I can’t believe it is still leaking.
The internationally significant, oil spill known as the Deepwater Horizon Disaster, which exploded on April 20, 2010, killing 11 workers and injuring 17 others, is still spewing approximately 200,000 gallons of oil per day, 5.8 million gallons of oil in total… so far (or that they can count). Many are estimating its size of the oil spillage to be that of the state of Rhode Island… and growing.
Aside for the obvious implications of this disaster, the TRUE HATIN’ is in the details:
1. The fact the U.S. Government downplayed the severity of this disaster.
If you can recall, 29 days ago when the rig exploded and began the gusher that is still taking place today, the original, breaking news stories were all to eerily calm. It focused on the explosion, the lives lost… but not much on the massive amount of oil spilling into the ocean. Maybe they were just not aware of it, but to me, if the pressure of the oil being drilled is so momentous that it could cause an explosion that kills 11 people, you may have a bit more than a spill meant for Brawny ®.
Even today, almost an entire month after the spill began, the powers that be are still mum on what this disaster is doing to our eco-system. I am hearing speculative story, after story, about the new methods they are using in an attempt to plug the massive hole they’ve created in the earth, or to fix the equipment that was used for drilling, but where are the stories about how this will affect our water supply, animal and marine life, worldwide, especially if they can’t contain the spill soon?
Also, where is Obama on this matter? Many news outlets are calling this disaster his “Hurricane Katrina,” and are liking him to George Dubbya by claiming that he hasn’t taken a strong enough stance on accountability and clean-up of this disaster. I’m on the fence when it comes to his responsiveness because he’s been a bit “wishy-washy.” Obama stated in his first speech on the subject that BP would be held accountable and that this was their mess to clean. Sounds good… until you realize that this same speech about the spill, was given on May 2, 2010, 12 days after the spill first began. Lacking a bit in our sense of emergency, eh?
What was George W’s response time to Katrina? Four days to make a public announcement of the government’s plans to help; five days to sign a $10.5 billion relief package (using the Hurricane Katrina timeline via Wikipedia). It’s not looking too good for you Obama.
The one GOOD thing that this disaster has done; it shut up many drilling enthusiast and Tea Party participants. Not much coming from their corner these days. I think they’re eating a bit of oil-filled crow.
2. Why haven’t we shut BP down?
In researching for this post, I came across an article in the Huffington Post titled, “BP Oil Spill: 7 Secrets BP Doesn’t Want you to Know.”(http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/05/05/7-secrets-bp-doesnt-want_n_563102.html)
I found a few things of interest that I’d like to share:
- In 2005, an explosion at BP's Texas oil refinery left 15 workers dead and injured 170 others. The cause? BP had ignored its own safety regulations and left a warning system disabled.
- In 2006, 267,000 gallons of crude oil spread onto the tundra of Alaska's Prudhoe Bay due to a tiny hole in the company's pipeline. The company had been told to check the pipeline in 2002, but ignored the warning. The spill was not even discovered until five days after it occurred, and was the largest in the region's history.
- Just last fall, BP fought off safety regulations, continuing with business as usual; In a September 14, 2009 letter to MMS, Richard Morrison, BP vice president for Gulf of Mexico production, fought against an MMS proposal that would require operators to have their safety program audited at least once every three years, instead of the voluntary system that is currently in place. Morrison wrote: "We are not supportive of the extensive, prescriptive regulations as proposed in this rule. ... [the voluntary programs] have been and continue to be very successful." MMS has estimated that the proposed rules would cost operators about $4.59 million in startup costs and $8 million in annual recurring costs.
- A Wall Street Journal report also found that BP's oil well in the Gulf of Mexico did not have a remote-control shut-off switch that is used by two other oil-producing nations as a last-resort safeguard against underwater spills. The device is voluntary in the U.S., and while it is not clear whether it could have prevented the spill, it is another indicator of BP's lax safety measures and proclivity for convenience over caution.
The list goes on.
BP has also proven, time and time again, that they'd rather pay off their mistakes rather than take steps to prevent them. They have paid $485 million in fines in the U.S. alone in the past five years. BP paid $87.43 million to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in October 2009 -- the largest fine in OSHA's history -- for the Texas refinery explosion. They paid an additional $50 million to the Department of Justice for the same explosion. Last month, BP paid $3 million to OSHA for 42 safety violations at an Ohio refinery. The company was also fined $20 million by the Department of Justice for the Alaska Prudhoe Bay spill, which violated the Clean Water Act.Mother Jones' Kate Sheppard notes that all this is pocket change compared to the company's $5.65 billion in profits in just the first quarter of this year, up 135 percent from last year. According to CNBC, while this increase in profit does have to do with an increase in oil prices, it is also due to the company's extensive cost-cutting.
After all of this information, my question is simple: Why is BP still in operation?
How many more disasters does it take to keep these guys from operating? We clearly see that there is some, albeit laxed, oversight and fining when problems are found, but the fact that there are so many, persistent issues calls for the company to be denied from operating until it can clean up its act.
3. Almost Out of Options.
In 29 days they have tried almost everything. Burning the oil failed (Side note: how much did seeing fire under water freak you out? For me, it was a bit un-nerving to see that everything I have ever been taught about the make-up of both elements could be refuted in one fouls swoop.), as well as all attempts at fixing the three points of seepage. Pouring chemicals into the water to dissipate the oil was deemed too risky to the composition of the water, especially because the effects of the chemicals weren’t clear on what it would do to sea life. Let’s face it… they are running out of ideas for a) how to stop the leaks and b) how to clean up the spill.
You know it’s bad when the government and BP begin accepting suggestions and ideas, from us pedestrian commoners, for how to fix this terrible mess. Mark my words; this disaster has the capacity to change the entire course of our eco-system for years and even decades to come.
Get out your Brita and Pur Filters... and KEEP ON HATIN’!
