It is sad beyond words and horrifying to see the deep ocean oil well disaster continuing to unfold in the Gulf of Mexico. It's business as usual in the Oil Industry. They operate like a pack of crack heads needing a fix. Nothing else matters. We need to drill for more! The destruction to wildlife and the ocean's habitat is staggering. The devastation to the residents of the coastal states is difficult to grasp as the oil spill savages the livelihood of thousands and robs this generation of it's deep history with the sea in the Gulf of Mexico.

Poor safety standards, poor operations communication, and a complete vacuum of accountability mechanisms within the global oil industry are not new issues to the business of off-shore oil drilling or oil drilling anywhere. We've been reminder of that rather glaring problem yet again.

Obama has been clear in holding BP accountable on every financial front and he's had nothing but flack for wanting to stay drilling in the Gulf over safety issues that need to be properly addressed. The courts at this point won't support his minimal request for a 6 month moratorium on drilling in the Gulf, and won't be stopping the industry from proceeding with drilling for more oil in what should be considered a danger zone. All the while a myriad of solutions exist to closing the leaking well, but BP doesn't seem to possess the intelligence to befriend it's allies in science and engineering around the globe to help them with the catastrophe. Odd isn't it.

One only has to do some research to know solutions exist to closing off the well, and NO, nuclear bombs are not a solution to closing the well. Let that idea die, thank you very much. If you do some research however, apparently you'll know more than BP. Amazing.

I would applaud Obama for standing and speaking to the serious issues of worker safety, oil-rig safety and procedures, and long term environmental considerations with an oil disaster of this magnitude. People fail to understand that Obama wisely addresses many issues on the playing field of accountability, how else can we learn to deal with social, political or environmental problems and engage in constructive dialogue that will lead to cooperative solutions. He's inviting people to do something better and get their act together.

In 1982, 84 rig workers lost their lives while working on the off-shore oil rig the Ocean Ranger, which sunk to the bottom of the ocean off the coast of Nova Scotia. Some workers were as young as 19. The tragedy was captured well by the Fifth Estate in Canada, which documented the lack of even minimal safety and proper rig training standards provided to those working the off-shore oil rig.

It's worth reviewing how the Oil Industry's poor standards continue to plague us, and what can be fairly described as an industry wide lack of moral business conduct. Here are some significant video news pieces of the Oil Industry, that document the issues that persist today. If you have the time I strongly recommend watching.

CBC The Fifth Estate - The Ranger Disaster: video 54 minutes. This link will take you to the CBC video search page; simply enter 'The Ranger Disaster' in the search field and the video will be available on the CBC video site.

Vodpod - Interview with Trudy Styler and Joe Berlinger director of 'Crude' A 2009 documentary about Ecuador and the oil pollution left behind by Texaco. You can buy this movie online quick easily. This is a 15 minute insightful interview about the making of the film and the suffering of the Ecuadorian people due to the environmental disaster created by Texaco.

Source: Solar Home Review

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