BP's guilty plea in the explosion of its Macondo well in 2010 that killed 11 workers and injured others proved that the President's decision was correct and that those elected officials from Louisiana in congress were wrong in opposing the moratorium. Those elected officials put the guilty party and the oil industry in general first and disregarded those who were killed or injured.
According to an article published in the Times Picayune of 1/30/13, BP's plea agreement was accepted by U.S. District Judge Sarah Vance along with BP's offer to plead guilty to 11 counts of felony manslaughter, one count of felony obstruction of Congress and a variety of environmental crimes. If it were up to those Louisiana officials in congress they would have let offshore drilling proceed before any investigation to find the cause of the explosion. The tragedy of this accident which took 11 lives would have taken a back seat because of those elected officials relationship with the oil industry. BP's plea agreement that was accepted was $4 billion.
President Obama stood tall dispite the personal attacks by those opposed to the moratorium and did the right thing for the people who suffered from the disaster. This writer wrote several commentaries after the explosion how the Times Picayune, the news media in general and elected officials never told the real story of what happened in April of 2010. This sad chapter in offshore drilling, BP's plea and the influence of the oil and gas industry has over elected officials should be a wake up call to the people who think they can trust those who are willing to lie and put peoples life and property at risks in favor of profit.
And to think, this is the industry who receives billions of dollars in corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks and loop holes thanks to our elected officials in congress who write the tax codes and grant these breaks. The people should also never forget the harm that the oil industry has done to Louisiana's environment with their onshore drilling which is controlled by the state of Louisiana. The damage done to Louisiana's wet lands, marshes and salt water invasion caused by the dredging of canals for oil industry operations have been overlooked by the state's regulators for the past 40 plus years and the industry has not been held accountable.
How long will the people of Louisiana tolerate this environmental carnage?
This commentary written by John Lucia.
