By now, you have most likely heard of the great BP Oil spill happening down in the Gulf of Mexico. For those of you who read us from the other side of the World, that’s the part between the state of Florida and the Country of Mexico.
Currently, the oil spill is still leaking at a estimated rate of “5,000” barrels per day. That is a low-ball estimate by BP. Why are they low balling the estimate? If this thing is ever over, BP will pay for how much oil was spilled in the ocean. By low balling the estimate they will save hundreds of millions of dollars in claims to residents and the federal government. This is the same tactic that Exxon used in the 1989 Valdez Disaster. You remember that?
Back in 1989 at William Sound, Alaska, the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, hit Prince William Sound’s Bligh Reef and spilled an estimated minimum 10.8 million US gallons (40.9 million litres, or 250,000 barrels) of crude oil in the ocean. The oil leak finally stopped as Exxon hired a company to clean up the mess. Do you know who that company was?
BP, PLC which is the same company trying to plug up the hole a mile down below the ocean.
“BP owned a controlling interest in the Alaska oil industry consortium that was required to write a cleanup plan and respond to the spill two decades ago. It also supplied the top executive of the consortium, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co. Lawsuits and investigations that followed the Valdez disaster blamed both Exxon and Alyeska for a response that was bungled on many levels.”
So, we have BP, the same company trying to plug the hole that did a botched job on the cleanup in the Valdez disaster. Is anyone else alarmed by this? Oh wait. It gets worse.
Transocean the firm that owns the off shore drilling rig Deepwater Horizon has made several attempts to evade liability in the wake of the oil spill. Transocean tried to use a strange 159-year-old maritime law that limits their liability for the oil spill. On May 14th the company paid a dividend to its shareholders to the tune of 1 billion dollars. Sounds like that company has “abandoned ship” doesn’t it?
It isn’t like Senate Democrats have tried to pass a proposal raising the oil spill liability cap from $75 million to $10 billion. But each time it gets objected with republicans calling it “arbitrary” which is exactly what the Obama Administration has called it.
Worse still, is the toxic chemical dispersant that is being used in the ocean to disperse or break up the oil. Because of this, there is a invisible toxic bloom on varying depths in the ocean.
But besides all of that the fact remains. Everyone is being so calm about this gulf oil disaster. Do you realize that we cannot stop this thing? Over 640 Million has been spent and we have poked a hole in our planet and now its spewing death uncontrollably. We’ve basically killed a large swath of the gulf but the government or BP has refused to admit it yet.
The absolute worst part of this is they can’t figure out to stop it.
“Plug the Damn hole” guys.
P.S. “BP told congressional investigators that pressure tests on a drill pipe hours before the deadly explosion that caused the Gulf of Mexico oil leak flagged up a “fundamental mistake,” a memo released by congressmen Henry Waxman and Bart Stupak said.”
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