Where is the Outcry for Barack Obama’s Oil Spill Response?
George Bush was vilified for not responding quicker to the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Well, just as it is with most things, the media tends to give the current administration a pass on an even worse response rate. Since Obama waited a full 9 days to even acknowledge the severity of the situation, he deserves to answer for his ineptitude.
Even more troubling is that the White House response has largely consisted of dispatching tort lawyers to New Orleans to start the wonderful process of making sure that lawsuits abound over the crisis. Here’s an idea. Why don’t you worry about stopping the oil leak before you even think about legal actions?
Even worse is the fact that Obama is shutting down other rigs as a result of the tragedy that have absolutely nothing to do with the BP disaster. Equally infuriation is the fact that Obama announced on April 30th that he was outlawing new drilling in the gulf for the forseeable future. Yeah, lets harm our domestic oil output, putting more dependence on foreign oil imports from the middle east……that makes sense.
A timeline for the Obama response can be seen here in a great post by Doug Ross.
http://directorblue.blogspot.com/2010/05/obamas-katrina-illustrated-timeline.html
How Bad is the Gulf Oil Spill?
Let’s review this crisis, and the gravity of the situation that is facing the gulf coast. The best estimate is that the rig is leaking about 200,000 gallons of oil per day. If engineers have to drill down and install a relief well to stop the leak, the work will take about 90 days. Given estimates of what already has leaked, some estimate that could be three Exxon Valdez spills headed for the gulf coast and, in the worst case, South Florida. There has even been concern that the ocean currents could carry the spill as far as the Atlantic Ocean.
However bad the reports may be, lets try to put this spill in perspective.The New York Times puts it the best by comparing the worst spills in history to the current crisis.
“The ruptured well, currently pouring an estimated 210,000 gallons of oil a day into the gulf, could flow for years and still not begin to approach the 36 billion gallons of oil spilled by retreating Iraqi forces when they left Kuwait in 1991. It is not yet close to the magnitude of the Ixtoc I blowout in the Bay of Campeche in Mexico in 1979, which spilled an estimated 140 million gallons of crude before the gusher could be stopped.
And it will have to get much worse before it approaches the impact of the Exxon Valdez accident of 1989, which contaminated 1,300 miles of largely untouched shoreline and killed tens of thousands of seabirds, otters and seals along with 250 eagles and 22 killer whales.”
What does the future hold with the Gulf Oil Spill?
Lets hope that we stop politicizing things, and come up with a fix for the problem, instead of filing lawsuits. After all, BP announced today that they are going to pay for the clean up, and all associated costs with the disaster. And let’s hope and pray that the spill isn’t as severe as many fear.
the oil spill in Mexico would surely be one of the greatest environmental disasters for this year.’*:
Worst oil spill in US history. Thanks to the wonderful people at BP. Please stop the madness.
Obama is taking his time. There is no money for him to make here, why get involved.
Oh my god,This oil spill will go down in history as the one that ruined the Gulf of Mexico and polluted most of the East Coast beaches as well.
Obama misguidedly thinks the spill serves him as a wedge issue (evil oil companies – despite their handsome political contributions); therefore, finds no urgency in the clean-up effort.
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i could readily say that Barack Obama will be one of the greatest US Presidents*;*
Obama misguidedly thinks the spill serves him as a wedge issue (evil oil companies – despite their handsome political contributions); therefore, finds no urgency in the clean-up effort.