Simple concept here.  In my view this is how BP turns this oil spill situation around. First, stop the freakin leak.  Second, become the world leader in environmental clean-up and prevention technology.

BP has done irreparable harm to the Gulf of Mexico. How irreparable remains to be seen, and, it depends on BP’s commitment to making things as right as they can be.  Now.

BP will forever be known as the evil, money-grubbing #¢#∞¡!itches  who befouled the Gulf of Mexico if it doesn’t do the right thing by humanity and invest billions in learning how to prevent and manage disasters like this.  BP, listen!  Hire the scientists, spend the money, partner with governments, other oil companies, NASA, anybody who can help, and do the right thing. The survival of your company and brand depend on it.  More importantly, the survival of the Gulf ecosystem depends on it.

You’ve dabbled with being a Green company before, but your dalliance, and lack of commitment to a corporate green pledge you made under the leadership of Lord Browne in 2000 has come back to haunt you.  You claimed then you’d be more “responsible.” If only you had.  Your “green” logo is now, to me, a very bad joke.

BP, if you don’t become the world leader in green energy (and clean-up technology), your name will forever be Mud.  Your brand will be the John Wilkes-Booth of corporations for centuries to come.

Call it Innovation because We Did It.  Call it Innovation to Restore BP’s Integrity. Call it Arnold the Pig, but admit your responsibility, and get to work fixing the problem.

In the board rooms of BP, right now, it’s all about damage control.  Oddly, and sadly, this knee jerk reaction is keeping them from solving the problem, and causing more damage. Their focus is on blame-throwing and not on creative, innovative, problem solving. Until their focus changes, the entire world will suffer.

Everybody knows BP has a lot of money and scientific resources. Instead of simply fining them, taking the money and pouring it down a rat hole, why not force them to focus their technology and money on creating highly effective new clean up/prevention technologies?  If such technologies were invented, might not BP benefit by being able to drill safely and cheaply where nobody else can?

If I were Obama (with congressional approval) I’d give them deadlines for various technology invention milestones.  Have NASA draw up the specs and supervise. If they fail to meet the deadlines they pay huge, business-crippling fines.  If they don’t fail, we get the best clean-up ever done, and perhaps a model for how an energy company should work.