Stevjo

Andrew Willner's reaction is the same song and dance heard any time there is an oil related disaster, no matter how large. That being said, I have a few questions/comments that seem to have been overlooked by Mr. Willner's diatribe. 1. Could you please site which loopholes and legislative de-regulations that allowed this particular incident to happen. Apparently, there are multiple infractions that led to a lack of safegueards that could have prevented this incident. And, because our government watchdogs "allowed" it to happen, we're now entering conspiracy territory. 2. What is the average profit margin for oil companies such as BP or Exxon Mobil? Willner sites BP 1st quarter (2010) profits to be almost $6 billion. But what does it cost to explore, drill, refine, ship, pay employees and share holders. At the end of the day, the average profit margin is about 10%. Now, if you want to talk gouging, the fed takes around 18% per gallon of gas sold; and then the states get their cut, too, and all for doing nothing. 3. Has our governemnt really been bullied by Big Oil? I can't recall a time when our Congressional leaders have been called to appear before a board of oil executives in order to answer questions regarding their business practices or whether or not their screwing our citizenry for profits. 4. Meanwhile, as big as our leaders talk about transitioning into "green" technologies, they know alternative sources are years if not decades from being viable as oil substitutes. And ideas such as Pickens Plan will continue to use "cleaner" fossil fuels (natural gas), which will still require exploration, drilling, etc. 5. It seems to me that Mr. Willner is not just anti-oil, but anti-anything that isn't a green technology. So are we suppose to quit cold turkey? Will we get rid of coal and nuclear power, too? What will happen to our economy while we are waiting for wind and solar power to become the dominant power sources? 6. And, finally, a little closer to home: where will our local solar stations and wind turbine farms be located? The reactionary, divest from oil, argument is old and in this case offers a lot of pie-in-the-sky ideas, but doesn't offer much in the way of how. Mr. Willner seems to think that by killing big oil and investing in green techs, that somehow our good intentions will translate into sustainability. We've heard it before.