# YOU are partly responsible for the BP oil spill **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [June 26, 2010, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632 "2010-06-26T21:49:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/21 "2010-06-26T23:10:45Z")
> [@sassyfras](#): > > If you use it, take responsibility, if only in part. They wouldn’t be drillin’, if you weren’t be usin’.\* My position has long been that we should go heavily nuclear, replace petrochemical fuels as much as possible with nuclear generated electricity. So no, I don’t feel responsible. ---
**Author:** ![Enderw24](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ba9def/32.png) [@Enderw24](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enderw24)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/22 "2010-06-26T23:12:59Z")
I’ve beeen outside all day so my hair is covered in oil. Sorry about that. ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/23 "2010-06-26T23:14:01Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > You know I hadn’t considered that (perhaps too preoccupied with wondering if that thing around his neck in this famous Lewis Hine photograph would later reappear in an infamous Robert Mapplethorpe photograph.) Whereas my first thought was ‘Ooh, nice bokeh.’ Seriously, my company retirement saving are in the market, so I guess I’m responsible for the global meltdown too. Gotta stop just throwin’ my statements in a shoebox. OTOH, I vote green, drive a hybrid, none of my money’s in oil, so BP is not beholden to ME to make bad decision to keep it’s shareholders happy. So, yeah, I’ll accept a percentage of responsibility, where do I send my 5 bucks? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/24 "2010-06-26T23:14:36Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > My position has long been that we should go heavily nuclear, replace petrochemical fuels as much as possible with nuclear generated electricity. So no, I don’t feel responsible. So Three mile Island was your fault. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/25 "2010-06-26T23:22:21Z")
I fully agree with the OP. There’s plenty of blame for this to go around, for BP, the government, myself, the OP, and all of you too. Some people are more responsible for it than others, of course, but like the real ending to the movie _Clue_, we all did it. You’re not supposed to feel guilty about it. Just don’t get self-righteous about it either, that’s all. And don’t kid yourself that if only everyone had followed the rules, nothing bad would have happened. Because a) you don’t know that and b) you don’t follow all the rules either. I still think BP should pay through the nose to clean this up. But I don’t want to hear any complaints either if gas prices go through the stratosphere, along with everything on your grocery store shelves, and pretty much everything else. After all, we’ve all enjoyed the benefits of cheap gas for a long time, and like it or not, this is where it got us. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/26 "2010-06-26T23:31:23Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > So Three mile Island was your fault. I was hardly old enough to be held responsible for much of anything. But considering that the result of Three Mile Island was nothing more than an expensive machine breaking, I’d certainly prefer a hundred Three Mile Islands to one oil spill like this one. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/27 "2010-06-26T23:34:24Z")
Oh I’m callin’ B.S. on this sad excuse of a guilt trip. Consumers don’t get to pick which oil provider their gasoline comes from since it’s all a hodge podge anyway. And you can use oil and still be against producers who take safety shortcuts trying to save a buck. Ultimately it was BP’s sole decision to cut corners and now they’re paying the price. ---
**Author:** ![cosmosdan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@cosmosdan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cosmosdan)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/28 "2010-06-26T23:47:09Z")
> [@emacknight](#): > > Could you go after sea gulls next? I fucking hate those things. Albatross!! Get your bleeding Albatross here. regular or blackened. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/29 "2010-06-26T23:55:36Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > Oh I’m callin’ B.S. on this sad excuse of a guilt trip. Consumers don’t get to pick which oil provider their gasoline comes from since it’s all a hodge podge anyway. Right. In a lot of places, your options for oil, or whatever else commodity, are extremely limited. Now whose fault _that_ is is another ten-page Great Debate thread. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/30 "2010-06-26T23:56:59Z")
> [@cuauhtemoc](#): > > I fully agree with the OP. There’s plenty of blame for this to go around, for BP, the government, myself, the OP, and all of you too. Some people are more responsible for it than others, of course, but like the real ending to the movie _Clue_, we all did it. > > You’re not supposed to feel guilty about it. Just don’t get self-righteous about it either, that’s all. And don’t kid yourself that if only everyone had followed the rules, nothing bad would have happened. Because a) you don’t know that and b) you don’t follow all the rules either. > > I still think BP should pay through the nose to clean this up. But I don’t want to hear any complaints either if gas prices go through the stratosphere, along with everything on your grocery store shelves, and pretty much everything else. After all, we’ve all enjoyed the benefits of cheap gas for a long time, and like it or not, this is where it got us. This makes no sense. If you do something wrong, you feel guilty for it. If you don’t, you’re a psychopath. And it the premise that I am responsible for what other people do is ridiculous. Do you think you are at fault if someone comes and kills your kids? You may have made him angry at you. So you played a part in it. So you are responsible for the murder of your children. There is time when guilt works that way, but only when you know ahead of time what the results will be. When, say, a lawyer wins a case for a client he knows is guilty of murder, and then his client goes out and kills someone else. That is partly the lawyer’s fault. It’s an obvious consequence of letting a murderer go free. Our using oil does not in any way obligate drilling without adequate safety measures. The only reason they couldn’t use it is because they want to make as much money as they can, and thus became greedy and skimped on preventative measures. And that is their fault. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/31 "2010-06-27T00:35:39Z")
I supposed next you’re going to blame me for attaching that bomb to the Deepwater Horizon rig. ---
**Author:** ![magellan01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@magellan01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magellan01)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/32 "2010-06-27T00:46:13Z")
Your mother is responsible. For both the BP oil spill and the :rolleyes: of your OP. ---
**Author:** ![Dallas\_Jones](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dallas_jones/32/3277_2.png) [@Dallas\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dallas_Jones)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/33 "2010-06-27T00:54:13Z")
> [@cuauhtemoc](#): > > But I don’t want to hear any complaints either if gas prices go through the stratosphere, along with everything on your grocery store shelves, and pretty much everything else. After all, we’ve all enjoyed the benefits of cheap gas for a long time, and like it or not, this is where it got us. The oil from the New Horizons rig hadn’t even entered production yet, no shortage has been created by the spill and the effect upon supply and thus prices will be aproximatly zero. It is just a drop in a very big bucket, or barrel. There really is still lots, and lots, of oil left you know. It remains cheap because there IS so much, it is something called supply and demand. When supply cannot keep up with demand _then_ the price will rise. But that day is a long way off. Stiff conservation measures will only moderate demand and thus force the price to remain low. Supply and Demand. You could look it up. Or review Econ. 101. ---
**Author:** ![SenorBeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senorbeef/32/2220_2.png) [@SenorBeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SenorBeef)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/34 "2010-06-27T00:54:16Z")
> [@gonzomax](#): > > So Three mile Island was your fault. The same three mile island that released no radiation and hurt no one, right? Yeah, that’s way worse than the oil spill. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/35 "2010-06-27T00:56:58Z")
I’m willing to accept some responsibility for the oil spill, and for global warming, and all that jazz. _jazz hands_ ---
**Author:** ![Batfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Batfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batfish)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/36 "2010-06-27T01:25:43Z")
> [@sassyfras](#): > > If you use it, take responsibility, if only in part. They wouldn’t be drillin’, if you weren’t be usin’. > > Ergo, you did your part in coating fluffy little white seabirds with dirty non-nutritious petrocarbons. > > _Note: Amish & Anabaptist dopers are exempted from this flame._ No, I’m not. I’m perfectly willing to pay the increased costs of my petroleum use that would result if the extraction of it was properly regulated and conducted safely. The Bushies, et al didn’t consult me when they gutted the regulation of a powerful and lucrative industry. BP didn’t consult me when they decided to operate their drilling operation at the minimum of cost and maximum of risk. While I’m inclined to agree with your premise, that we all use so we’re all responsible, don’t remove the real responsibility from the real actors. ---
**Author:** ![cuauhtemoc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecb155/32.png) [@cuauhtemoc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cuauhtemoc)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/37 "2010-06-27T03:17:48Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > This makes no sense. If you do something wrong, you feel guilty for it. If you don’t, you’re a psychopath. > > And it the premise that I am responsible for what other people do is ridiculous. Do you think you are at fault if someone comes and kills your kids? You may have made him angry at you. So you played a part in it. So you are responsible for the murder of your children… > > Our using oil does not in any way obligate drilling without adequate safety measures. The only reason they couldn’t use it is because they want to make as much money as they can, and thus became greedy and skimped on preventative measures. And that is their fault. That’s some pretty impressive moral gymnastics just to convince yourself that your lifestyle is sustainable. And anyway, what are “adequate safety measures”? I’m nearly 100% certain that you don’t know. Neither do I. But I do know that if this hadn’t happened, you wouldn’t be questioning the adequacy of anybody’s safety measures. So according to you, they were perfectly adequate, until they weren’t. News flash: If you are alive today, a part of the teeming mass of humanity covering the planet, you are wrecking the environment. I’m not telling you to change what you’re doing, and no I’m not telling you to feel guilty. I’m saying be aware of this and make the best choices you can accordingly. And the attitude of “_They_ did this! _They_ did _this_ to _us_!” is, to me, the exact opposite of awareness. > [@ghardester](#): > > The oil from the New Horizons rig hadn’t even entered production yet, no shortage has been created by the spill and the effect upon supply and thus prices will be aproximatly zero. It is just a drop in a very big bucket, or barrel. > > There really is still lots, and lots, of oil left you know. It remains cheap because there IS so much, it is something called supply and demand. When supply cannot keep up with demand _then_ the price will rise. But that day is a long way off. Stiff conservation measures will only moderate demand and thus force the price to remain low. > > Supply and Demand. You could look it up. Or review Econ. 101. Wow, you sure know how to put a guy in his place. That line about supply and demand, and me looking it up, implying that I don’t know what it means… that was just classic. That’s what you wanted, right? Okay now that’s out of the way… We can either have a steady supply of cheap oil and regular oil-industry-related environmental disasters, or neither of those things. If they make major, sweeping changes, the price of oil will go up, because it will be more expensive to extract it. And some people who complained about the oil spill will complain that gas and many other things are now more expensive because of the very regulations that are aimed at preventing future spills. > [@jsgoddess](#): > > I’m willing to accept some responsibility for the oil spill, and for global warming, and all that jazz. _jazz hands_ That’s because you’re a reasonable person who doesn’t feel threatened any time anybody makes the mere suggestion that your lifestyle has consequences. > [@Batfish](#): > > While I’m inclined to agree with your premise, that we all use so we’re all responsible, don’t remove the real responsibility from the real actors. Who the fuck is doing that? Nobody here is removing responsibility from BP! They were negligent, they should pay! Did anyone, ANYONE say otherwise? ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/38 "2010-06-27T03:25:00Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > I was hardly old enough to be held responsible for much of anything. But considering that the result of Three Mile Island was nothing more than an expensive machine breaking, I’d certainly prefer a hundred Three Mile Islands to one oil spill like this one. A muti billion dollar machine spewing dangerous chemicals. Then come see your other nuke plant in Michigan ,the Fermi. it has not been up to power since it was built and has been closed many times. Look at hydraulic fracturing . The people can light the water coming out of their faucets on fire. That in beautiful Colorado. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/39 "2010-06-27T03:33:47Z")
Maybe the “real” Amish get a pass but the ones who my ex insisted on buying a kitchen table from because it was hand made :rolleyes: with no electricity used are full of shit. Yep, the showroom had gas lamps (which I guess were fueled with whale oil or something) but back in the wood shop I happened to spy a band and table saw with no steam engine or horses in view to power them. Gotta love hypocrisy in all of it’s various forms. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OtakuLoki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/ac8455/32.png) [@OtakuLoki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OtakuLoki)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2010, 6:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632/40 "2010-06-27T06:33:17Z")
> [@Una\_Persson](#): > > Only about 3% of it. Sadly, it’s the _best_ 3%. Why do you say that, **Una**? Is it the most reliable with the least down time? Or is it highest quality for voltage and frequency numbers? Or is there some other rubric you’re using? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/you-are-partly-responsible-for-the-bp-oil-spill/544632.md?page=3)