No...it's not. The biggest spill known to date was the Rumala Oil field And there have been countless others. For what Bush the stupider spent on the Abortion known as "Operation Whack Saddam and Deplete US National Resources," we could have deployed all kinds of energy efficient technology. Why we don't learn from our mistakes and do it now is a mystery.
Quote from AAAintheBeltway:
This is the first serious offshore well spill in 41 years. The alternative to drilling is importing via tankers, which have a far worse safety record. That said, this is a wakeup call.
Deep offshore wells have to be treated like nuke plants now. Zero risk or forget it. The consequences of a blowout are too severe to risk otherwise. A set of procedures have to be enforced with criminal law, so that "bad decisions" like those apparently made by BP will land you in jail.
We can debate BP's response, but we are lucky the operator was a huge company with enormous resources. If it had been a small fry wildcatter, they would be bankrupt by now and the government would be stuck with trying to do something.
