Note: For the past few days, I have been working on another post called Comic Book Logic, but progress is frustratingly slow because the subject matter, the US press's failure to cover all aspects of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe (currently, understandable but unenlightening BP-bashing is the order of the day), is opaque.
Originally, the best coverage of this story -- the most wide-ranging, hard-hitting investigative pieces -- came from the left, e.g., ProPublica, Defenders of Wildlife, The Center for Biological Diversity, Yale University's environmental journal 360, the Democracy Now! website. That coverage included examination of what I think is a key issue, MMS's (Dept. of the Interior) granting of the "categorical exclusion" to BP on 4-6-09. This exemption relieved the US government and BP from the responsibility of conducting detailed environmental surveys regarding the Deepwater Horizon project. However, at this point the press has gone "toothless" and that angle has virtually disappeared from the reporting.
I don't think that it is strictly "comic book logic" that compels the conclusion: "no categorical exclusion, no spill on 4-20-10". It's an essential element in the chain of causation. Trying to tell the Deepwater Horizon story without giving this aspect proper attention, as well as MMS's failure to enforce existing safety regulations, all but ensures the occurrence of future Deepwater Horizon spills. I was pleased at least to hear Rep. Michael C. Burgess (R-Texas) speak about this on television this morning, saying that these were both areas he would insist that Congress focus on. Still, this morning's House of Representatives hearing, like the recent Goldman Sachs Senate debacle, seems to be the usual noxious, gaseous, preening, posturing waste of time, money and dignity.
That being said, good morning. It's a lovely day in Philadelphia today.
Please visit us soon at enchanting Longwood Gardens (please see above) or Chanticleer (please see below), which is just the greatest.
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