Obama Speaks from Oval Office, Declares War on BP Oil Spill

President Obama sat alone at his desk Tuesday evening. Alone but far from alone. Millions of eyes enjoyed a rare glimpse into the Oval Office — the sort of glimpse that usually follows a major, typically tragic event, such as George W. Bush’s address following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Obama’s address last night was no different in that tragic sense, but was singular in that he was reacting not to a bomb or epidemic but to an environmental disaster of monumental timing and, unfortunately, epic proportions.

So what did the president say last night? A lot. We heard a summary of the “multitude of challenges” our country is facing, and then we heard quite a bit about an oil spill, which is really more of an oil pour than any spill. We’ve now gone nearly two months with oil spewing up from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico. That’s two months of the largest oil spill and environmental disaster the United States has ever seen.

President Obama acknowledged all of this in his speech, before moving into a barrage of military language regarding his administration’s “battle plan” for addressing the leak from this point on. It sounded as if the country had been attacked, but instead of a terrorist plot, the attack came at the hands of an oil company — negligent and borderline nefarious British Petroleum.

The president first admitted the severity of the battle before us: “Sadly, no matter how effective our response is, there will be more oil and more damage before this siege is done.” He then outlined his battle plan.

The President’s Battle Plan

First, he will meet with the heads of BP today to demand a better clean-up job and figure payment for those in the Gulf states affected by the spill and the “tar balls” washing up on shore. In terms of stopping the leak, he noted that by the end of June BP should be diverting 90 percent of leaking oil by siphoning it into tankers on the surface. Supposedly, a relief well will be finished by the end of the summer that should stop the leak completely (a black summer for the Gulf region).

The president assigned Ray Mabus to be his “Gulf Recovery Czar,” giving him the task of developing that comprehensive plan to clean up the Gulf and its shores, however long it takes, and make sure BP pays for it. He also named Michael Bromwich, former federal prosecutor and inspector general, the new head of the Minerals Management Service — the Dept. of Interior agency overseeing oil drilling permits that has become the epitome of corporate interference and governmental corruption.

At the MMS, Obama said, “Industry leaders were put in charge of industry oversight,” taking on “a philosophy that views all regulation with hostility.” That will change, the president promised.

Obama’s speech directly followed a trip to the Gulf of Mexico region, where he heard about the lack of coordination as well as the fears and anguish of a region of people without any livelihood to speak of. No tourism, no fishing. Nothing but crude black oil and an inept multinational oil company that has, I hope, made the biggest mistake of its existence.

Understanding that the response to the spill, for which he has taken much heat (much of it, I must say, completely absurd smearing by right-wing pundits in the oil lobby’s pocket trying to deflect attention away from Big Oil and onto the president), Obama vowed to do better. “If something isn’t working, we want to hear about it,” he stated with resolve last night.

My question, obviously, is, what about offshore drilling? The president alluded to his six-month moratorium on new drilling in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which, if I’m reading between the lines correctly, he implied would not be lifted until he understood why BP’s (let’s not forget Transocean and Halliburton) oil rig exploded, and why reaction has been so pitiful.

This part I like, although I’d like to see the moratorium made permanent (someday we’re just gonna have to pay more for oil, people…why not start now when the rise will be more gradual rather than later, when, if we’re not prepared, an entire economy could collapse?). There is nothing safe about offshore drilling, especially in deep waters, despite the myths put forth by Big Oil’s greenwashing machine.

A Nation Addicted to Oil

I know we have to keep using oil in the short term, and a lot of it. We are, after all, addicted to the stuff. We’ve had a War on Drugs, a War on Terror and many wars on people; let’s have a War on Oil (and Coal). Once again, Obama put forth his vision for a “clean energy future” in last night’s speech. He even mentioned wind and solar power specifically. But there’s always that crack of a door left open to the oil lobby. The message to us is we’re sorry and I’ll take care of it.

The message to Big Oil and the like is typically, “You screwed up big. Tell us why!” This time, at least ostensibly, the government will be doing its own investigation, independent of the oil barons. What comes out of that investigation may portend our short-term energy future (long-term we know we won’t be using oil because there won’t be any left).

Money & Demand Speak Louder than Words

I know we can’t stop using or drilling oil today, despite my best wishes, but we can start closing doors on these people. And I don’t just mean BP. They will probably end up being a catastrophic scapegoat in all this, and they could realistically lose everything, but without a broader slap to the face of Big Oil, some Chevron, Shell, or ExxonMobil will waltz right in and take over.

We don’t have to let these guys do whatever they want. In fact, we must stop them from doing so…we already know the consequences. Yelling at them doesn’t stop them…money and demand speak louder than words.

Last night, President Obama made yet another fine speech. In no uncertain terms he said that he and his administration are going to handle this situation as best as possible and ensure that those responsible are held that way. The big question is how long this fervor will last — not just for the president, but for all of us. Six months is a long time to remember for the American public, once the oil has stopped spewing. Let’s admit it, we usually forget within a few months and things for government agencies like the MMS and corporations like BP go back to normal. What if this spill had ended in a week? There certainly would have been no Oval Office address, probably no moratorium, probably not much at all.

Oil spills happen all the time. Chevron just had a pipeline burst in Utah, toxifying a local stream and threatening the Great Salt Lake. BP alone has had several in the last decade, resulting in lawsuits and criminal charges, but no major damage to their sunflower image. Now TransCanada wants to build a new pipeline from Canada’s tar sands to Texas to carry what may be the dirtiest oil ever harvested through our heartland.

We need oil, but when does it stop? Can we not at least start putting the brakes on this? Maybe, if yet another fine speech by Barack Obama turns into some fine action this time (I’m looking at you Congress!).

Photo Credit: CBS, MarineLog, City-Data & OceanWorld

Posted on June 16th in Solar Politics by Dan.