At the time of this writing, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has continued unabated for one month. On April 20, 2010, the Mississippi Canyon 252 Deepwater Horizon oil well exploded, killing 11 people. The rig sank on April 22. Since then, we have witnessed a series of failed efforts to stop the oil discharge followed by a flurry of accusations and recriminations by BP, Transoceanic (the operator of the rig), Halliburton (the contractor employed to expedite the drilling operation), and the U.S. government. But none of these parties are fully responsible