Send the Clean-Up Crews Home (WARNING! Non-PC Post About the Oil Spill!)

There's a thought that's been rolling around in my head the last few weeks. And I am going to proclaim right here, right now, on July 12, 2010, that I believe this thought will be the prevailing opinion soon, although many probably won't agree with me today.

What's my thought? Thanks for asking, I'll tell you.

I think we should stop cleaning up the beaches. Send the clean-up crews home. Let the oil pile up, if that's indeed what it does, and let Mother Nature do her thing.

WHAT?????

See, here's the thing. When you see those reports on The Weather Channel, CNN or your local news about the ugly nastiness on the Florida beaches, realize that the news crews select the most oil-infested section of beach they can find to report from. And yes, at the time of the report, it is nasty. But come back the next morning, or maybe even later that day and you know what? Much of that oil is gone. Not cleaned-up, mind you, but washed back to sea. And then you know what else? It comes back; maybe at the same beach, maybe half a mile down the way.

In fact, you can walk up and down the beach at any given time and find some beaches littered with tar balls and other practically tar ball-free. Walk that same stretch the next day and you'll find a different pattern of oil/no oil depending on the winds and tides.

So, why am I saying we should stop picking it up? Couple of reasons.

First, it costs money to clean it up - lots and lots of money. Yeah, I know we all want BP to pay and pay and pay, but should we really be wasting their money just to punish them? Let's be practical and realize that BP does not have a bottomless pocket and if they run out of money, no one wins.

Second, it's questionable whether the clean-up efforts are doing any good at all, and some say they're doing more damage than good. Now that much of the onshore oil is in the form of little oil pebbles (as opposed to dog-poop-sized tar balls), it's tough to imagine that it's even possible to clean it up and I wonder how much of the current clean-up efforts are purely for show.

Actually, I don't wonder; I have inside information from a reliable source that even though some are beginning to question the practicality of the clean-up efforts, no one is willing to say it out loud for fear of the public outcry.

So, I'll say it. Out Loud. Let's stop cleaning up the beaches and focus our time, money and energy on keeping the crap OFF the shore.

Let Mother Nature do her thing. She's actually quite competent and might do a far better job than we are.