Extractors of wealth from the Earth and the Sea have historically been villains of one sort or another because of what appears to be a level of greed attributed to them - right or wrong.  In the last century and a half, oil extraction has probably been the greatest disrupter of the Peace around because of where the greatest supplies of oil were conveniently found and because its essential nature in an industrialized society.

This page of Presidential-Appointments.org is an effort to provide information for our society about oil extractors and this government so citizens can understand what is happening in the way government cares for the mineral assets of the People.

Presidential Commission on Gulf Oil Spill

The White House has indicated that the President will select and appoint citizens to investigate every serious aspect of the British Petroleum Oil Spill.  This is an optimum way to search for solid information and proposals for rule changes or legislation. 

Membership: So far, the only qualifications for membership exclude elected officials or government employees.  The President will have to chose a smaller commission because of the difficult technical issues involved, or a larger commission which has a broader political appeal.  Here we would expect a modest size commission because of the outrageous technical and scientific issues involved in the actual spill and ways to manage this threat in other existing wells, and those which will come along later.

Chair:  We can expect the Chair to be a very well known person with time to pursue the work of this commission. This study is going to be tough because of the enormously powerful forces involved, i.e., oil companies and the government. The head of he commission will have to demand international respect and be able to organize and conduct a very complex study.

Current Events in Oil Extraction Issues

Spring 2010 - Gulf Oil Spills

The British Petroleum deep water oil spills are the current story of oil damage from oil production gone astray - just one of a long series where the relationships between the oil companies and the People were impacted by government personnel.  The losses are genuinely horrible for the citizens and life in and around the Gulf of Mexico on America's southern border.  The damage will be remediated to some extent by oil company funding - which is in some way passed along to the public through increased prices.

Today the head of the government agency which regulated the licensing of the well to British Petroleum resigned and retired - probably under pressure from the President. 5-17-10