The Obama administration generally, and his Minerals Management Services (MMS) department specifically have been attacked and taken a great deal of well deserved criticism for their lax handling of the permitting for BP’s deep water oil drilling operation in the Gulf of Mexico . The relationship between the agency and the corporation it was supposed to regulate was ‘too cozy’ members of Congress and the President complained.
Well that’s a shock!
However, it appears that MMS did require BP to provide documentation related to the environmental impacts of an oil spill and any plan to deal with any leakage from the well.
BP’s response apparently was to indicate that the prospects of a spill were so unlikely that there was no need to speculate on environmental impacts. BP also indicated to the administration that the means to address any deep water oil leakage were well understood and in place.
Does any of that sound familiar? Well, it should.
For anyone who has looked into or taken issue with the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) developed for the expansion of Ft. Detrick’s biological weapons development facility here in Frederick that corporate response is nothing new.
When the military was asked what the environmental impact would be if one of their deadly pathogens got into the community, they responded in exactly the same way as BP; they said that they take all the safety precautions they can think of to prevent such an event or outbreak, so the environmental impact is zero.
Apparently that kind of imbecilic response is OK if you’re the military or a military contractor; the ‘government haters’ don’t seem to have any problem with that. But it’s not OK if Obama’s MMS takes the same approach. Even though, when challenged, some courts strike down these ‘non-impact’ impact statements as inadequate, the policy and the practice persists, largely because the owners of corporations and those who profit with them support it.
Obviously BP and the military don’t want us to know what the environmental impact of a spill or virus outbreak would be; just look at all the ‘bad press’ BP suffers because of this ‘accident’. So, rather than document the death, destruction, and extreme measures that would have to be taken, and the fear and concern such admissions would engender, they just lie and say there is no potential for death or environmental damage. After all, if we knew the truth, we might decide the risks weren’t worth the benefits and then how would these people continue making vast sums of money?
These schemes, where the owners of corporations write the rules and the government enacts them into laws is known in Orwellian Newspeak as ‘public-private partnerships’. It’s not surprising or unusual that the former head of MMS, Randall Luthi is now the president of the National Oceans Industries Association (NOIA). Their mission: "to secure reliable access and a favorable regulatory and economic environment for the companies that develop the nation's valuable offshore energy resources in an environmentally responsible manner." It is clear that whether a private, for-profit enterprise or an internal government project, there is only one overriding purpose: to get what they want.
The revolving door remains alive and well regardless of the doorman. This is true in all sectors of our economy and government and will not be stopped until corporations are stripped of their personhood and the political process is opened to all candidates and political parties.
Documenting and detailing the effects of human money-making activities, whether oil drilling, weapons production, or building strip malls on our environment is a good thing. Allowing those who control corporations and their associated complexes to get away with vague, misleading, or meaningless pronouncements is not.
Well that’s a shock!
However, it appears that MMS did require BP to provide documentation related to the environmental impacts of an oil spill and any plan to deal with any leakage from the well.
BP’s response apparently was to indicate that the prospects of a spill were so unlikely that there was no need to speculate on environmental impacts. BP also indicated to the administration that the means to address any deep water oil leakage were well understood and in place.
Does any of that sound familiar? Well, it should.
For anyone who has looked into or taken issue with the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) developed for the expansion of Ft. Detrick’s biological weapons development facility here in Frederick that corporate response is nothing new.
When the military was asked what the environmental impact would be if one of their deadly pathogens got into the community, they responded in exactly the same way as BP; they said that they take all the safety precautions they can think of to prevent such an event or outbreak, so the environmental impact is zero.
Apparently that kind of imbecilic response is OK if you’re the military or a military contractor; the ‘government haters’ don’t seem to have any problem with that. But it’s not OK if Obama’s MMS takes the same approach. Even though, when challenged, some courts strike down these ‘non-impact’ impact statements as inadequate, the policy and the practice persists, largely because the owners of corporations and those who profit with them support it.
Obviously BP and the military don’t want us to know what the environmental impact of a spill or virus outbreak would be; just look at all the ‘bad press’ BP suffers because of this ‘accident’. So, rather than document the death, destruction, and extreme measures that would have to be taken, and the fear and concern such admissions would engender, they just lie and say there is no potential for death or environmental damage. After all, if we knew the truth, we might decide the risks weren’t worth the benefits and then how would these people continue making vast sums of money?
These schemes, where the owners of corporations write the rules and the government enacts them into laws is known in Orwellian Newspeak as ‘public-private partnerships’. It’s not surprising or unusual that the former head of MMS, Randall Luthi is now the president of the National Oceans Industries Association (NOIA). Their mission: "to secure reliable access and a favorable regulatory and economic environment for the companies that develop the nation's valuable offshore energy resources in an environmentally responsible manner." It is clear that whether a private, for-profit enterprise or an internal government project, there is only one overriding purpose: to get what they want.
The revolving door remains alive and well regardless of the doorman. This is true in all sectors of our economy and government and will not be stopped until corporations are stripped of their personhood and the political process is opened to all candidates and political parties.
Documenting and detailing the effects of human money-making activities, whether oil drilling, weapons production, or building strip malls on our environment is a good thing. Allowing those who control corporations and their associated complexes to get away with vague, misleading, or meaningless pronouncements is not.
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