Today we learn, thanks to the New York Times, that the federal government was allowing big oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without obtaining the required permits. If you recall, one of the first things the Bush/Cheney administration did was to convene a secret energy summit at the White House to set new energy policy for the country. The participants were not environmentalists, but representatives of the big oil companies. When the press and public wanted records of what happened at this secret meeting, the Bush/Cheney administration fought to keep it secret by claiming "executive privilege," which many observers considered an admission on their part that our energy policy was written by the large energy companies.
And now the citizens and the environment are suffering the consequences of the Bush/Cheney "energy policy."
The following from today's NYT:
U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits - NYTimes.com: "WASHINGTON — The federal Minerals Management Service gave permission to BP and dozens of other oil companies to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first getting required permits from another agency that assesses threats to endangered species — and despite strong warnings from that agency about the impact the drilling was likely to have on the gulf."
"Those approvals, federal records show, include one for the well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and resulting in thousands of barrels of oil spilling into the gulf each day."
But, why are we surprised? This is the same Bush administration that believed in deregulating Wall Street and the Big Banks.
1 comment:
Recently I read that Bernie Law is behind the investigation of the American nuns. How ironic!
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