Corporate self interest is not a sufficient driver to prevent stupid management mistakes. The losses in oil into the sea that now cannot be sold alone swamp the savings BP gained by cutting corners on safety. The damages done that BP will certainly have to pay for are 150 times the cost of preventing this accident. Nobody knows what the total costs will be and how much will be left for taxpayers to cover. Less government is not the answer to these issues – there must be government regulators doing their jobs and insisting that companies follow prudent procedures when attempting to exploit public resources. If the blowout preventer had been properly tested, properly repaired, and properly equipped, this spill would have lasted for mere minutes, not months.

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Can we drill on land now? What the hell? So we can have another enviromental disaster in Alaska. How about we start seriously talking about alternative energy? Germany produces 20% of their electricity from solar. In a country that rarely see’s sun. We need to stop this stone age method of fueling our energy needs. How about raise the mileage standards. Novel idea, I know, but of course no one can get filthy rich from that so we won’t discuss it.

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