The Obama administration, with some evocative rhetoric, has vowed to keep "the boot on the neck" of British Petroleum as a result of the massive oil leak in the Gulf.
Despite this rhetoric, Obama’s other shoe hasn’t yet dropped on the oil industry as McClatchy reports 27 environmental study waivers have been granted since the oil leak began.
With investigations pending, the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Energy and the Environment zeros in on the lack of regulatory implementation even as exemptions continue to be given. The committee chair calls the disaster “a blistering, scalding indictment of the practices the industry engaged in to avoid implementation of safeguards that could have removed the likelihood or possibility of this kind of accident …”
Since the Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig exploded on April 20, the Obama administration has granted oil and gas companies at least 27 exemptions from doing in-depth environmental studies of oil exploration and production in the Gulf of Mexico.The waivers were granted despite President Barack Obama’s vow that his administration would launch a “relentless response effort” to stop the leak and prevent more damage to the gulf. One of them was dated Friday — the day after Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he was temporarily halting offshore drilling
McClatchy
The exemptions, called “categorical exclusions,” are granted by the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) includes exploration at 4,000 and 9,000 deeper than the Deepwater Horizon rig. Final approval would still be needed for drilling but official would not say if the waivers would stand after the moratorium is lifted
MMS’ approvals are expected to spark new criticism of the troubled agency and the administration’s response to the spill.
Salazar announced Thursday that there’d be no new offshore drilling until the Interior Department completes the safety review process requested by Obama. The department is required to deliver the report to the president by May 28.
Given the MMS approvals, however, said Peter Galvin (conservation director with the Center for Biological Diversity, the environmental group that discovered the administration’s continued approval of the exemptions.) the administration’s pledge appears disingenuous. McClatchy
However could we criticize Obama from the left?
Of course, liberal apologists will jump on me cause “what, I’d rather the alternative?!?!” (ie, McCain) and the answer is “no- not that alternative; but I’m just clever enough to imagine a world not defined by Obama or McCain…. either get on board or jump ship- cause that’s all that we have left!!!”
To put it another way – the 80% of us at the bottom squabble endlessly over how to divide up our 20% share of the nation’s wealth, while the few people at the top, who control all the money, are laughing all the way to the bank.