I came across an interesting Texas Tribune article, titled “BP Wants Unspent Spill Recovery Money Back", which I feel is definitely worth a read.  It has only been a mere four years after the most devastating oil spill in U.S. history and - get this - BP “respectfully” requested the return of any unused funds left over from the five million dollar grant they gave to the State of Texas.  Just to clarify, BP spilled five million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico in April of 2010.  That’s a whopping $1 per barrel grant BP gave to the State of Texas to be used for cleaning up after their mess.  After absorbing this much so far, I immediately got emotional and images of poor oil-coated baby dolphins and sad little innocent turtles stuck in sludge flashed through my mind. I thought to myself, what slimy behavior it was for BP to ask for their money back! I’m no marine biologist but I’m pretty sure that the biggest oil spill in U.S. history will have negative economic and environmental repercussions for a lot longer than four years.

I then calmed back down and continued to read the article, finding it cute that Perry’s office “respectfully” denied the oil company’s request.  The Governor’s office also assured BP that the money would indeed go towards a website and other grant programs…. eventually.  Meanwhile, Mississippi is ahead of the game with a “website related to spill recovery funds that lists the sources of money and allows the public to submit project proposals.”  All Texas got around to doing with the grant money so far was purchasing a domain name for what is still a non-functioning website. In fact, it seems that while Texas has been fiddling its thumbs, all of the other Gulf States are far more advanced in their own recovery processes. Well geez, after reading the last half of that article, I can almost see why BP is so frustrated.  How hard can it be for the State Government to get a website up and running?  According to the article, “local officials and organizations eager to do restoration work on the Texas cost are waiting for funds to become available, watching as other states spend millions of dollars.”  So why on earth is the Texas Government just sitting on this money like a dumb duck?  I do not know the answer.  I do, however, believe that this article is worth a read because being informed and asking questions is just as important as getting the answers.