The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been going on for over 40 days now. In that time, at least six celebrities have died, 27 banks have failed, and Fox has canceled two Joss Whedon series in spite of strong fan support.
It's the story that won't go away, mostly due to the fact that BP officials have yet to come up with a workable solution that doesn't include pumping oil unabated into the gulf while their lawyers change the company name and invoke the rarely used “No Tagbacks” legal maneuver to avoid future fines and litigation.
In the past weeks we've heard about the spill, how much is spilling, what BP plans to do to stop the spill, who is to blame for the spill, who else is to blame for the spill, whom we should really blame for the spill, who is to blame for the failed efforts to stop the spill, and how the spill is effecting celebrities. Sure it looks grim, but there have to be some positives to this story, right?
Not really, but it doesn't hurt to look. Gawker recently posted a query from CNN searching for stories about “the good side of the oil spill.” In most disaster situations there are some human-interest stories that highlight the happy side of the destruction: a pet reunited with its displaced family, or a treasured family heirloom that miraculously survived a fire. Although the impact on people has been limited thus far, if you look closely enough you can still find some positives in this story that illustrate the triumph of the human spirit in the face of tragedy:
More Oil
We've all heard the saying, “You have to spend money to make money.” The same can be said for oil. Perhaps we need to spill oil to make oil.
How so? Remember that oil is a fossil fuel. And where do fossils come from? Dead animals and vegetation. What is the biggest tragedy we face from the growing amounts of oil pouring into the gulf? Lots of dead animals and vegetation. They may be dead seagulls and dolphins now, but with time they'll be gallons and gallons of sweet premium crude that will power the jetpacks and rocketships of the future!
Article comments
1 - Kimber Leszczuk
This was very well written. I found the entire concept extremely amusing and I particularly like your conclusion - who doesn't love a good fish fry? I really enjoy your writing Chris. Thank you for the smile this morning! :)
2 - Marcia Neil
Less oil = less vinyl = less entertainment racketeering, plus southern Louisiana's coastline collapses as the oil streams forth and the French Quarter survives no more.
3 - Joanne Huspek
Yo, Chris Carlisle! This is where you ended up. Me too!