Thursday, April 29, 2010

President Obama Rushes Military Aide to Gulf of Mexico Coastline

With 5,000 barrels of oil rushing uncontrollably into the waters a day just off the cost of Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana and our country facing an unprecedented natural disaster is it any wonder that our president is now sending in the top military experts and environmental experts to help in the prevention and clear up of this unfolding environmental disaster.

If the federal government ever needed an example of why “Drill Baby Drill” was a huge mistake from the very start when it comes to our protected seashores all they have to do is watch as this environmental disaster unfolds just off the coast of our own country.

The harm from this oil could last decades and even permanently destroy valuable wildlife and harm valuable wetland areas that would help reduce the impact of golf coast storms to the states that line our Golf Coast seashores. Fishing and Tourism could also be harmed for decades to come.

There should be a swift and thorough investigation as to why this had to happen in the first place. People were killed when that oil platform exploded and sank into the sea. All attempts to close off the leaking of oil into the waters have failed up to now. This just a few weeks after 29 miners were killed in an incident in West Virginia where the company in question had failed to follow basic safety laws and the federal government had failed to provide crucial support that would have enforced safety laws that are already on the books.

Energy corporations in this country have far too much power to influence decisions made in Washington that could have a profound effect on the lives of voters and on the fragile environment in this country. Yet the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that these same corporations should be allowed to spend uncontrollability to protect their own interest at the expense of individual voters in this country. Now is the time for our federal government to look closely at protection agencies that are required to enforce our safety laws when it comes to energy corporations. Clearly energy corporations cannot and will not police themselves when it comes to environmental issues or worker safety.