Not for a moment do I question that the Deepwater Horizon
oil gusher is a “disaster” or a “catastrophe” of some kind. But I
am beginning to wonder of what kind.
Yes, for tourism in the area, it is very bad. For shrimpers
and other fishermen in the affected area, it is just terrible.
But when I see the photos of the oil soaked birds and hear the
sobs about them, a few thoughts come to mind.
Marine birds are beautiful and a wonder of nature. But
hunters kill hundreds of thousands of them every year and brag
about it and have giant parties around it. What makes those birds
less worthy of survival than the pelicans and other marine birds
getting killed by oil soaked water?
Birds are generally impressive and cute and it hurts to see
any of them get killed. But we kill roughly 30 MILLION chickens
per day in this country for food. To some people, they are also
cute and impressive. Why are they deemed less worthy of life then
other kinds of birds? Why is killing a few pelicans deemed so
much more important than the deaths of other birds?
We are all sad to see hermit crabs and other cute little
animals killed by the oil spill and it should not have happened.
But hunters kill hundreds of thousands of deer every year, and we
consider this a totally legitimate and even praiseworthy
activity. What’s the difference? Deer can look kind of sweet,
too.
We kill more — way more — than one hundred MILLION cattle
a year. They have moods and feelings, too. Some people speak up
for them, but not many. Why are hermit crabs more important than
sweet mooing cattle?
Or take the matter of the disaster of harm to Gulf fishing.
I completely agree, again, that the oil spill is a tragedy for
the Gulf fishermen and their families. But fish from the Gulf are
way less than two per cent of all fish consumed in this country
each year. That loss, or rather a partial loss, is not a
catastrophe for the world at large.
Of course, we all grieve for the eleven good men and true
killed on the drilling platform. They were fine people. But no
one hears or reads a word about the 3,000 babies killed every
single day in the abortion mills of the nation. They have never
done anything wrong, and they get killed intentionally, not
accidentally, and killing them is considered a civil
right under the Constitution. Where is the outrage?
Again, I am not for a moment saying that for the Gulf
residents directly affected that it’s anything but horrible. But
this isn’t war. This isn’t a tsunami. This is not a plague. It is
really bad and it could get worse, but it is a sort of a small
“c” catastrophe so far. The notion that we should try to change
all energy production and consumption because of it is just not
sensible. The idea that the Deepwater Horizon mess mandates a
complete change in oil and gas production and taxation is
preposterous. Mr. Obama’s demands that the whole world change
because of this event are a solution looking for a problem, and
not the other way around.
