Firsthand Impressions of Oil on the Beach

After growing tired of all the doom and gloom, I just had to go see for myself. Yes the "tar balls" are there. I stepped on some. I walked a long way to see if it was just a small area. It wasn't. The surf was rough and seaweed was washing up along with tar balls. This was all directly in front of the main tourist areas of Pensacola Beach on the gulf side. While there was still plenty of sugar white beach, the oil residue was closest to the water, making it difficult to go into the water to cool off (though that was risky with the rough surf anyway).

I then took a drive East (about five miles) to the less populated area just before the Gulf Islands National Seashore. There I found pure sand, the same rough surf and just some washed up seaweed. No oil. My visit there confirmed that if our local visitor's bureau and hotels would coordinate shuttle bus service to these pristine areas (where there are also restroom facilities), tourists could still enjoy Pensacola Beach. I tried this past week to notify the Visitor's Center of my suggestion. They told me to call the Santa Rosa Island Authority. I did and they told me to call the National Park Service. At that point I got so frustrated, I gave up...for now.

This past week, the personal impact of this disaster showed itself in the suicide of a charter boat captain in Alabama. The man grew tired of taking orders from people that had never operated boats, let alone captained them. He grew tired of trying to figure out 50 page applications for reimbursement. It was all too much for a man who'd met numerous challenges in the past and could no longer fight. May God have mercy on Allen Kruse's soul.

As I have observed the effects of this disaster I am struck by the absurdity of all of it. Like many in my area, I am angry. I am angry at BP for not having sufficient safety procedures and protections in place to keep those eleven men from being killed in the explosion. I am angry that BP didn't have sufficient protections to keep the oil from gushing into the gulf the way it has. I am angry that our federal government is so inept and self-serving that possible remedies get tied up in red tape.

I ask why we have a Department of Environmental Protection? Why do we have an Environmental Protection Agency? Doesn't anyone else think it is absurd that once this spill happened, our federal government has dragged its feet on allowing different remedies because some of them might leave some contaminants in the water? Duh! If they're less toxic than the oil, approve them with lightning speed.

I am absolutely disgusted that anyone is dumb enough to think our federal government is the best at managing much of anything beyond our military. How ironic that the one thing our federal government is best at is tasked with killing people and breaking things. Sorry if that offends you, but that's what war is.

It may surprise many of you to learn that my heart broke as I walked the beach today and experienced the oil residue first-hand. Though I'm not much of a beach goer, it breaks my heart that so many have been so powerfully affected. It breaks my heart that this disaster has caused a man to take his own life. I think that one is the most painful for me.

This disaster is NOT the end of the world. There are solutions both short term and long term. We CANNOT give up the fight to help our local economy recover and prosper.

Thank you for reading.

The Oil Disaster Fallout

As of this writing, we're into the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, for two months now. I continue to be amazed at the absolute ignorance of the American people in dealing with this. I'd like to discuss just a few points regarding the disaster.

First, from a technical standpoint, I admit that I had earlier wondered why all attempts to cap the well involved capturing the oil and none seemed to involve just dropping a concrete block (though a very large and heavy one) on top of the well. I've since learned that because of the pressure at which the oil is being pushed out of the ground, to drop an immense block on it would cause an underground explosion which could then cause multiple oil leaks from the sea bed.

Since just about everyone has turned this thing political, I would like to address some of the most ridiculous arguments.

1. Believe it or not, we Americans are blaming our "addiction to oil" for this disaster. There have been incentives (offered by the government) for the development of alternative fuel sources. None have proven cost-efficient. You can't power your car on a windmill. And has everyone forgotten that many plastics and other lightweight materials depend on petroleum?

2. Even our president has touted a statistic that we have 2% of the world's oil reserves, but consume 20% of the world's oil. I don't know where this statistic comes from, but I doubt the validity of it for a number of reasons. None-the-least is the fact that much of the world depends on the United States of America for humanitarian, military or financial aid. That's right, when tragedy strikes anywhere in the world, who always provides aid? The good ol' US of A. Those ships we send with food and medical supplies, weapons for protection and troops all need feeding. Our ships, weapons and medical supplies are usually made in America. That takes petroleum and a lot of it.

3. While everyone recognizes BP's responsibility for the spill and paying for the damage, few seem critical of the regulatory agencies' failure to ensure safety measures and virtually nobody is holding the current executive branch responsible for failing to move quickly in the early days since the explosion of the oil rig. I mean, why do we have a Department of Environmental Protection and an Environmental Protection Agency?

If you've read this far and think I'm all for drilling wherever and whenever, please know that's not the case. I am all for using different sources of energy. I believe that diversity in fuel sources could reduce the price because the demand on each type would be reduced. I believe that if this disastrous accident could have been prevented, then it happened because of a combination of compromised procedures on the part of the operators and a failure to enforce the regulations by the government's regulatory agencies. If that's the case, I think both should be held accountable for their dereliction of duty.

As for boycotts of BP; even if that succeeded in running BP out of business, it would hardly help anyone. Millions of Americans have stock in BP through 401(k)'s (even some government employees) and running BP out of the Gulf of Mexico wouldn't stop the other countries from drilling in the international waters (the same area as the Deepwater Horizon). Does anyone really believe those other countries have better safety requirements than us, or do they just enforce them? Or neither? Hmmm.

Your thoughts?

Term Limit Alternative

As more people read this blog and provide input, it really gets the creative juices flowing. Ergo, I offer the following in response to a recent comment.

Although I am currently for term limits, I believe the passing of The FairTax could greatly reduce the need for them. Please follow me on this. The FairTax changes from the many different taxing strategies we have today, to one consumption tax. Thus our federal government could not (under the FairTax) easily make changes to the tax code and this would reduce the politicians' power. Combined with the fact that elected officials, at the federal level, have a very attractive compensation package, it is possible that they might return to more effective and efficient governing (if they want to keep their jobs). The key is we the people must continuously engage and hold our representatives accountable.

It was suggested that lobbyists' influence be limited "in some way." I submit to you that the FairTax does some of this because government's spending would be limited to the taxes received through the consumption tax. I.e. the federal government could not increase spending by imposing an increase to some other tax (since there'd be no other taxes).

I also would like to address the notion that the political elites will not let changes be made to the current system. I refuse to buy into this. We have had an income tax for less than 100 years (16th amendment, ratified February 3, 1913). If someone had said 30 years ago that we'd elect a president with no business, military or executive experience most people would have said "no way." Look at all the career politicians who had to get out of the way for a 40-something senator (with less than one term in office) to be elected President of the United States.

If we believe in it we can do it. But we must be willing to work for it. I welcome your debate.

Let's Get Our Economy Going!

Once again I am reading a book about the U.S. economy (FairTax: The Truth, Neal Boortz & Congressman John Linder). Look folks, we can have all the government programs we want, but that doesn't grow the economy and the U.S. economy has grown when we (the workers of the United States of America) manufactured the goods the world wants. Why? Read on.

In the eras of booming U.S. economies, we had one of two advantages; either we offered goods that nobody else had or, we offered goods at a quality and/or price level that nobody else could touch. From a consumer standpoint you either buy the product because 1) nobody else has it 2) you can't beat the price or 3) the buying experience is worth the added cost. Okay, occasionally you buy purely out of loyalty, but that's rare. Now consider that most of what we buy is made outside of the U.S. That's got to be the combination of quality and price being better than goods manufactured here.

I submit to you that if we could adopt The FairTax here in America, we'd create an incentive for companies to come back here and manufacture products again. Think about this; in order for us to be buying products made overseas the cost of manufacturing AND importing those products must still make it significantly less expensive than if it were manufactured here. Pardon me for being a little bit biased, but WE ARE AMERICANS! We have been known for being some of the hardest-working, most innovative and efficient workers in the world. When and why did we give up that honor?

Furthermore, any downside (and I don't see any) to adopting the FairTax would be short-lived. If you have not read these two books and you are interested in seeing America become THE leader in manufacturing and innovation, you MUST read them. I know lots of people think that companies went overseas because they are greedy. Well, many of us have 401(k)'s and IRA's invested with these companies. Why? Because we want maximum profits and growth in our savings and retirement plans. Yeah, we're greedy too.

If you think we can't make a difference, remember that the founding fathers of our country (and Martin Luther King Jr. for that matter) could've taken the same approach.

Please read these books and contact your Senators and Congressmen. Let's take America back!