The oil spill is NOT a natural disaster. When hurricane Katrina hit the gulf coast or an earthquake rattled Haiti, nobody was to blame. Sure, faulty decision-making and policies put people at higher risk than they might've been otherwise, but the disasters themselves were natural occurrences. Hurricanes and earthquakes are beyond our control. Oil spills (or underwater oil gushers from large pipes) are not. 

 

In the case of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the entire disaster can be attributed to BP (with help from flawed and venal regulatory mechanisms). A company is at fault and should be on the hook to pay for the damages. Tax payers shouldn't subsidize the cleanup efforts. Neither should people making charitable contributions, via benefit concerts or otherwise. Sure, non-profit organizations and celebrities have a role to play in drawing attention to the issue, making sure that BP takes responsibility for the damages, and petitioning the government to seize the moment and momentum to develop overarching renewable energy strategies moving forward. But there should not be "an overwhelming response of donations, large-scale fund-raisers, contribution-driven Web sites and hotlines or public service announcements encouraging Americans to do all they can to help out the fishermen or the oil-drenched ducks" based on campaigns by celebrities and charitable organizations. 

 

BP should pick up the tab. They can afford to.

 

Ultimately, as a population, we shouldn't be looking to celebrities or the government or even BP to address the issue. We should look in the mirror and be honest with ourselves: habitats have been destroyed and livelihoods have been lost because we rely on fossil fuels. BP wouldn't be drilling in the gulf if we didn't drive vehicles with internal combustion engines, enjoy air travel, manufacture plastic, ship consumer products across oceans, apply petroleum-based cosmetics, or fertilize our crops with synthetic chemicals. In the end, the current ruin in the Gulf is a result of our ongoing demand for oil. The only surefire way to prevent the future hydrocarbon contamination of our soil and water is to wean ourselves off oil and support the switch to sustainable alternatives.