Apply A Medical Approach To That Gushing Wound of Oil

Probably not worth even pointing out. But if our seas were a patient lying there while rapidly bleeding to death you would know the steps to take. First, stop the bleeding. Second, stabilize the patient and take care of all the harm that has already been done. Third, the major job of a very slow recovery.

Fourth, and that's the important bit, find out what caused the problem and make sure it will not happen again. That means looking into the power structures, the regulations, the incentive structures and so on. It also means reminding the corporations that they don't own this earth just because they think so. It means that people must wake up to their responsibilities as citizens.

Because the seas are not quite like a human patient bleeding to death and because we are not the physicians we should start on all those numbered steps at the same time. We should also ask whether BP has the best surgeons for this particular case and we should also ask, in a loud voice, why a corporation appears to be treated as if it is the most powerful entity in the area, and if it indeed is that, how did we let it happen.