Washington Post: On April 20, as lethal amounts of oil and gas crept into the drill pipe of BP’s Macondo well in the Gulf of Mexico, the attention of the energy and environmental world was elsewhere. The Jefferies investment firm issued a report that recommended buying shares of Halliburton, whose cement job was buckling under the sea floor. Environmental groups were getting ready to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. The Obama administration and its Senate allies were planning to unveil a …