BP Could Do This Tomorrow

Here’s a little something BP could do right now, a tiny gesture to make us feel better about the devastation they are wreaking in the Gulf of Mexico. 

Without squabbling, without quibbling, without calling in the lawyers, they could show up in the affected states and start paying every grown man and woman who is currently without work because of the spewing oil to help with cleanup.  BP could set up training stations, rescue areas for the oil-injured animals, and bring in environmental experts to train.  They could provide decent safety clothing and equipment for all; they could provide health insurance (it can be a plain vanilla plan) and they could pay at least $20/hr—which in this day and age isn’t so much. 

They could do that.  They could start doing that right now, if they wanted. 

This wouldn’t get them off the hook, but it might buy them a smidgen of goodwill.

How do we get them to do it?