Proof That Change Is Impossible

Environmental protection is forever; elections are next year

The backbone looks a lot different. Long before the legal wrangling over the deep-water drilling moratorium was over, the U.S. government has already lifted it once again. All the corporations that breathed a deep sigh of relief that the BP “Deepwater Horizon” catastrophe didn’t happen to them may now begin drilling again, even to depths exceeding 500 feet.

All they need to do is prove that they adhere to the new safety guidelines and show that they’re able to deal with leaks. We may be sure that, should the industry find that compliance takes too long, they will increase pressure on the government to further ease the restrictions. Engineering incompetence, government impotence, destruction of the coastal fishing industry, tourism and the environment — everything will be forgotten. The world needs oil.

As late as December 2010, Greenpeace approvingly announced how wonderful it was that the Obama administration was standing its ground against the oil companies. All gone. The oil industry won. They had all the cards necessary to win that game: something the world and America couldn’t get enough of: money, influence and influential supporters. Not to mention the prospect of job creation.

The Obama administration was under immense pressure. Obama quickly abandoned the hope of using the environmental disaster to reframe the discussion. Political power doesn’t extend that far.

Reforms, environmental protection and sustainable long-term impact take a long time, but the elections come next year. Since the midterm election debacle, Democrats will attempt nothing that Republicans can paint as inhibiting job creation. Throwing in the towel is just another proof that politics cannot be structurally reformed. That’s true not only in the United States.