one for all and all for one

Obama made a speech. First thing you notice is that we're in a war, a multi-front war. Al Qaeda and the number eleven are involved, again. And Dr. Steven Chu has a Nobel Prize. And it's more like an epidemic actually, and we have a battle plan to deal with the assault.

THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  ... taking the fight to al Qaeda .... the battle we’re waging against an oil spill that is assaulting our shores and our citizens. ...  Eleven ... Dr. Steven Chu .... more like an epidemic, one that we will be fighting for months and even years. ... We will fight this spill with everything we’ve got for as long as it takes.  ... what our battle plan is going forward: ...

The stage is set. WAR. War requires SACRIFICES.

[Big snip where the promises go about making BP pay for everything and how everything will be made pristine somehow, no details yet....]

As for assigning blame, please first note that Obama was misled. Someone assured him this limited offshore drill was ABSOLUTELY SAFE. And he believed them.

A few months ago, I approved a proposal to consider new, limited offshore drilling under the assurance that it would be absolutely safe –- that the proper technology would be in place and the necessary precautions would be taken. That obviously was not the case in the Deepwater Horizon rig, and I want to know why.  

This is like Condi saying 'who could have imagined.' So there will be a National Commission, just like after 911, to uncover all the "human error" which no doubt caused this terrible catastrophe. Damn humans.

"At least two inches of bullshit coats everything I say."

Also, no doubt, a few heads will roll someplace, like at MMS, because come to find out, there was corruption. And Obama named a new czar, Michael Bromwich, to rebuild the oversight organization.

He conducted the inquiry into the FBI's handling of the Aldrich Ames espionage case; the way the bureau and DOJ handled classified information while probing campaign finance; an alleged deception of a Congressional delegation by high-ranking officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service; and the DOJ's role in the CIA crack cocaine controversy. And as a federal prosecutor, Bromwich also served as associate counsel in the Office of Independent Counsel for Iran-Contra, acting as one of three courtroom lawyers for the government in the case of United States v. Oliver L. North.

So he's.....experienced.

Now for the big lie: scarcity.    

But a larger lesson is that no matter how much we improve our regulation of the industry, drilling for oil these days entails greater risk.  After all, oil is a finite resource.  We consume more than 20 percent of the world’s oil, but have less than 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves.  And that’s part of the reason oil companies are drilling a mile beneath the surface of the ocean -- because we’re running out of places to drill on land and in shallow water. 

Peak Oil:

For decades, we have known the days of cheap and easily accessible oil were numbered.  For decades, we’ve talked and talked about the need to end America’s century-long addiction to fossil fuels. 

And for decades, we have failed to act with the sense of urgency that this challenge requires.  Time and again, the path forward has been blocked -- not only by oil industry lobbyists, but also by a lack of political courage and candor.

The consequences of our inaction are now in plain sight.
Countries like China are investing in clean energy jobs and industries that should be right here in America.
Each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil.
And today, as we look to the Gulf, we see an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude.

OUR INACTION?

Whoa, hold on a second. Yes, for decades they've been telling us that we're doomed. But it's not fair to say we did nothing. We did act. We recycled, we conserved, we begged them to improve technology. We worked harder. We put in the replacement windows. We paid extra for organic. Et cetera. Still our jobs went away. Still we went into more debt to the bankers. Nothing we did has ever seemed to help.

As a matter of fact, just THREE WEEKS before this catastrophe, a national survey showed that everything we've been told for decades had been sufficiently baked in, and Americans were ready to support "radical measures" to break our nation's dependence on oil and oil imports!

Using a split sample technique, the survey found that when Americans understand the small percentage of world oil reserves held by this country, support for reduced consumption and higher fuel economy standards increased.  When informed the U.S. holds less than three percent of the world's oil reserves, the proportion of respondents who felt it "very important" to reduce our oil dependence increased from 54% to 68% and the proportion who supported a 50 mpg standard rose from 66% to 72%.

"Our survey data strongly suggest that the American public is getting very close to the point, if they're not already there, where they are prepared to support radical measures to break our nation's dependence on oil and oil imports," said Jack Gillis, CFA Director of Public Affairs and author of The Car Book.  "And the Gulf oil spill can only have increased this support," he added.

The survey of 1010 representative adult Americans was conducted by ORC March 25-28, 2010.  Its margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.

And then...look what happened.

Peak oil? The Gulf of Mexico has over 6,000 oil rigs because there's a ton of oil down there. Enough, we are told, to do this:

Gulf Oil Spill 'could go years' if not dealt with - F. William Engdahl

That's just from the Gulf of Mexico. Abiotic oil -- no joke. Peak oil? Now that's a joke.

So here's the plan. We're going to jump-start the clean energy industry. One for all and all for one!

Each of us has a part to play in a new future that will benefit all of us.  As we recover from this recession, the transition to clean energy has the potential to grow our economy and create millions of jobs -– but only if... Only if we seize the moment.  And only if we rally together and act as one nation –- workers and entrepreneurs; scientists and citizens; the public and private sectors.  

Yes, one big happy family. And some of us will have to make sacrifices. Can you guess which ones?