There's been a lot of talk about what our leaders can - and should - be doing to address the Gulf catastrophe.
This is a time when we need strong leadership. And I'm not talking about waving some magic wand, or having the President personally plug the leak. I'm quite cognizant of the fact that there are no known good solutions at this point in time.
But there are actions that can be taken to lead us both towards a solution to the ongoing crisis, towards prevention of further drilling incidents, and towards breaking our addiction to the wasteful use of our energy and resources that can be taken, and taken now. These are pragmatic actions that lead towards a stronger nation and towards ensuring that future generations have at least some resources and energy supplies. Furthermore, they are actions that would increase political capitol and push the electoral calculus in favor of our Democratic leaders.
Stop Letting BP Run the Show
It is ridiculous that BP is still at the helm here. At a minimum, force BP to give full disclosure and access to the data. Don't let them prevent access by journalists, scientists and engineers. No, they can't all be on site, but open up the data. And to this day, they're still obfuscating the data and lying about the volume of the oil.
Don't let them preform actions to obfuscate the problem, such as pumping in tens of thousands of gallons of dispersant into the oil plume underwater without telling the world before they start it.
BP is playing a massive spin game, releasing the data slowly to avoid shock and outrage. The controlled release of data is a known technique that works. The problem is, this technique is hampering the ability of others to contribute to solutions.
"Open source" the data. Let the academics and other companies help address the problem. Add a profit motive - the company, university or individual who finds a way to cap this thing gets - say, $10 million and the contract to plug it, or a percentage of the profits of the subcontractor hired in the end to do the work.
And get serious about stopping the use of Corexit. It is so nasty that BP's home nation banned it, considering that cure worse than the disease. Don't let BP just refuse to cease in its use. Bottom line is that it only obfuscates the problem by hiding the oil under the water, while adding untold toxins to the already horrible mess.
Finally, establish competency metrics for BP's efforts. And if they fail to meet those, find someone who can. If necessary, declare a national emergency and nationalize their Gulf rights and the oil platforms. If BP - or any agency - displays incompetence, find someone who will do it right.
Get The Cleanup Funding
I've seen the numbers of the number of boats and people involved in the cleanup effort. It's still not enough for the scale of this disaster. And the funding is inadequate. Add this to the fact that BP is still obfuscating the data and the conclusion is that the resources are not only inadequate, but they cannot be utilized optimally.
There have been problems getting adequate funding for cleanup efforts. Fix that. If we can find half a billion to patrol the Arizona-Mexico border, we can find it to help mitigate this disaster and increase cleanup efforts.
This disaster is going to impact millions of lives. It has already destroyed fishing and tourism for decades. But that is not the end of the economic damage. Increased health care costs, the economic damage from hurricanes that will result from the loss of the natural storm and hurricane barrier formed by the now dying wetlands will be significant. Not to mention the increased cost of health care for all those impacted not just by the pollution of the oil, but by the dispersant in use.
Get More Resources
In addition to getting funding, get people involved. Put out calls to Governors to get available National Guard units to help with the cleanup. If nothing else, there is plenty of contaminated sand that needs removal from the beeches.
Call for volunteers. Make this a national effort. Set up camps for them.
Offer financial incentives and rewards for workable ideas on cleanup. Get other corporations, get the universities, get all the bright minds out there really looking for solutions.
Pushing For Drilling Regulation
Permanently reverse the decision to open up further offshore oil exploration - or at least, until we have better safeguards in place; safeguards enshrined in legislation. Take consideration of more leases off the table.
Push for legislation that would require fully redundant systems - specifically, require a second platform for every well that can take up the pressure if one fails (as is required in Canada). Force drillers to have contingency plans on public file.
Make sure that the EPA does its job; moving forward, issue orders that there will be no exemptions for environmental impact studies. And get rid of the Bush holdovers. The last thing we need are the corporatist, climate change denying idiots that are still in place in the EPA.
Finding The Silver Lining
The only possible silver lining in this catastrophe is that it might be used to provide the impetus to move towards renewable energy and get serious about conservation.
Against the backdrop of suffering, of ecological disaster, of economic devastation, even the most jaded Hummer owner might have second thoughts.
This is the time to be advocating for conservation efforts such as LEEDs type building requirements, for carpooling, for funding public transit, for smart grid technology, for even higher fuel standards and dropping the work truck exemption for luxury SUV's, for tax breaks for businesses and individuals who make energy saving improvements to their buildings and homes.
This is the time to be advocating for personal responsibility. President Carter may have paid a price for telling people to wear a sweater and turn the heat down a few degrees, but he was right. The lesson needs to be hammered home to people that at the end of the day, they all share some responsibility for this disaster. Push people to do their part - every bit adds up. Conserve - carpool, turn down that heat a few degrees, take public transit, turn off the lights and the unused computer. Invest in your home, it will pay off. This can be a positive message that will have tangible impact.
And finally, push hard for renewable energy. We know it is achievable at scale now, so fund it and make it happen. Provide contracts for corporations willing to invest in large scale plants. Make the permits to build easier to get. And get the message out that if we don't do this, we're in a world of trouble; that we cannot continue along the course we're on forever. That either we change it out of choice, or the dwindling supplies of resources and the devastation that the way we do things is going to change it for us.
Conclusion
There is no magic wand to fix this problem. But strong leadership can help us mitigate the damage. It can help to push for measures that would prevent this sort of disaster moving forward. It can help change the way we recklessly burn through our resources.
Coming out strong on this would not only be good for the nation in terms of this disaster, but it would be about the best political move I can think of at this time.