by Dawn Pawz

Created on: June 08, 2010   Last Updated: June 09, 2010

The values of the oil industry are very clear to most of us consumers, profit margin!  When they proclaim that oil drilling is safe, the environment is in no danger, there is clear misrepresentation of the real facts about drilling for oil.  The very fact that BP stated that they had backup plans in case there was ever a problem with this drill site, is proof of where their values lie. 

They couldn't have really known how they would respond to a critical situation on this deep drilling rig or they would have had clear and expedient measures enacted immediately.  No, instead, the Coast Guard was first to respond and believed the rig to be in serious danger of tilting over by the morning of April 21st, 2010.  

It's no wonder that the response plan was not clear from the get go, with the Federal regulators, well into the oil companies pockets.  Safety rules can only be as tough as the agency making those rules, is removed from the profits gained from the polluter, right?  A great site to read more about this horrible event is: Nola

What of the 11 oil workers who lost their lives on that Deepwater Horizon rig?  Well, a CEO of Transocean Ltd, named Steven Newman, owner of the Horizon rig stated, "This is one of the most difficult days for many of us here.  But for the families of our 11 lost colleagues, this is just another of many difficult days." 

In place of difficult days, perhaps, sad, or our hearts are heavy with so many that have been lost.  Mr. Newman sounded more as if he were talking about how he still has to worry about the oil leaking rather than addressing families that have lost loved ones on his rig!    See: Huffington Post for full article.

The Inspector General, Mary Kendall from the Interior Department found that relationships, sometimes from childhood, would supercede when it came to Minerals agency employees that go between the oil industry and Federal Government.  Even a report from 2008 by Inspector General Earl Devaney, stated that there was a "Culture of ethical failure."  With this kind of liaisons, how can we even trust the EPA?

British Petroleum has been using chemical dispersant at sea surface and undersea.  The EPA then required BP stop using the toxic dispersant at the surface but that they could continue using it under the surface.  Seems that the dispersant is less toxic than the oil that is flushing into the gulf, but what is BP doing to find alternatives?  Meanwhile, millions of gallons of crude oil still relentlessly gush out into the waters that so many sea creatures call home and so many earned an income off of.

Yes, it's clear that it's not just the values of the oil industry but the many others that have been paid off along the way that have caused this major crisis.  Values eroded as badly as did the Horizon oil rig. 

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