Slick

The Santa Barbara Oil Spill (1969), the Exxon Valdez (1989), and now the Gulf Oil Spill (2010). The first of these halted drilling off California's cost for years; the second helped impede further drilling in 'America's Last Frontier'. Neither suspended for long the relentless need for oil; plenty of rigs can be seen off California's coast, and more drilling in Alaska is a constant conservative demand.

So what will come from this latest, perhaps the biggest, most destructive spill of all in American waters?

We can expect a horrified public supporting a temporary ban, or at least a slow-down in oil operations in the Gulf. We can expect political repercussions all through the Gulf Coast states, perhaps even giving rise to Coastal Commissions similar to the one that sprung from California's experience. We can also expect this fervor to fade as time passes with no further major spills.

We still need oil too much, and our memories are too conditional. Technology may improve every year, but we flesh and blood people are only too human. We make new mistakes, and worse, we discount the past.