As an oil glob the size of Delaware oozes toward the Gulf shoreline, it's time to think not about curtailing offshore drilling but how to better protect against another catastrophic spill.

The cause of the rig explosion still is unknown, but this much is clear: BP and the federal government could have done more to prevent such a major environmental accident.

Since the 1980s, the industry has used some of the world's most sophisticated technologies to extract oil from increasingly deeper depths of the Gulf. But, according to reports, the rig didn't have the state-of-the-art remote-control shut-off switch used in Norway and Brazil as a safeguard against underwater spills. In the United States, oil companies successfully argued against a federal effort to mandate the switch, arguing that a catastrophic crude oil spill in the Gulf was extremely unlikely.

Until last month, history was on their side. Now the first major Gulf rig mishap in more than two decades has placed the industry's credibility and future of deepwater offshore drilling in doubt.

The remote switch is a $500,000 piece of equipment, an unbelievably small sum compared with the mounting costs to federal and state governments, BP and the fishing and tourism industries. Even if it's determined that a switch would not have prevented the accident, the fact that the industry wouldn't make this modest safety investment is troubling.

BP has promised to pay all cleanup costs and provide compensation for property damage, personal injury and commercial losses — although the company initially offered only minuscule cash settlements to coastal residents and fishermen it hired to help in the cleanup. Unless BP and its rig partners voluntarily go beyond the federal cap of $75 million of liability for spill-related damages, many companies along the Gulf Coast face debilitating losses.

The companies must make good on these promises. And the federal government must pursue tighter spill-prevention regulations, including mandating cutting-edge technology, to restore public confidence in offshore drilling as part of the nation's energy portfolio.

President Barack Obama, who has supported expanding offshore drilling, now says no new leases will be approved until a thorough review of the BP accident is completed. That's a good thing because it's important we get answers.

Unfortunately, the accident also has provided Congress with yet another excuse to not move ahead with comprehensive energy and climate change legislation. And that's as frustrating and damaging to this nation's energy future as is the oil slick in the Gulf.