What Matters Most

I have not posted an entry on my blog for more than six months now and I have no excuse. There are so many topics to write about and I regret not being more diligent. Today’s report in the New York Times, however, about the British resentment of US attacks on BP is enough to bring me out of my self imposed hiatus.
The idea that the British are upset about the economic effect that the decline in BP’s stock price is having on British markets and British investors is the height of selfish callousness. BP displayed an incredible lack of concern for the safety of its workers and the environment in which it operates, and it is now paying the price for that egregious omission. The worst part of the whole crisis is that BP clearly had no plan for dealing with the environmental calamity it has caused. The economic effects on the residents of the Gulf Coast, coupled with the environmental effects on the wildlife that inhabit the region far outweigh any negative economic effect on British markets and investors.
If I were the president, I would have already called for a permanent boycott on all BP gas stations, so that they cannot profit another penny from the US citizenry for whom they showed so little concern.
What has not even yet been discussed is what penalties will be imposed upon BP for their environmental and civil crimes in this matter. I did a quick check and found that Exxon was originally fined $5 billion for causing the oil spill in Alaska in 1989. It was recently ruled that the $507 million that Exxon has paid out so far to the victims of the oil spill and their families will be considered their total liability. Figures released today show that the amount of oil that has leaked into the Gulf of Mexico exceeds that which was released during the Valdez disaster by a factor of five, and the number is of course still rising. The economic effects on the residents of the Gulf Coast remain incalculable at this time because BP has not been able to establish any time frame for the containment of the spill and it is already clear that it will take years to mitigate its effects. Attempt after attempt has failed miserably, while Tony Hayward complains of the inconvenience it is causing him personally.
What matters most are the lives of the people who are most directly affected by this disaster. Just as we all felt anguish for the residents of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, we now have to feel it for the residents of the Gulf Coast who face a multi-year recovery in economically depressed times.
I feel nothing of the kind for the British investors who are upset about US criticism of BP’s conduct in this crisis.
The other major casualty that arouses my anguish is the effect on the wildlife of the region, which could cause the extinction of certain species or at least a major reduction in their numbers. Those species count on us, unknowingly, as the most evolved, to be the stewards of their environment. It is shameful for every human being on Earth to consider how we have let them down.
I would like to pose a question to our British allies across the pond. Would you be so forgiving of an American company that caused an oil spill which resulted in tar balls washing up on the shores of London? I think we all know the answer to that.