We Are Sticking Oil In Our Ears And Shouting "I Can't Hear You"

You could dip an American in a vat of oil straight from the Gulf of Mexico and he still wouldn’t acknowledge that our dependence on fossil fuels is causing problems. “Great tragedy, with the right timing, can bring great change…. When people are in a bunker mentality, sort of hunkered down over the economy, then that’s not going to produce significant change,” says a guy from the American Enterprise Institute. But hope remains for some who believe that eventually we will recognize the devastation caused by the oil that is eating the bottom of America alive.

At 11 weeks after the spill, some historians say it’s too early to say it won’t alter national environmental politics. Adam Rome, a historian of the U.S. environmental movement at Pennsylvania State University, said that it could take a year for the public to understand what the spill has done to the gulf — and for politicians to understand what the spill has done to the public.

“If we don’t do anything then, then it’s a sign that we’ve entered into some newer, more passive mode of responding to disasters,” Rome said.

Yep. Wish I had something a little more upbeat for you this morning, but no. We’re screwed.