More Dangerous Than Cocaine, #4: We have met the enemy...

...and he is us.

This picture is making the rounds today. It's appalling. It's easy to blame oil companies for the nefarious happenings in the Gulf of Mexico, or lax government regulation, or complacent attitudes over safety, but ultimately, the blame lies with ourselves. A number of commentators in recent days have pointed out that every president since Richard Nixon have described the need for "energy independence", but as for taking real action, well, the only guy who tried to actually say we had to make hard choices got canned in favor of the happy-go-lucky grandfathery "morning in America" fellow in 1980. Meanwhile, ever since the 1970's, we've continued wasting petroleum and almost totally ignored the problem.

Even now, hardly anyone in the media or in the broader culture seems to be discussing the bigger problem. It's not seeping into the national conciousness the way it is into the gulf. It's not just the mess we made in the Gulf. It's the problem of the oil we burn. We are addicted to petroleum; we are doing nothing to curb that addiction, we are just working harder and paying more to feed our addiction. But the oil is running out, and we have no viable alternatives. We are poisoning ourselves, and overheating our atmosphere, but we will tolerate no talk of ...dare I say it?...sacrificing. Instead, we will just drift along until we hit a very tragic wall. Then the sacrifice will be on us whether we like it or not. Gas at $20/gallon? Not so far away. No gas at all, like the 1970's? Probably.

Contrary to the myth, you can't see the Great Wall of China from space. Check out the larger version of the picture above...maybe you are sharper-eyed than I am, but how sad that the one bit of evidence that we live on this planet that is visible from space is an oil slick. The oil spilled in the gulf may amount to 2 million barrels so far (over the two months)...that's about one-tenth of what we consume as a country per day.

I..er..uh, I have more to say, but I think American Idol is on. See ya'.

Satellite Imagery from NASA, full image is here (10 mb).

Learn about Pogo and the 1971 Earth Day Poster with the famous line "he is us" here.

One of the Biggest Political Ironies I think I will ever see...

1969 Oil Spill in Santa Barbara Channel, California (AP photo from Los Angeles Times)

However one might feel about drilling for oil in the continental shelf of the United States, the events of the last month have to stand as one of the greatest political ironies in the country's history. One month after a Democratic (!) president opens up vast areas for offshore drilling, a massive explosion kills eleven people on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico, and a huge oil slick is making landfall along the shorelines of what will ultimately include four states. You may be able to think of some better examples, but it makes me think of the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo which ceded California to the United States on February 2, 1848, when unbeknownst to the signing parties, gold had been discovered in California on January 24 of the same year. We are only seeing the beginning of what will be a long and painful time for the coastal cities, not to mention the ecosystems found there. The political ramifications will last far longer; the oil spill in the Santa Barbara Channel in 1969 still resonates today. And so does the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster.

I hope that the damage can be contained. It won't do anyone any good if the beaches all along the southern coasts are coated with muck. I do hope it will start a national conversation about our priorities. Despite the shrill cries of "Drill Baby, Drill", pulling the oil out of environmentally sensitive areas will do next to nothing to achieve energy independence. Without imported oil, we would pretty much use up our entire inventory of US petroleum reserves in maybe five or six years. Where will we be, then? We need to plan for a post-petroleum economy before it is forced on us, not after. It is the only way to avoid an economic disruption that will make the present-day recession look like the Roaring Twenties. But how can you explain that to representatives and senators who are incapable of looking beyond their next election day?

Deep Sea News provides a very good timeline of the events in the Gulf of Mexico.

I don't want to make light of a horrible situation, but I hope no prominent politician stands up to say how absolutely safe nuclear power is now...