the solutions, not at the oil companies.