Andrea . . . that was a very interesting response. It deserves my best shot at an answer.

1. I do not work in oil but rather the technology side of chemical production. As a result, I'm far away from the oil industry but am owned by an oil major (not Exxon or BP). I don't think this prejudices my responses, but it does likely inform them. I also enjoy my work and won't apologize for it. We take safety and environmental issues seriously, but it's not as if accidents never happen.

2. The current spill is an accident. As such, I have a hard time putting it in a similar category with the purposeful awful things that happen around the world.

3. How many rigs are there in the gulf vs. how many major accidents again?

4. My belief is that Exxon got off easy in Alaska. However, I've heard Exxon people make arguments that the shipping sub-contractor was at fault. What if an airline crashes over the city? Who should pay the lion's share? The airline? Boeing or Airbus? The pilot?

5. BP, unlike Exxon, has already committed to major cleanup efforts and monetary outlay. They've done so publicly. That said, I've heard some of the oil rig folks here in Houston speculate that they let their standards go. Still, who's really at fault? BP? Transocean?

I'm not purposefully being defensive on the subject, but it may seem that way. I do like to interject Devil's Advocate opinions when it seems (to me) that the debate here spins off too far in one direction.