Cost v Benefit

It's a given that oil runs the economy; that we're dependent on oil - addicted, in the words of GW Bush.  And addiction is an apt analogy.  With just about any substance abuse issue, you don't start out having problems.  At first, there's a nice high - a good feeling - some kind of benefit, even tho' there's also a cost.  You have a great time drinking too much, and then you suffer some because of the hangover the next day.  You figure "the goin' up was worth the comin' down".  But if you do it too much, over time, the cost starts to outweigh the benefits.

From a story at Market Watch:
Ocean tourism (as opposed to that offered by Orlando theme parks) and recreation are among Florida's main industries, contributing an estimated $20 billion a year to the state's economy, data from the National Ocean Economics Program show. In 2008, 84.2 million visitors spent over $65 billion in Florida, supporting the more than 1 million residents directly employed by the tourism industry, according to Visit Florida, the state's official tourism-marketing arm.

Out of the $65 Billion a year tourists spend in Florida, they spend $20 Billion playing in and around the water.  But now all that beautiful water is about to become a stinking toxic sludge made of crude oil, poisonous detergents, and dead rotting plants and animals.

Here's a nice kicker:  BP has sent a $25 Million "grant" to Florida to assist the state in their PR and advertising campaign.  It seems so perfect.  They won't spend the money on technology or procedures that could prevent the fuckups, but they'll sure as hell spend a boatload of it on efforts to tell us "it's not as fucked up as you think".

The tourists have to have the oil products if they wanna get to their favorite vacation spots in Florida, but if they know the place is trashed, why bother?

Likewise, the shrimpers have to have fuel for their boats, but if the oil spill has killed the fishery, there's nothing for them catch.

There's such a thing as Business Ecology - every enterprise is connected in some way to all other enterprises.  And every business is connected in some way back to the earth.  It's all part of a system in which every part is interdependent on all the other parts.  When do we finally get it thru our thick skulls?  If the air and the water and the land are spoiled, then people don't thrive.  Without a thriving population, you don't have anybody to employ; you don't have anybody to buy anything from; and there's nobody to sell anything to.  And then there's no reason for your business to exist at all.