0:00:16.358,0:00:18.303
This is the ocean as I used to know it.

0:00:19.225,0:00:23.438
And I find that since I've been[br]in the Gulf a couple of times,

0:00:23.462,0:00:27.962
I really kind of am traumatized[br]because whenever I look at the ocean now,

0:00:27.986,0:00:30.447
no matter where I am,

0:00:30.471,0:00:34.376
even where I know[br]that none of the oil has gone,

0:00:34.400,0:00:36.376
I sort of see slicks,

0:00:36.400,0:00:40.647
and I'm finding that I'm very much[br]haunted by it.

0:00:42.066,0:00:44.262
But what I want to talk to you about today

0:00:44.286,0:00:47.816
is a lot of things that try[br]to put all of this in context,

0:00:47.840,0:00:53.814
not just about the oil eruption,[br]but what it means and why it has happened.

0:00:53.838,0:00:55.473
First, just a little bit about me.

0:00:55.497,0:00:58.009
I'm basically just a guy[br]that likes to go fishing

0:00:58.033,0:01:00.989
ever since I was a little kid,[br]and because I did,

0:01:01.013,0:01:03.080
I wound up studying sea birds

0:01:03.104,0:01:06.526
to try to stay in the coastal habitats[br]that I so loved.

0:01:06.550,0:01:11.136
And now I mainly write books[br]about how the ocean is changing,

0:01:11.160,0:01:14.060
and the ocean is certainly[br]changing very rapidly.

0:01:14.084,0:01:19.897
Now we saw this graphic earlier on,[br]that we really live on a hard marble

0:01:19.921,0:01:23.376
that has just a slight bit[br]of wetness to it.

0:01:23.400,0:01:25.642
It's like you dipped a marble in water.

0:01:25.666,0:01:27.733
And the same thing with the atmosphere:

0:01:27.757,0:01:30.982
If you took all the atmosphere[br]and rolled it up in a ball,

0:01:31.006,0:01:33.924
you would get that little sphere[br]of gas on the right.

0:01:33.948,0:01:39.177
So we live on the most fragile[br]little soap bubble you can imagine,

0:01:39.201,0:01:43.964
a very sacred soap bubble,[br]but one that is very, very easy to affect.

0:01:43.988,0:01:48.835
And all the burning of oil and coal[br]and gas, all the fossil fuels,

0:01:48.859,0:01:51.028
have changed the atmosphere greatly.

0:01:51.052,0:01:53.973
Carbon dioxide level[br]has gone up and up and up.

0:01:53.997,0:01:56.314
We're warming the climate.

0:01:56.338,0:01:58.349
So the blowout in the Gulf

0:01:58.373,0:02:02.518
is just a little piece[br]of a much larger problem

0:02:02.542,0:02:06.616
that we have with the energy[br]that we use to run civilization.

0:02:06.640,0:02:08.071
Beyond warming,

0:02:08.095,0:02:11.789
we have the problem[br]of the oceans getting more acidified...

0:02:11.813,0:02:15.955
And already measurably so,[br]and already affecting animals.

0:02:16.600,0:02:23.028
Now in the laboratory, if you take a clam[br]and you put it in the pH that is not 8.1,

0:02:23.052,0:02:26.779
which is the normal pH[br]of seawater, but 7.5,

0:02:26.803,0:02:29.409
it dissolves in about three days.

0:02:29.433,0:02:33.228
If you take a sea urchin larva from 8.1,

0:02:33.252,0:02:37.544
put it in a pH of 7.7...[br]Not a huge change...

0:02:37.568,0:02:40.221
It becomes deformed and dies.

0:02:40.245,0:02:47.087
Already, commercial oyster larvae[br]are dying at large scales in some places.

0:02:47.647,0:02:51.982
Coral reefs are growing slower[br]in some places because of this problem.

0:02:52.006,0:02:53.618
So this really matters.

0:02:53.642,0:02:57.999
Now, let's take a little tour[br]around the Gulf a little bit.

0:02:58.023,0:03:01.412
One of the things that really impresses me[br]about the people in the Gulf:

0:03:01.436,0:03:03.724
They are really, really aquatic people.

0:03:03.748,0:03:05.376
And they can handle water.

0:03:05.400,0:03:08.032
They can handle a hurricane[br]that comes and goes.

0:03:08.056,0:03:10.376
When the water goes down,[br]they know what to do.

0:03:10.400,0:03:15.156
But when it's something other than water,[br]and their water habitat changes,

0:03:15.180,0:03:16.829
they don't have many options.

0:03:16.853,0:03:20.911
In fact, those entire communities[br]really don't have many options.

0:03:20.935,0:03:23.571
They don't have another thing they can do.

0:03:23.595,0:03:27.668
They can't go and work[br]in the local hotel business

0:03:27.692,0:03:30.400
because there isn't one[br]in their community.

0:03:31.922,0:03:36.380
If you go to the Gulf and you look around,[br]you do see a lot of oil.

0:03:36.404,0:03:38.253
You see a lot of oil on the ocean.

0:03:38.277,0:03:40.376
You see a lot of oil on the shoreline.

0:03:40.400,0:03:44.376
If you go to the site of the blowout,[br]it looks pretty unbelievable.

0:03:44.400,0:03:47.376
It looks like you just emptied[br]the oil pan in your car,

0:03:47.400,0:03:49.671
and you just dumped it in the ocean.

0:03:49.695,0:03:52.560
And one of the really[br]most incredible things, I think,

0:03:52.584,0:03:56.156
is that there's nobody out there[br]trying to collect it

0:03:56.180,0:03:58.983
at the site where it is densest.

0:03:59.797,0:04:03.832
Parts of the ocean there[br]look just absolutely apocalyptic.

0:04:05.957,0:04:09.362
You go in along the shore,[br]you can find it everywhere.

0:04:10.456,0:04:11.612
It's really messy.

0:04:11.636,0:04:14.007
If you go to the places[br]where it's just arriving,

0:04:14.031,0:04:16.466
like the eastern part[br]of the Gulf, in Alabama,

0:04:16.490,0:04:18.375
there's still people using the beach

0:04:18.399,0:04:20.543
while there are people[br]cleaning up the beach.

0:04:20.567,0:04:23.289
And they have a very strange[br]way of cleaning up the beach.

0:04:23.313,0:04:25.972
They're not allowed to put[br]more than 10 pounds of sand

0:04:25.996,0:04:27.704
in a 50-gallon plastic bag.

0:04:27.728,0:04:30.084
They have thousands[br]and thousands of plastic bags.

0:04:30.108,0:04:32.398
I don't know what they'll do[br]with all that stuff.

0:04:32.422,0:04:35.143
Meanwhile, there are still[br]people trying to use the beach.

0:04:35.167,0:04:37.945
They don't see the sign[br]that says: "Stay out of the water."

0:04:37.969,0:04:39.398
Their kids are in the water;

0:04:39.422,0:04:42.450
they're getting tar all over[br]their clothes and their sandals...

0:04:42.475,0:04:43.686
It's a mess.

0:04:43.710,0:04:47.214
If you go to where the oil has been[br]for a while, it's an even bigger mess.

0:04:47.238,0:04:49.622
And there's basically[br]nobody there anymore,

0:04:49.646,0:04:52.512
a few people trying to keep using it.

0:04:53.058,0:04:55.396
You see people who are really[br]shell-shocked.

0:04:55.420,0:04:57.409
They are very hardworking people.

0:04:57.433,0:05:00.043
All they know about life[br]is they get up in the morning,

0:05:00.067,0:05:02.363
and if their engine starts,[br]they go to work.

0:05:02.387,0:05:06.676
They always felt that[br]they could rely on the assurances

0:05:06.700,0:05:09.990
that nature brought them[br]through the ecosystem of the Gulf.

0:05:10.014,0:05:12.806
They're finding that their world[br]is really collapsing.

0:05:12.830,0:05:18.716
And so you can see, literally,[br]signs of their shock...

0:05:20.300,0:05:22.776
signs of their outrage...

0:05:25.922,0:05:27.739
signs of their anger...

0:05:32.621,0:05:35.065
and signs of their grief.

0:05:36.134,0:05:38.403
These are the things that you can see.

0:05:40.300,0:05:43.909
There's a lot you can't see,[br]also, underwater.

0:05:44.926,0:05:46.795
What's going on underwater?

0:05:46.819,0:05:50.428
Well, some people say[br]there are oil plumes.

0:05:50.452,0:05:53.276
Some people say there are not oil plumes.

0:05:54.123,0:05:56.474
And Congressman Markey asks, you know,

0:05:56.498,0:06:01.455
"Is it going to take a submarine ride[br]to see if there are really oil plumes?"

0:06:02.027,0:06:03.938
But I couldn't take a submarine ride...

0:06:03.962,0:06:08.051
Especially between the time I knew[br]I was coming here and today...

0:06:08.075,0:06:11.276
So I had to do a little experiment myself

0:06:11.300,0:06:13.686
to see if there was oil[br]in the Gulf of Mexico.

0:06:13.710,0:06:15.365
So this is the Gulf of Mexico...

0:06:16.636,0:06:18.283
sparkling place full of fish.

0:06:19.711,0:06:22.404
And I created a little oil spill[br]in the Gulf of Mexico.

0:06:23.174,0:06:25.874
And I learned, in fact,[br]I confirmed the hypothesis

0:06:25.898,0:06:28.100
that oil and water don't mix...

0:06:29.609,0:06:31.910
until you add a dispersant...

0:06:33.388,0:06:34.585
and then...

0:06:36.190,0:06:37.622
they start mixing.

0:06:38.709,0:06:42.930
And you add a little energy[br]from the wind and the waves,

0:06:42.954,0:06:46.249
and you get a big mess,

0:06:46.273,0:06:49.408
a big mess that you can't possibly clean,

0:06:49.432,0:06:52.453
you can't touch, you can't extract

0:06:52.477,0:06:55.742
and, I think most importantly...[br]This is what I think...

0:06:55.766,0:06:57.276
You can't see it.

0:06:57.300,0:07:00.634
I think it's being hidden on purpose.

0:07:00.658,0:07:03.276
Now this is such a catastrophe[br]and such a mess

0:07:03.300,0:07:06.970
that lots of stuff is leaking out[br]on the edges of the information stream.

0:07:06.994,0:07:08.651
But as many people have said,

0:07:08.675,0:07:11.785
there's a large attempt[br]to suppress what's going on.

0:07:11.809,0:07:18.781
Personally, I think that the dispersants[br]are a major strategy to hide the body,

0:07:18.805,0:07:21.944
because we put the murderer[br]in charge of the crime scene.

0:07:22.870,0:07:24.276
But you can see it.

0:07:24.300,0:07:28.488
You can see where the oil[br]is concentrated at the surface,

0:07:28.512,0:07:31.143
and then it is attacked,

0:07:31.167,0:07:34.123
because they don't want[br]the evidence, in my opinion.

0:07:34.677,0:07:35.827
OK.

0:07:36.198,0:07:38.408
We heard that bacteria eat oil?

0:07:38.719,0:07:40.276
So do sea turtles.

0:07:40.825,0:07:42.233
When it breaks up,

0:07:42.257,0:07:45.731
it has a long way to go[br]before it gets down to bacteria.

0:07:46.196,0:07:49.276
Turtles eat it.[br]It gets in the gills of fish.

0:07:49.300,0:07:51.557
These guys have to swim around through it.

0:07:51.581,0:07:56.418
I heard the most incredible story today[br]when I was on the train coming here.

0:07:56.999,0:07:59.276
A writer named Ted Williams called me,

0:07:59.823,0:08:02.707
and he was asking me[br]a couple of questions about what I saw,

0:08:02.731,0:08:05.874
because he's writing an article[br]for Audubon magazine.

0:08:05.898,0:08:09.645
He said that he had been in the Gulf[br]a little while ago; like about a week ago,

0:08:09.669,0:08:13.583
and a guy who had[br]been a recreational fishing guide

0:08:13.607,0:08:16.276
took him out to show him what's going on.

0:08:16.300,0:08:21.276
That guide's entire calendar year[br]is canceled bookings.

0:08:21.300,0:08:23.213
He has no bookings left.

0:08:23.237,0:08:26.276
Everybody wanted their deposit back,[br]everybody is fleeing.

0:08:26.300,0:08:28.267
That's the story of thousands of people.

0:08:28.291,0:08:33.369
But he told Ted[br]that on the last day he went out,

0:08:33.924,0:08:37.647
a bottlenose dolphin[br]suddenly appeared next to the boat,

0:08:38.067,0:08:41.787
and it was splattering oil[br]out its blowhole.

0:08:43.238,0:08:47.953
And he moved away[br]because it was his last fishing trip,

0:08:49.099,0:08:51.276
and he knew that the dolphins scare fish.

0:08:51.300,0:08:55.184
So he moved away from it,[br]turned around a few minutes later,

0:08:55.208,0:08:57.455
it was right next to the side[br]of the boat again.

0:08:57.479,0:09:00.900
He said that in 30 years of fishing[br]he had never seen a dolphin do that.

0:09:00.924,0:09:02.485
And he felt that...

0:09:02.993,0:09:04.196
(Sigh)

0:09:04.220,0:09:07.881
he felt that it was[br]coming to ask for help.

0:09:08.238,0:09:09.388
Sorry.

0:09:10.692,0:09:14.646
Now, in the Exxon Valdez spill,

0:09:15.160,0:09:19.914
about 30 percent of the killer whales[br]died in the first few months.

0:09:19.938,0:09:21.858
Their numbers have never recovered.

0:09:21.882,0:09:26.747
So the recovery rate of all this stuff[br]is going to be variable.

0:09:26.771,0:09:29.596
It's going to take longer for some things.

0:09:29.620,0:09:33.208
And some things, I think,[br]will probably come back a little faster.

0:09:33.573,0:09:36.276
The other thing about the Gulf[br]that is important

0:09:36.300,0:09:39.765
is that there are a lot of animals[br]that concentrate in the Gulf

0:09:39.789,0:09:42.325
at certain parts of the year.

0:09:43.122,0:09:45.729
So the Gulf is a really[br]important piece of water...

0:09:45.753,0:09:50.663
More important than a similar volume[br]of water in the open Atlantic Ocean.

0:09:51.300,0:09:53.276
These tuna swim the entire ocean.

0:09:53.300,0:09:56.073
They get in the Gulf Stream,[br]they go all the way to Europe.

0:09:56.097,0:09:58.265
When it comes time to spawn,[br]they come inside,

0:09:58.289,0:10:00.014
and these two tuna that were tagged,

0:10:00.038,0:10:02.138
you can see them on the spawning grounds

0:10:02.162,0:10:04.867
very much right in the area of the slick.

0:10:04.891,0:10:07.376
They're probably having,[br]at the very least,

0:10:07.400,0:10:10.153
a catastrophic spawning season this year.

0:10:10.177,0:10:13.671
I'm hoping that maybe the adults[br]are avoiding that dirty water.

0:10:14.017,0:10:18.059
They don't usually like to go into water[br]that is very cloudy anyway.

0:10:18.448,0:10:22.240
But these are really[br]high-performance athletic animals.

0:10:22.264,0:10:25.506
I don't know what this kind of stuff[br]will do in their gills.

0:10:25.530,0:10:27.476
I don't know if it'll affect the adults.

0:10:27.500,0:10:30.317
If it's not, it's certainly affecting[br]their eggs and larvae,

0:10:30.341,0:10:31.528
I would certainly think.

0:10:31.552,0:10:34.895
But if you look at that graph[br]that goes down and down and down,

0:10:34.919,0:10:39.640
that's what we've done to this species[br]through overfishing over many decades.

0:10:39.664,0:10:44.821
So while the oil spill, the leak,[br]the eruption, is a catastrophe,

0:10:44.845,0:10:47.578
I think it's important to keep in mind

0:10:47.602,0:10:51.718
that we've done a lot to affect[br]what's in the ocean, for a very long time.

0:10:51.742,0:10:55.080
It's not like we're starting[br]with something that's been OK.

0:10:55.104,0:10:57.840
We're starting with something[br]that's had a lot of stresses

0:10:57.864,0:10:59.726
and a lot of problems to begin with.

0:10:59.750,0:11:03.776
If you look around at the birds,[br]there are a lot of birds in the Gulf

0:11:03.800,0:11:06.567
that concentrate in the Gulf[br]at certain times of the year,

0:11:06.591,0:11:07.875
but then leave.

0:11:07.899,0:11:10.971
And they populate much larger areas.

0:11:12.687,0:11:16.877
For instance, most of the birds[br]in this picture are migratory birds.

0:11:16.901,0:11:18.743
They were all on the Gulf in May,

0:11:18.767,0:11:21.884
while oil was starting[br]to come ashore in certain places.

0:11:21.908,0:11:26.463
Down on the lower left there[br]are ruddy turnstones and sanderlings.

0:11:26.487,0:11:28.210
They breed in the High Arctic,

0:11:28.234,0:11:30.796
and they winter[br]down in southern South America.

0:11:30.820,0:11:35.631
But they concentrate in the Gulf[br]and then fan out all across the Arctic.

0:11:35.655,0:11:38.781
I saw birds that breed[br]in Greenland, in the Gulf.

0:11:40.152,0:11:43.563
So this is a hemispheric issue.

0:11:43.587,0:11:48.383
The economic effects[br]go at least nationally in many ways.

0:11:48.407,0:11:51.474
The biological effects[br]are certainly hemispheric.

0:11:54.167,0:11:59.360
I think that this is one of the most[br]absolutely mind-boggling examples

0:11:59.384,0:12:02.196
of total unpreparedness[br]that I can even think of.

0:12:02.220,0:12:06.118
Even when the Japanese[br]bombed Pearl Harbor,

0:12:06.142,0:12:07.549
at least they shot back.

0:12:07.573,0:12:11.656
And we just seem to be unable[br]to figure out what to do.

0:12:11.680,0:12:15.316
There was nothing ready,

0:12:15.340,0:12:18.730
and, you know, as we can see[br]by what they're doing.

0:12:18.754,0:12:21.518
Mainly what they're doing[br]is booms and dispersants.

0:12:21.542,0:12:25.294
The booms are absolutely[br]not made for open water.

0:12:25.318,0:12:30.159
They don't even attempt to corral[br]the oil where it is most concentrated.

0:12:30.183,0:12:32.417
They get near shore...[br]Look at these two boats.

0:12:32.441,0:12:35.065
That one on the right[br]is called Fishing Fool.

0:12:35.089,0:12:37.099
And I think, you know, that's a great name

0:12:37.123,0:12:40.181
for boats that think[br]that they're going to do anything

0:12:40.205,0:12:43.277
to make a dent in this,[br]by dragging a boom between them

0:12:43.301,0:12:46.265
when there are literally[br]hundreds of thousands of square miles

0:12:46.289,0:12:49.170
in the Gulf right now[br]with oil at the surface.

0:12:49.194,0:12:52.944
The dispersants make the oil[br]go right under the booms.

0:12:52.968,0:12:56.332
The booms are only[br]about 13 inches in diameter.

0:12:57.167,0:13:00.193
So it's just absolutely crazy.

0:13:00.217,0:13:01.911
Here are shrimp boats employed.

0:13:01.935,0:13:05.876
There are hundreds of shrimp boats[br]employed to drag booms instead of nets.

0:13:05.900,0:13:07.223
Here they are working.

0:13:07.247,0:13:09.044
You can see easily

0:13:09.068,0:13:12.963
that all the oily water[br]just goes over the back of the boom.

0:13:12.987,0:13:14.937
All they're doing is stirring it.

0:13:14.961,0:13:16.559
It's just ridiculous.

0:13:18.404,0:13:20.509
Also, for all the shoreline[br]that has booms...

0:13:20.533,0:13:22.704
Hundreds and hundreds[br]of miles of shoreline...

0:13:22.728,0:13:24.509
All of the shoreline that has booms,

0:13:24.533,0:13:27.219
there's adjacent shoreline[br]that doesn't have any booms.

0:13:27.243,0:13:32.276
There is ample opportunity for oil[br]and dirty water to get in behind them.

0:13:32.300,0:13:36.123
And that lower photo,[br]that's a bird colony that has been boomed.

0:13:36.147,0:13:40.716
Everybody's trying to protect[br]the bird colonies there.

0:13:40.740,0:13:45.971
Well, as an ornithologist,[br]I can tell you that birds fly, and that...

0:13:45.995,0:13:48.300
(Laughter)

0:13:50.971,0:13:56.276
and that booming a bird colony[br]doesn't do it; it doesn't do it.

0:13:56.300,0:13:59.820
These birds make a living[br]by diving into the water.

0:14:00.923,0:14:02.073
In fact...

0:14:03.440,0:14:06.583
really what I think[br]they should do, if anything...

0:14:06.607,0:14:09.744
They're trying so hard[br]to protect those nests...

0:14:09.768,0:14:12.441
Actually, if they destroyed[br]every single nest,

0:14:12.465,0:14:14.501
some of the birds would leave,

0:14:14.525,0:14:16.830
and that would be better[br]for them this year.

0:14:17.715,0:14:19.248
As far as cleaning them...

0:14:20.301,0:14:25.234
I don't mean to cast any aspersion[br]on people cleaning birds.

0:14:25.258,0:14:29.158
It's really, really important[br]that we express our compassion.

0:14:29.182,0:14:32.722
I think that's the most important[br]thing that people have, is compassion.

0:14:33.326,0:14:37.276
It's really important[br]to get those images and to show it.

0:14:37.300,0:14:40.675
But really, where are those birds[br]going to get released to?

0:14:40.699,0:14:43.144
It's like taking somebody[br]out of a burning building,

0:14:43.168,0:14:44.808
treating them for smoke inhalation

0:14:44.832,0:14:48.585
and sending them back into the building,[br]because the oil is still gushing.

0:14:48.986,0:14:52.878
I refuse to acknowledge this[br]as anything like an accident.

0:14:52.902,0:14:56.489
I think that this is the result[br]of gross negligence.

0:14:56.513,0:15:01.276
(Applause)

0:15:01.648,0:15:03.931
Not just BP.

0:15:03.955,0:15:10.612
BP operated very sloppily[br]and very recklessly because they could.

0:15:10.636,0:15:12.583
And they were allowed to do so

0:15:12.607,0:15:17.000
because of the absolute failure[br]of oversight of the government

0:15:17.024,0:15:21.349
that is supposed to be[br]our government, protecting us.

0:15:23.605,0:15:25.114
It turns out that...

0:15:25.138,0:15:28.369
You see this sign on every commercial[br]vessel in the United States...

0:15:28.393,0:15:30.995
You know, if you spilled[br]a couple of gallons of oil,

0:15:31.019,0:15:32.398
you would be in big trouble.

0:15:32.422,0:15:37.029
And you have to really wonder[br]who are the laws made for,

0:15:37.053,0:15:40.725
and who has gotten above the laws.

0:15:40.749,0:15:43.100
And there are things[br]that we can do in the future.

0:15:43.124,0:15:46.176
We could have the kinds of equipment[br]that we would really need.

0:15:46.200,0:15:48.803
It would not take[br]an awful lot to anticipate

0:15:49.176,0:15:51.571
that after making 30,000 holes

0:15:51.595,0:15:54.420
in the sea floor of the Gulf[br]of Mexico looking for oil,

0:15:54.444,0:15:56.837
oil might start coming out of one of them.

0:15:56.861,0:16:00.021
And you'd have some idea of what to do.

0:16:00.045,0:16:02.336
That's certainly[br]one of the things we need to do.

0:16:02.360,0:16:06.409
But I think we have to understand[br]where this leak really started from.

0:16:07.300,0:16:12.647
It really started from the destruction[br]of the idea that the government is there

0:16:12.671,0:16:14.386
because it's our government,

0:16:14.410,0:16:17.294
meant to protect[br]the larger public interest.

0:16:21.300,0:16:25.260
So I think that the oil blowout,[br]the bank bailout,

0:16:25.940,0:16:32.605
the mortgage crisis and all these things[br]are absolutely symptoms of the same cause.

0:16:33.536,0:16:36.405
We still seem to understand that at least,

0:16:36.429,0:16:40.819
we need the police to protect us[br]from a few bad people.

0:16:40.843,0:16:43.846
And even though the police[br]can be a little annoying at times...

0:16:43.870,0:16:45.781
Giving us tickets and stuff like that...

0:16:45.805,0:16:48.330
Nobody says that we should[br]just get rid of them.

0:16:48.354,0:16:51.276
But in the entire rest[br]of government right now

0:16:51.300,0:16:53.162
and for the last at least 30 years,

0:16:53.186,0:16:56.276
there has been a culture of deregulation

0:16:56.300,0:17:01.706
that is caused directly by the people[br]who we need to be protected from,

0:17:02.254,0:17:04.777
buying the government out from under us.

0:17:05.563,0:17:12.563
(Applause)

0:17:15.221,0:17:18.027
Now this has been a problem[br]for a very, very long time.

0:17:18.464,0:17:23.824
You can see that corporations were illegal[br]at the founding of America,

0:17:23.848,0:17:26.556
and even Thomas Jefferson complained

0:17:26.579,0:17:32.196
that they were already bidding defiance[br]to the laws of our country.

0:17:33.462,0:17:36.357
OK, people who say they're conservative,

0:17:36.991,0:17:41.804
if they really wanted to be[br]really conservative and patriotic,

0:17:41.828,0:17:44.872
they would tell[br]these corporations to go to hell.

0:17:45.483,0:17:48.300
That's what it would really mean[br]to be conservative.

0:17:49.107,0:17:53.805
So what we really need to do[br]is regain the idea

0:17:53.829,0:17:57.044
that it's our government[br]safeguarding our interests,

0:17:57.068,0:18:01.276
and regain a sense of unity[br]and common cause in our country

0:18:01.300,0:18:02.929
that really has been lost.

0:18:04.232,0:18:06.162
I think there are signs of hope.

0:18:06.186,0:18:08.276
We seem to be waking up a little bit.

0:18:08.715,0:18:11.727
The Glass-Steagall Act...[br]Which was really to protect us

0:18:11.751,0:18:14.777
from the kind of thing[br]that caused the recession to happen,

0:18:14.801,0:18:18.493
and the bank meltdown and all that stuff[br]that required the bailouts...

0:18:18.517,0:18:22.732
That was put in effect in 1933,[br]was systematically destroyed.

0:18:23.237,0:18:26.974
Now there's a mood to put[br]some of that stuff back in place,

0:18:26.998,0:18:31.519
but the lobbyists are already there[br]trying to weaken the regulations

0:18:31.543,0:18:34.276
after the legislation has just passed.

0:18:34.300,0:18:36.276
So it's a continued fight.

0:18:36.300,0:18:38.348
It's a historic moment right now.

0:18:38.372,0:18:42.385
We're either going to have an absolutely[br]unmitigated catastrophe

0:18:42.409,0:18:44.046
of this oil leak in the Gulf,

0:18:44.070,0:18:46.716
or we will make the moment[br]we need out of this,

0:18:46.740,0:18:48.407
as many people have noted today.

0:18:48.431,0:18:50.087
There's certainly a common theme

0:18:50.111,0:18:52.518
about needing to make[br]the moment out of this.

0:18:52.542,0:18:56.557
We've been through this before[br]with other ways of offshore drilling.

0:18:56.581,0:18:59.276
The first offshore wells[br]were called whales.

0:18:59.605,0:19:02.463
The first offshore drills[br]were called harpoons.

0:19:02.487,0:19:05.276
We emptied the ocean[br]of the whales at that time.

0:19:06.035,0:19:07.731
Now are we stuck with this?

0:19:07.755,0:19:11.667
Ever since we lived in caves,[br]every time we wanted any energy,

0:19:11.691,0:19:15.242
we lit something on fire,[br]and that is still what we're doing.

0:19:15.266,0:19:19.460
We're still lighting something on fire[br]every time we want energy.

0:19:19.890,0:19:23.375
And people say we can't have clean energy

0:19:23.399,0:19:25.711
because it's too expensive.

0:19:26.300,0:19:28.072
Who says it's too expensive?

0:19:28.096,0:19:30.354
People who sell us fossil fuels.

0:19:30.378,0:19:33.276
We've been here before with energy,

0:19:33.300,0:19:37.401
and people saying the economy[br]cannot withstand a switch,

0:19:37.425,0:19:40.637
because the cheapest energy was slavery.

0:19:40.661,0:19:43.418
Energy is always a moral issue.

0:19:43.442,0:19:45.707
It's an issue that is moral right now.

0:19:45.731,0:19:48.274
It's a matter of right and wrong.

0:19:48.298,0:19:49.466
Thank you very much.

0:19:49.490,0:19:50.863
(Applause)