The President and BP
It has now been 3 days since the president went on National television, and told us that he was in charge of the oil spill, and that BP would be held accountable. Judging by the chairmen of their board referring to the Gulf residents as the “small” people, and the deliberate attempt to not answer questions when the CEO of BP went before congress yesterday, I would say that nothing has changed at all.
It sounds good to say that BP will put 20 billion into a clean up fund, or set a side 100 million for people, who are laid off because of the oil spill, but it is over 4 years, and people need relief now. What people need is for the spill to be stopped, and now, not later.
Now, there is a new wrinkle in the mix. Scientists say that the natural gas leaking with the oil may permanently make parts of the Gulf of Mexico dead zones for marine life. Apparently, the gas has the affect of cutting off oxygen in the water, and that is what keeps fish and organisms alive. Even if we get up the oil, the harm the gas will do will inevitably be just as bad.
I am especially concerned, because the gas is colorless and odorless, and will not be taken as seriously because it can’t be seen by the naked eye. If there is enough of a gas build up, their could even be a wild fire on the surface of the water. How scary is that?
The government and BP both need to move faster and do more sooner. They need to work together, not blame one an other for the problem getting worse. They both need to listen to the people on the ground that have generations of experience understanding the gulf region and way of life. It’s not just about the amount of money or resources you claim to throw at the problem, it’s about solutions, and answers, today, not five years from now.
Oil War on our Home Land
The beaches of oil are a pun us, instead of shark sightings closing the beaches, its oil, and globs of it. All along our southern coast, pristine beaches and wild life sanctuaries are being affected by the oil now washing up on the white sand beaches, and seeping into our wild life preserves. When will it ever stop?
The fishing industry was the first to feel the affects of the oil catastrophe, and now its tourism. Beaches are closing every day, people can’t even swim in the waters, and hotels and restaurants are loosing big bucks. Many of these businesses are already laying off people as they try to survive, but the reality is, many of them will be forced out of business. Potentuley, hundreds of thousands of people could find them selves un-employed, and thousands of businesses will be forced to close their doors.
The timing for this man made disaster couldn’t have been any worse. Just as our economic recovery is beginning, along comes the oil. The clean up costs will be in the tens of billions, and the job and tourism losses will even be higher. This isn’t just your average oil spill, it’s an economic disaster.
Yes, all of the blame might fall on the lap of BP, but the losses to our economy and ecological system means we all pay in the end. Even if the oil flow is stopped by the end of August, the long term damages will last for deck aids, possibly even for generations.
Every day, it becomes more apparent that BP is still not giving government officials accurate information, and that government officials/agencies are not reacting fast enough to protect our invaluable resources. I don’t have any answers, I don’t even have any solutions, but what I do know is that (transparency) is not getting the job done. It will take an army, a rapid mobilization of people and resources. As hard as people are working to save our beeches, fishing grounds, and coastal communities dependant on the Gulf of Mexico to survive, this is a war, a war that we can only win if we throw every resource we have at it now, and not six months or one year from now.
Oil Oil Oil
Oil Oil Oil
Have any of you seen the pictures on television of the oil that is spilling out from under the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico? It’s disgusting isn’t it?
I ask you, how, in the year 2010 with all of our technology, with all of our laws, and with all of our theoretical over site could we allow this to have happened. I know, we put the cart before the horse. We put our trust in the oil companies, in big business, and look where it got us. Here’s a question for the government. If there is no one in the government, from any federal agency who has the knowledge to fix this thing, then how on earth could we have ever thought we had over site when it came to ensuring that an accident like this would never happen?
How could government inspectors ever be expected to ensure that every thing was safe, when it is quite obvious that they wouldn’t have known what to do, or what to look for to prevent this catastrophe from ever happening. What was our government thinking?
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