BP disaster should come as no surprise

When I returned to Illinois three years ago, after a 20-year absence, I was horrified to read that BP Gas Co. was petitioning the state of Indiana to increase the amount of waste materials it is allowed to dump into Lake Michigan.

Our lake is the jewel of the Midwest, providing water, fish, recreation, etc. for four states, and they are, and have been, dumping noxious waste into it. How then are we surprised at BP's complete disregard for the safety of our coasts?

The Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, and all the members of the commission whose job it was to oversee offshore drilling need to join the ranks of the unemployed.

Also, the people of the U.K. who are screaming on television that their BP stocks are losing value need to try to imagine what our coastal people, wildlife and businesses are losing.

The oil isn't invading their tight little island.

Marilyn Fleming

Libertyville