by J Orygun
The gulf oil crisis raises several distinct problems. There's clearly a problem with regulating the drilling, that the government has to solve before another well gets drilled. There's clearly a problem of an out-of-control wellhead that only a few drilling professionals have the tools and knowledge to plug. But there's one more problem, which is NOT a "never seen before" problem: a massive oil spill. We had one in Valdez. There was one in the gulf 30 years ago. There was a small one a few years ago in SF bay. Oil spills in water are not rare. And they obviously don't just come from mismanaged drilling. They come from mismanaged ships. They come from collisions. And they could even come from an act of terrorism. The only thing different about this one is the size. So what do we do when the oil hits the water? We need treat it like the invasion of a foreign enemy, 'cuz that's what it is. We need a government agency that is ready to go to work the day the next spill happens. We need a fire department for oil spills. We clearly don't have one.
continued at Daily Kos....
