字幕表 動画を再生する
This is the ocean as I used to know it.
これは昔からよく知っている海です
And I find that
この湾には何度も行っていたので
since I've been in the Gulf a couple of times,
とてもショックを受けました
I really kind of am traumatized
なぜかというと 海のいたる所に
because whenever I look at the ocean now,
なぜかというと 海のいたる所に
no matter where I am,
原油がそのまま残されていて
even where I know
その光沢が見えているからです
none of the oil has gone,
これには唖然とさせられました
I sort of see slicks,
今日お話ししたいのは 原油流出のことだけでなく
and I'm finding that I'm very much
その正体や原因について 簡単に説明したいと思います
haunted by it.
まずは自己紹介から
But what I want to talk to you about today
子供の頃から釣りが好きで 釣りに行っていたんですが
is a lot of things that try
沿岸の自然が好きになり 海鳥を研究するようになりました
to put all of this in context,
現在 主に海洋変動に関する 本を書いています
not just about the oil eruption,
海の急激な変化は 以前から観察されています
but what it means and why it has happened.
私達が住む地球というのは
First, just a little bit about me.
水で濡らした 硬い大理石のようなものです
I'm basically just a guy that likes to go fishing
大気も同じようなものです
ever since I was a little kid,
大気を全部かき集めて 丸めたとすると
and because I did,
大気を全部かき集めて 丸めたとすると
I wound up studying sea birds
右のような 気体の球ができます
to try to stay in the coastal habitats that I so loved.
私達が住んでいるのは きわめて壊れやすく小さな
And now I mainly write books
私達が住んでいるのは きわめて壊れやすく小さな
about how the ocean is changing,
神聖なシャボン玉です
and the ocean is certainly changing very rapidly.
非常に影響を受けやすいのです
Now we saw this kind of graphic earlier on,
石油 石炭 ガソリンなどを 燃やすことによって
that we really live on a hard marble
石油 石炭 ガソリンなどを 燃やすことによって
that has just a slight
大気は大きく変化し CO2レベルも上がり続けています
bit of wetness to it.
私達が気温を上げているのです
It's like you dipped a marble in water.
よって原油流出事故は
And the same thing with the atmosphere:
人間社会に必要である エネルギーに関する問題の
If you took all the atmosphere
ほんの一部にすぎません
and rolled it up in a ball,
温暖化の他に
you would get that little sphere of gas on the right.
海が酸性になるという 問題があります
So we live on
すでに動物への影響が観測されています
the most fragile, little soap bubble you can imagine,
現在 研究室では
a very sacred soap bubble,
例えば貝を 通常の海水のpH 8.1ではなく
but one that is very, very easy to affect.
例えば貝を 通常の海水のpH 8.1ではなく
And all the burning of oil and coal and gas,
pH 7.5の水に入れると
all the fossil fuels,
貝は3日以内に溶解します
have changed the atmosphere greatly.
ウニの幼生の場合
Carbon dioxide level has gone up and up and up.
pH 8.1からpH 7.7に移動させると
We're warming the climate.
大きく崩れはしませんが 変形して死んでしまいます
So the blowout in the Gulf
すでに ある地域では 商業用のカキの幼生が
is just a little piece
広範囲で死滅しています
of a much larger problem that we have
サンゴ礁の成長に遅れがみられる 地域もあります
with the energy that we use to run civilization.
サンゴ礁の成長に遅れがみられる 地域もあります
Beyond warming,
大きな問題なのです
we have the problem of the oceans getting more acidified --
湾を少し ぐるっと周ってみましょう
and already measurably so,
湾に住む人達には 感銘を受けました
and already affecting animals.
彼らはまさに 海の人だからです
Now in the laboratory,
水をうまく活用し 頻繁にくるハリケーンや
if you take a clam and you put it in the pH
水をうまく活用し 頻繁にくるハリケーンや
that is -- not 8.1,
洪水への対策も心得ています
which is the normal pH of seawater --
しかし水以外のことで 水中の生息環境が変わると
but 7.5,
彼らに 多くの選択肢はありません
it dissolves in about three days.
コミュニティー全体を見ても
If you take a sea urchin larva
水にかわるものはないのです
from 8.1,
ホテルで働こうと思っても無理です
put it in a pH of 7.7 --
ホテル自体がないのですから
not a huge change --
湾の周囲には 多くの原油が見えます
it becomes deformed and dies.
海の上や 岸辺にも見られます
And already, commercial oyster larvae
流出現場に行くと 信じがたい光景が
are dying at large scales
まるで車のオイル受けを ひっくり返したかのようです
in some places.
一番信じられないのは
Coral reefs are growing slower
原油を回収しようとする人が 誰もいないことです
in some places because of this problem.
ここの海一帯が 悲惨な状態になっています
So this really matters.
岸沿いを進んでいると そこら中に原油が見られ
Now, let's take a little tour
めちゃくちゃな状態です
around the Gulf a little bit.
アラバマの東海岸に行くと
One of the things that really impresses me about the people in the Gulf:
浜辺を掃除している人達がいます
They are really, really aquatic people.
掃除方法が変わっています
And they can handle water.
200 Lのビニール袋に 砂を5 kgしか入れず
They can handle a hurricane that comes and goes.
200 Lのビニール袋に 砂を5 kgしか入れず
When the water goes down, they know what to do.
ビニール袋は何千とあります
But when it's something other than water,
何をしたいのかわかりません
and their water habitat changes,
一方で 今でも 浜辺を利用する人達もいます
they don't have many options.
水から離れろという看板はなく 子供たちが海に入って 石油まみれ
In fact, those entire communities
服もサンダルもめちゃくちゃです
really don't have many options.
原油が残っている所に行くと もっとめちゃくちゃで
They don't have another thing they can do.
基本的に誰もいません
They can't go and work
数人が利用しているだけです
in the local hotel business
ノイローゼになる人もいます
because there isn't one in their community.
彼らは働き者で
If you go to the Gulf and you look around,
朝起きたら エンジンスタート さあ仕事だ という感じです
you do see a lot of oil.
彼らは 自然が 沿岸の生態系を通して
You see a lot of oil on the ocean.
与えてくれる安心感に 依存していると感じています
You see a lot of oil on the shoreline.
与えてくれる安心感に 依存していると感じています
If you go to the site of the blowout,
その世界が壊されていると 知ったのです
it looks pretty unbelievable.
見てください
It looks like you just emptied the oil pan in your car,
ショックをあらわす看板
and you just dumped it in the ocean.
憤怒をあらわす看板
And one of the really most incredible things, I think,
怒りをあらわす看板
is that there's nobody out there
悲しみの看板
trying to collect it
これらは目に見えるものです
at the site where it is densest.
しかし海の中には 目に見えないものばかりです
Parts of the ocean there
海の中はどうなっているのでしょう
look just absolutely apocalyptic.
原油が水中に浸出しているか 意見が分かれます
You go in along the shore,
マーキー議員によると
you can find it everywhere.
「潜水艦で 原油の有無を 調べられないのだろうか?」
It's really messy.
「潜水艦で 原油の有無を 調べられないのだろうか?」
If you go to the places where it's just arriving,
しかし潜水艦は使えませんでした
like the eastern part of the Gulf, in Alabama,
前に湾に行ってから 今日までの間
there's still people using the beach
メキシコ湾に原油があるのか 調べる実験をしてみました
while there are people cleaning up the beach.
ここがメキシコ湾です
And they have a very strange way of cleaning up the beach.
魚の豊富な輝ける場所
They're not allowed to put more than 10 pounds of sand
このメキシコ湾に 少しだけ油を流出させました
in a 50-gallon plastic bag.
仮説は裏付けられることになります
They have thousands and thousands of plastic bags.
油と水は混ざりません
I don't know what they're going to do with all that stuff.
でも分散剤を加えると
Meanwhile, there are still people trying to use the beach.
混ざり始めます
They don't see the little, tiny sign
そこに風や波などの エネルギーを少し加えると
that says: "Stay out of the water."
もう大変なことになり めちゃくちゃです
Their kids are in the water; they're getting tar
きれいにすることも 原油を抽出することも不可能です
all over their clothes and their sandals. It's a mess.
そしてなによりも
If you go to the place where the oil has been a while,
見えないことがやっかいです
it's an even bigger mess.
わざと隠されているのだと思っています
And there's basically nobody there anymore,
これ程の大惨事だと 多くの情報がもれて聞こえてきます
a few people trying
噂通り 事故のもみ消しがあります
to keep using it.
私の個人的な考えですが この分散剤というのは
You see people who are really shell-shocked.
死体隠ぺいのような 常套手段だと思います
They are very hardworking people.
殺人犯の証拠隠しですね
All they know about life is they get up in the morning,
海上に密集した原油は 目で見ることができます
and if their engine starts, they go to work.
海上に密集した原油は 目で見ることができます
They always felt that they could rely on
そこに一撃を加え 証拠を消しているのでしょう
the assurances that nature brought them
さて
through the ecosystem of the Gulf.
微生物が油を食べれば
They're finding that their world is really collapsing.
ウミガメも食べます
And so you can see, literally,
原油の流出があれば
signs of their shock,
微生物が分解するまで 長い時間がかかります
signs of their outrage,
原油をウミガメが食べ 魚はエラから吸収します
signs of their anger,
そして原油の中を泳がざるを得ません
and signs of their grief.
今日ここに来る途中 電車の中で信じられない話を聞きました
These are the things that you can see.
今日ここに来る途中 電車の中で信じられない話を聞きました
There's a lot you can't see, also,
テッド・ウィリアムという作家で
underwater.
何を見たのか 質問されました
What's going on underwater?
オーデュボン誌の記事を 書いていたのです
Well, some people say
彼は1週間前に 湾に行っていて
there are oil plumes.
釣りガイドをしていた男に
Some people say there are not oil plumes.
事故現場を案内してもらったそうです
And Congressman Markey asks, you know,
そのガイドは 年中 仕事の予定が空いていました
"Is it going to take a submarine ride
そのガイドは 年中 仕事の予定が空いていました
to see if there are really oil plumes?"
予約金も返還を求められ 誰も近寄ろうとしません
But I couldn't take a submarine ride --
何千人という人が 同じような状況です
especially between the time I knew I was coming here and today --
しかしそのガイドによると
so I had to do
海に出た最後の日に
a little experiment myself
バンドウイルカが 突然ボートの横に現れ
to see if there was oil in the Gulf of Mexico.
噴気孔から 油をまき散らしていました
So this is the Gulf of Mexico,
イルカから離れました
sparkling place full of fish.
なぜなら最後の釣り だということもあり
I created a little oil spill
イルカが魚を怖がらせることを 知っていたからです
in the Gulf of Mexico.
だからイルカから離れ
And I learned -- in fact, I confirmed -- the hypothesis
数分後振り返ると
that oil and water don't mix
またボートのすぐ側まで来ていました
until you add a dispersant,
30年の釣りのなかで イルカの こんな行動は初めて見たそうです
and then
そして これはまるで―
they start mixing.
助けてくれと 言っているように感じたそうです
And you add a little energy
エクソンバルディーズ号 原油流出事故では
from the wind and the waves,
シャチの30%近くが
and you get a big mess,
数ヶ月で死にました
a big mess
個体数は回復していません
that you can't possibly clean,
個体数の回復率は ばらつくでしょう
you can't touch, you can't extract
時間がかかるものもあれば
and, I think most importantly -- this is what I think --
早く回復するだろう というものもあります
you can't see it.
メキシコ湾には重要な役割があります
I think it's being hidden on purpose.
1年のある時期に 多くの動物がこの湾に集まります
Now this is such a catastrophe and such a mess,
そのためメキシコ湾は 重要な水源で
that lots of stuff is leaking out on the edges of the information stream.
大西洋の等量の水より 重要だといえます
But as many people have said,
マグロは世界の海を渡ります 湾の水流に乗り ヨーロッパまで
there's a large attempt to suppress what's going on.
産卵するときは 内陸にまでやって来ます
Personally, I think that
2匹に標識をつけて 産卵場所がわかるようにしました
the dispersants are
なめらかな場所を選んでいます
a major strategy to hide the body,
今年の産卵時期は 多分 悲惨なことになるでしょう
because we put the murderer
親魚が汚れた水を 避けてくれることを願います
in charge of the crime scene.
通常 濁った水には 入ろうとしませんが
But you can see it.
非常に運動神経の良い魚なので
You can see where the oil
何がエラに影響を与えるか わかりませんし
is concentrated at the surface,
親魚への影響は わからないのです
and then it is attacked,
だとしても 卵や稚魚には 確実に影響があると思っています
because they don't want the evidence, in my opinion.
だとしても 卵や稚魚には 確実に影響があると思っています
Okay.
下がり続けている このグラフをご覧ください
We heard that bacteria eat oil?
私達が 数十年に渡って 乱獲してきた結果です
So do sea turtles.
原油の流出により 壊滅的な被害となった一方で
When it breaks up,
心に留めておきたいことは
it has a long way to go
私達は長期間にわたり 海に 多大な影響を与えてきたということです
before it gets down to bacteria.
私達が何か始めると 良いことではなく
Turtles eat it. It gets in the gills of fish.
多くのストレスと問題が つきまとってきます
These guys have to swim around through it.
鳥を見てみると
I heard the most incredible story today
1年のある時期に 多くの鳥が湾に集まり
when I was on the train coming here.
やがて飛び立っていきます
A writer named Ted Williams called me,
鳥たちの生息域はずっと広範なのです
and he was asking me a couple of questions
例えば
about what I saw,
この写真の鳥は ほとんどが渡り鳥で
because he's writing an article for Audubon magazine.
原油が流れてきた5月に この湾に来たというわけです
He said that he had been in the Gulf a little while ago --
左下に キョウジョシギと ミツユビシギがいます
like about a week ago --
北極で子育てをし 南アメリカの南部で冬を過ごします
and a guy who had been a recreational fishing guide
メキシコ湾に集まり やがて北極各地に飛び立ちます
took him out to show him what's going on.
グリーンランドで繁殖する鳥も メキシコ湾で見かけました
That guide's entire calendar year
よって これは半球規模の問題なのです
is canceled bookings.
経済的影響も 少なくとも 米国全土で見られ
He has no bookings left.
生物学的には 半球規模の影響があります
Everybody wanted their deposit back. Everybody is fleeing.
これは全く予想だにしなかった 唖然とする例の一つです
That's the story of thousands of people.
日本軍が真珠湾を爆撃した時でさえ
But he told Ted
撃ち返すことはしました
that on the last day he went out,
でも今の私達は 何をすべきかわからないでいます
a bottlenose dolphin
何もできていないのは 現在の対策を見れば明らかです
suddenly appeared next to the boat,
今やっている主な方法は ブームと分散剤です
and it was splattering oil
ブームは広い範囲には 展開できないので
out its blowhole.
原油が多くたまっている箇所を 囲うこともできません
And he moved away
原油が多くたまっている箇所を 囲うこともできません
because it was
沿岸近くに ボートが2艘 右のボートは通称「釣りバカ」
his last fishing trip,
良い名前ですね
and he knew that the dolphins scare fish.
湾の何千平方マイルも広がる 海上の原油を
So he moved away from it,
ブームで囲おうと 躍起になっているんですから
turned around a few minutes later,
分散剤によって 原油は ブームの下を通ることができます
it was right next to the side of the boat again.
ブームの直径は たったの30 cm程です
He said that in 30 years of fishing
こんなバカげたことありません
he had never seen a dolphin do that.
何百というエビ漁船を雇い
And he felt that --
網ではなく ブームを引張ることが 彼らの仕事となります
he felt that it was
原油まみれの海水が ブームの後方へ移動しています
coming to ask for help. Sorry.
実はかき混ぜているのです
Now, in the Exxon Valdez spill,
ばがげています
about 30 percent of the killer whales
何百マイルもの沿岸が ブームだらけになると
died in the first few months.
何百マイルもの沿岸が ブームだらけになると
Their numbers have never recovered.
隣の沿岸にはブームが一つもないので
So the recovery rate of all this stuff
原油や汚れた水が 簡単に入ってこれます
is going to be variable.
下の写真は
It's going to take longer for some things.
鳥のコロニーが囲われています コロニーを守ろうとしているんです
And some things, I think, will probably
鳥類学者としていいますが
come back a little faster.
鳥は飛びます
The other thing about the Gulf that is important
(笑)
is that there are a lot of animals
コロニーを囲っても 意味がありません
that concentrate in the Gulf
鳥たちはエサをとるため 海に潜らないといけません
at certain parts of the year.
鳥たちが第一に しなければいけないのが
So the Gulf is a really important piece of water --
巣を守ることです
more important than a similar volume
巣がすべて壊されてしまえば
of water in the open Atlantic Ocean.
鳥は離れていくでしょう
These tuna swim the entire ocean.
今回は そうなった方がましだったでしょう
They get in the Gulf Stream. They go all the way to Europe.
鳥の洗浄について言うと
When it comes time to spawn, they come inside,
鳥をきれいにする人を 非難するわけではありませんが
and these two tuna that were tagged,
思いやりを示すことが 本当に大切です
you can see them on the spawning grounds
人間が持っている 一番大切なものが思いやりですから
very much right in the area of the slick.
こういったイメージを持ち それを表現することが大切です
They're probably having, at the very least,
しかし 鳥たちは どこに放されるというのでしょう
a catastrophic spawning season this year.
まるで燃えるビルから連れ出し
I'm hoping that maybe the adults
煙の吸入をケアした後
are avoiding that dirty water.
再びビルの中に戻すようなものです 原油はまだ流出しています
They don't usually like to go into water
これを事故として 認めるわけにはいきません
that is very cloudy anyway.
これは重過失によって招かれた事態です
But these are really high-performance
(拍手)
athletic animals.
BPだけではありません
I don't know what this kind of stuff will do in their gills.
BPが ずさんで無謀な 操業をしたのは
I don't know if it'll affect the adults.
BPが ずさんで無謀な 操業をしたのは
If it's not, it's certainly affecting
それができたからです
their eggs and larvae, I would certainly think.
私達を守る立場である政府の 完全な監督責任だとして
But if you look at that graph that goes down and down and down,
許されてしまっています
that's what we've done to this species
米国では ほとんどの商船に この看板が見られます
through overfishing over many decades.
原油が数ガロン流出すれば
So while the oil spill,
大変なことになります
the leak, the eruption,
誰のために法律が作られ そして誰が法の外にいるのか
is a catastrophe,
誰のために法律が作られ そして誰が法の外にいるのか
I think it's important to keep in mind
考える必要があります
that we've done a lot to affect what's in the ocean
将来私達にできることがあります
for a very, very long time.
必要だけど 手に入れられなかった装置です
It's not like we're starting with something
石油を求め メキシコ湾の海底に 30,000個の穴を作れば
that's been okay.
その内の一つから石油が出てきても なんら驚くことではありません
We're starting with something that's had a lot of stresses
これこそ私達が しなければいけないことです
and a lot of problems to begin with.
実際どこから流出が始まったか 理解する必要があります
If you look around at the birds,
「政府は公共の利益を守る 私達の味方なんだ」という考えが
there are a lot of birds in the Gulf
破綻するところから始まっています
that concentrate in the Gulf at certain times of the year,
原油の流出や 銀行救済 住宅ローン危機などは
but then leave.
同じ原因で起こる症状に 違いありません
And they populate much larger areas.
一部の悪い人間から 守ってくれる警察は
So for instance,
最低限必要だと 私達は理解しています
most of the birds in this picture are migratory birds.
きっぷを切られたり 少々うっとうしい所があっても
They were all on the Gulf in May,
警察は廃止すべきだ なんて言う人はいません
while oil was starting to come ashore in certain places.
この30年間 政府全体において
Down on the lower left there
規制撤廃の動きがありました
are Ruddy Turnstones and Sanderlings.
規制撤廃の動きがありました
They breed in the high arctic,
これを主導したのは 私達を守る立場の人達で
and they winter down in southern South America.
裏で政府を買収していました
But they concentrate in the Gulf
(拍手)
and then fan out all across the arctic.
これが今でも問題となっています
I saw birds that breed in Greenland
米国の創建時には 企業は違法でした
in the Gulf,
トーマス・ジェファソンでさえ
so this is a hemispheric issue.
すでに米国の法律を無視していると 不満をもらしました
The economic effects
すでに米国の法律を無視していると 不満をもらしました
go at least nationally in many ways.
自分は保守派だと言う人がいますが
The biological effects are certainly hemispheric.
本当に保守派の愛国者になりたければ
I think that this is one of the most
企業に向かって 地獄に落ちろというでしょう
absolutely mind-boggling
これが真の保守派です
examples of total unpreparedness
そこで私達が本当にすべきことは
that I can even think of.
我々の利益を守るのは政府だ という考えを取り戻し
Even when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor,
この国の失われた連帯感と 共通の利害を取り戻すことです
at least they shot back.
希望の光が見え 私達は少し目を覚ましつつあります
And we just seem to be
グラス・スティーガル法―
unable to figure out what to do.
これは不況や 銀行の破綻 救済が必要な状態などが
There was nothing ready,
起こるのを防ぐ法律です
and, you know, as we can see
1933年に施行されましたが
by what they're doing.
組織的に崩されてしまいました
Mainly what they're doing is booms and dispersants.
現在 こういったものを 復元しようという雰囲気があります
The booms are absolutely not made for open water.
しかしロビー活動家たちはすでに
They don't even attempt to corral
法案が可決した後 規制緩和をしようとしています
the oil where it is most concentrated.
だから戦いは続いています
They get near shore. Look at these two boats.
今が歴史的瞬間です
That one on the right is called Fishing Fool.
湾での原油流出という大惨事を招くか
And I think, you know, that's a great name
湾での原油流出という大惨事を招くか
for boats that think that they're going to do anything
多くの人が気付いている決断をし 抜け出すかのどちらかです
to make a dent in this by dragging a boom between them
抜け出す決断をするには 共通のテーマがあります
when there are literally hundreds of thousands
以前にも海洋掘削のときに経験があります
of square miles in the Gulf right now
初め 海上油田の名前は「クジラ」で
with oil at the surface.
掘削機の名前は「モリ」でした
The dispersants make the oil go right under the booms.
当時 海のクジラの数が減少していました
The booms are only about
私達が洞窟に住んでいた時から
13 inches in diameter.
エネルギーが欲しいときは
So it's just absolutely crazy.
火で何かを燃やします 今もやっていることは同じです
Here are shrimp boats employed.
今でもエネルギーが欲しいとき 何かを燃やしています
There are hundreds of shrimp boats employed to drag booms instead of nets.
クリーンなエネルギーは高価で 使えないと言われます
Here they are working.
誰が高価だと言っているのでしょう?
You can see easily
石油を売っている人達です
that all the oily water just goes over the back of the boom.
前にここに来た時も
All they're doing is stirring it.
エネルギーを切り替えれば 経済が耐えられないと言われました
It's just ridiculous.
安価なエネルギーは奴隷です
Also, for all the shoreline that has booms --
エネルギーとはモラルの問題なのです
hundreds and hundreds of miles of shoreline --
善か悪かの問題でもあります
all of the shoreline that has booms,
ありがとうございました
there's adjacent shoreline that doesn't have any booms.
There is ample opportunity
for oil and dirty water to get in behind them.
And that lower photo, that's a bird colony that has been boomed.
Everybody's trying to protect
the bird colonies there.
Well, as an ornithologist,
I can tell you that birds fly, and that --
(Laughter)
and that booming a bird colony
doesn't do it; it doesn't do it.
These birds make a living by diving into the water.
In fact,
really what I think they should do, if anything --
they're trying so hard to protect those nests --
actually, if they destroyed every single nest
some of the birds would leave,
and that would be better for them this year.
As far as cleaning them,
I don't mean to cast any aspersion
on people cleaning birds.
It's really, really important
that we express our compassion.
I think that's the most important thing that people have,
is compassion.
It's really important to get those images
and to show it.
But really, where are those birds going to get released to?
It's like taking somebody out of a burning building,
treating them for smoke inhalation
and sending them back into the building, because the oil is still gushing.
I refuse to acknowledge this
as anything like an accident.
I think that this is the result of gross negligence.
(Applause)
Not just B.P.
B.P. operated
very sloppily and very recklessly
because they could.
And they were allowed to do so
because of the absolute failure of oversight
of the government that's supposed to be
our government, protecting us.
It turns out that --
you see this sign on almost every commercial vessel in the United States --
you know, if you spilled a couple of gallons of oil,
you would be in big trouble.
And you have to really wonder
who are the laws made for,
and who has gotten above the laws.
Now there are things that we can do in the future.
We could have the kinds of equipment that we would really need.
It would not take an awful lot
to anticipate
that after making 30,000 holes
in the sea floor of the Gulf of Mexico looking for oil,
oil might start coming out of one of them.
And you'd have some idea of what to do.
That's certainly one of the things we need to do.
But I think we have to understand where this leak
really started from.
It really started from the destruction
of the idea that the government is there
because it's our government, meant to protect
the larger public interest.
So I think that the oil blowout,
the bank bailout,
the mortgage crisis and all these things
are absolutely symptoms of
the same cause.
We still seem to understand
that at least we need the police to protect us
from a few bad people.
And even though the police can be a little annoying at times --
giving us tickets and stuff like that --
nobody says that we should just get rid of them.
But in the entire rest of government right now
and for the last at least 30 years,
there has been a culture of deregulation
that is caused directly
by the people who
we need to be protected from,
buying the government out from under us.
(Applause)
Now this has been a problem for a very, very long time.
You can see that
corporations were illegal at the founding of America,
and even Thomas Jefferson complained
that they were already
bidding defiance to the laws of our country.
Okay, people who say
they're conservative,
if they really wanted to be
really conservative and really patriotic,
they would tell these corporations
to go to hell.
That's what it would really mean to be conservative.
So what we really need to do
is regain the idea
that it's our government
safeguarding our interests
and regain a sense of unity
and common cause in our country
that really has been lost.
I think there are signs of hope.
We seem to be waking up a little bit.
The Glass-Steagall Act --
which was really to protect us from the kind of thing
that caused the recession to happen,
and the bank meltdown
and all that stuff that required the bailouts --
that was put in effect in 1933,
was systematically destroyed.
Now there's a mood to put some of that stuff
back in place,
but the lobbyists are already there
trying to weaken the regulations
after the legislation has just passed.
So it's a continued fight.
It's a historic moment right now.
We're either going to have an absolutely
unmitigated catastrophe
of this oil leak in the Gulf,
or we will make the moment we need out of this,
as many people have noted today.
There's certainly a common theme
about needing to make the moment out of this.
We've been through this before
with other ways of offshore drilling.
The first offshore wells were called whales.
The first offshore drills were called harpoons.
We emptied the ocean of the whales at that time.
Now are we stuck with this?
Ever since we lived in caves,
every time we wanted any energy,
we lit something on fire, and that is still what we're doing.
We're still lighting something on fire
every time we want energy.
And people say
we can't have clean energy
because it's too expensive.
Who says it's too expensive?
People who sell us fossil fuels.
We've been here before with energy,
and people saying the economy
cannot withstand a switch,
because the cheapest energy was slavery.
Energy is always a moral issue.
It's an issue that is moral right now.
It's a matter of right and wrong.
Thank you very much.