BP Oil Spill a "Tremendous," "Blossoming" Flower of Energy; "BP is coming back from this"

"Smoke plumes from spill-response crews gathering and burning oil in the Gulf of Mexico near the site of the leaking Macondo well."

As I said in the post published an hour ago on TSA agents giving Gulf activists special treatment in California’s Ontario Airport, I recently ran across a few new BP oil spill stories that deserve a little attention.

First of all, with regards to the BP oil spill, how’s this for compassion?

As we saw that thing bubbling out, blossoming out – all that energy, every minute of every hour of every day of every week – that was tremendous to me. That we could deliver that kind of energy out there – even on an explosion.

Here’s a little more info on the man behind that quote and what he is looking to do in Congress over the next year or two.

Rep. Ralph Hall (R-TX) plans to pursue an aggressive pro-oil agenda as the incoming chair of the House Science and Technology Committee. In an interview with the Dallas Morning News this month, the “unconditional champion of fossil fuels” described his zeal for the “holy grail” of the oil industry — the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge — discussed issuing subpoenas to interrogate climate scientists, and explained why the BP disaster “didn’t dampen his enthusiasm for offshore drilling.” Hall described the BP explosion that killed eleven men, injured dozens, and led to the despoilment of the Gulf of Mexico as a “tremendous,” “blossoming” flower of energy.

Looks like we have a bright future ahead of us if Hall has anything to do about it.

Nevermind that people were killed; numerous animals, fish, and birds were killed and suffered greatly; even up to recently, high levels of oil and grease were found in Gulf of Mexico shrimp; people and cleanup workers all along the Gulf coast are suffering odd health problems; and as a current oil cleanup worker noted last week, the effects on some beaches are still impossible to miss: “You definitely smell it. It hits you in the face.”

Unfortunately, Hall isn’t the only reason BP is far from dead in the water (so to speak). The Gulf oil spill may have devastated countless animals and communities, but BP is expected to get past its hardships from it just fine. Tyler Priest, a University of Houston petroleum historian and member of President Obama’s oil spill investigation committee says: “BP is going to come back from this.”

Truthfully, in the end, the U.S. and the world as a while are addicted to oil, and BP is a world leader in pulling that oil out of the earth and bringing it to the masses to pump into their cars and planes. As iol writes, “BP remains among the top oil drillers in a world that runs on petroleum, and that may be the best way to judge the company’s lasting power.”

Want to help prevent the growth of this industry? Go green: green your transport and go vegetarian or vegan.

Photo Credit: Dr. Oscar Garcia / Florida State University via SkyTruth

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