In the U.S., Economy Always Trumps Ecology

[unhappycamper]

In the U.S., Economy Always Trumps Ecology
By Bernard Maris
Translated By Drue Fergison
7 June 2010
Edited by Jessica Boesl

Will the United States change its environmental policy in light of the oil spill affecting its coasts? It is not so sure.

One must hope that the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will change the United States' behavior with regard to ecology.

Many remember the melancholy phrase the elder Bush let slip one day: “Are we doomed to be the fattest people?” he asked sadly. But Bush Junior, George “Dubya,” barely in office, had an even more unfortunate phrase: “The American way of life is not negotiable.” It accompanied the Senate’s refusal to sign the Kyoto Protocol. It was out of the question that Americans would reduce their standard of living, founded largely on the automobile. All the oilmen surrounding George “Dubya” had applauded — British Petroleum more vigorously than the others.

And the next thing you know, oil can be nothing but good…

Of course, oil is at the heart of the American standard of living, founded on extensive housing and the intensive use of cars. But the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico puts President Obama, who has returned from Louisiana for the third time, in the spotlight, and public opinion blames him for not having been active enough.



--> http://www.cagle.com/news/OilAddiction/main.asp

[WinkyDink]

1. Imagine if we WEREN'T the Greatest Country Evah!

[unhappycamper]

3. You talk funny.

Evah!

:rofl:

[marmar]

2. Always.....

.....and it's going to be the end of us all.

[KharmaTrain]

4. Manifest Destiny

This country has always looked at its natural resources as something to be a profit center. Since Europeans first landed on this Continent it's been exploiting one resource after another...and using this exploitation as a marker of progress. Our "ingenuity" to find bigger and better ways to exploit those resources have created a lot of jobs and wealth over the year. Now we're learning our limits and the damage that "progress" causes there are many who still see it as "ours for the taking" who have more influence. Will this disaster be the one that changes that mindset? Stay tuned...

[liberal N proud]

5. Greed trumps all else

Greed is slowly consuming the country and the earth.