There is a horrible oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico right now. On April 22nd, there was an explosion that killed eleven people and has caused crude oil to pour into the ocean and encroach upon wild marshlands at the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Make no mistake — this is a tragedy. The lives lost in the explosion, the destruction to our environment, and the potential loss of livelihood should the oil move into the areas where many commercial fishermen earn their living.

I personally believe that we all need to come together to support the effort to get this mess cleaned up. I also think we need to figure out what caused it, so that other oil drilling sites can make sure they’re not at risk for the same type of disaster.

But I still support drilling for oil. To say we should hault the collection of one of our most valuable resources is like saying a person shouldn’t live in California because there’s a high risk of earthquakes. Or that no one should teach their kid to ride a bike because they might fall off and hurt themselves.

The fact is that there is risk to everything. Even getting out of bed in the morning poses a risk of tripping and falling in clumsy sleepiness. The goal is to take calculated risks. To look at the potential benefits and weigh them against the potential downfalls, and make the best decision that you can at the time.

I read this tweet from Bill Maher today:

Every asshole who ever chanted ‘Drill baby drill’ should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty

Really? Asshole? Bill Maher is certainly entitled to his opinion, but unless he lives in a hut in the woods, he’s a total hypocrite. I’m sure that Mr. Maher uses more than his fair share of oil, so he would be wise not to criticize the collection of it. It’s stuff like this that makes it impossible for people to take him seriously.

It would be nice if Mr. Maher would use some of his money, influence, and power to mobilize some help to clean this oily mess up, rather than insult and criticize Americans that would like to see gasoline under three dollars a gallon again.