Drilling Deeper

How do you gauge when a society has moved out of one mindset and into another?  One way might be to look at what generates public outcry and what is quietly accepted.

The public interest research group, Public Citizen, announced that change is afoot.

According to Public Citizen’s press release by Tyson Slocum, for the first time since 2010’s oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the Department of Interior has granted a deepwater drilling permit — for a well in which BP has the largest financial stake.

This permit was granted without creating and enforcing stronger environmental and safety standards.

The Interior Department granted the drilling permit to Noble Energy which has a 23.25 percent financial stake in the operation.  Although Noble Energy is the name on the permit, BP is the financial powerhouse behind the project– having a 46.5 percent share.  Although Noble’s name is on the application, BP could have twice the say on safety or environmental matters.

This development suggests an unwillingness to create stricter standards as long as the economy is in a slump.  Where else do you see signs that the U.S. government is letting standards slide as long as productivity is up?