As hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil are fouling the Gulf region, now is the time to seriously reexamine who is ultimately responsible for the "drill, baby, drill" consequences we now face. If we consider offshore drilling important to our domestic energy supply, we must also accept the occasional unwanted consequences and the accompanying environmental damage as the cost of doing business. But whose business is getting done?
When Toyota makes a mistake, the government is quick with hearings and fines, as they should be, and Toyota knows that they are completely on the hook for whatever damages are suffered by their customers, whether they were caused by accidents in manufacturing, or by design flaws. Why should it be any different for oil companies? Why is it that when oil is being pumped, processed, and sold, and profits are being made, those profits belong to Big Oil, but when they create a disaster, then suddenly it’s "our" oil?
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