BP Gulf Disaster: Dislike.

There's something that's been bothering me about the disaster in the gulf...more than the obvious, that is.

Before now I couldn't put my finger on it, and though I still don't think I'm doing justice to my thoughts in this articulation, I'm still going to give it a shot.

What really bothers me is two things.

1. I'm annoyed that so many people are blaming the U.S. government for the disaster and deriding them for their lack of response.

First of all, I'm not sure what the U.S. government had to do with the oil rig exploding (beyond the tenuous connection of our dependence on oil and foot dragging on legislation that would lead to clean energy and might've kept a company like BP from drilling an oil well at such a risky depth). This could just be my ignorance. I'll be the first to admit I don't know a lot about this situation beyond what I've seen in the news and on Discovery Channel and NatGeo programs.

I also don't know if we should be as angry at the government's lack of response as we should about other issues, as I'll explain in my next thought...

2. The second main reason I'm annoyed is based on BP's response to the situation.

BP may sound contrite in the wording of their press releases and they may give off a sense of being concerned in their press conferences, but I can't help but sense that it's a bit fake. I can't help but get the feeling that, behind all the pretty words and empty promises, they're really just annoyed to be having to deal with this issue at all.

Does anyone else get that feeling?

Maybe it's just skepticism on my part, but I get the feeling that BP is less concerned with how this disaster is going to affect the gulf region, and more concerned with how this situation is keeping them from going back to business as usual. As if that will ever happen. As if the gulf region will ever get back to business as usual.

And this is where I think we should direct our anger - not that a perceived lack of response by governing bodies shouldn't warrant some question...just a little perspective.

It bothers me that we don't see a lot of concern by BP or the U.S. government for what this disaster will do in the long term.

Perhaps that's because the more immediate need is to stop the oil leak and keep what's already spilled from spreading. And I get that. One step, one concern at a time.

But it would be nice to hear more remorse for what this ecological disaster is going to do to an entire region's economy and culture in the next 100 years. Because we're all kidding ourselves if we think there won't be long-term consequences from this.

And that's the end of my ignorant rant. To lighten the mood, I give you @BPGlobalPR - a fake Twitter account that sarcastically says what we're all thinking...on behalf of BP.

A sample of the tweets:
We are not killing animals in the gulf, we are creating fossils in the gulf. Have a little perspective. #bpcares

Investing a lot of time & money into cleaning up our image, but the beaches are next on the to-do list for sure. #bpcares

If you want to help clean up. Drive your cars fast and often. Let's melt those glaciers and dilute this mess! #bpcares

Now, if you want to do something about this mess, you can click here and send a message to your Senator, telling him or her to support clean energy legislation that will hopefully help prevent such disasters in the future.