An Event with No End in Sight, Sadly
It’s Day 59 and counting since the BP Deepwater Horizon well blew up in the Gulf of Mexico, initiating the spill that has wreaked incredible environmental and economic damage and completely consumed the news cycle. This event is a sad and frustrating story on multiple levels, not the least of which is that 11 people were killed in the blast on April 20th.
At the current estimated leak rate of 35,000 – 60,000 barrels per day, the well is producing the equivalent of an Exxon Valdez sized spill every 5 – 6 days. (Check out this graphic). Think of that- less than every week an Exxon Valdez load of oil is dumped into the Gulf, and now consider that the Exxon Valdez disaster is estimated to have produced damage to sea life that will last for 30 years (until 2019). Now, if you already aren’t depressed enough, layer in the great difference in population density and economic activity between Alaska and the Gulf of Mexico, and it’s anyone’s guess what the amount of damage is and how long it will last. I think it will dwarf the $20 billion that BP has set aside to pay claims to the poor people directly impacted by the spill.
Furthermore, frustration continues to build with the American public as one of the biggest companies in the world, BP, and the largest and most powerful government in the world, the US, can’t provide reliable information or clear expectations on when the leak will be plugged. In lieu of speeding up the end to this calamity and in the midst of revelations of mutual incompetence and negligence, both have resorted to bickering and finger pointing. When the most powerful man in the world doesn’t know “whose ass to kick”, it’s clear that we are experiencing a complete, unmitigated and unprecedented institutional meltdown.
In case you’ve forgotten, below are some of the more discouraging milestones achieved since the explosion. (If you want the gory details, here’s a complete and developing timeline of the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster).
April 23 – Coast Guard stops its search for survivors of the explosion
April 27 – Oil spill is as big as the State of Rhode Island
April 28 – Report reveals government regulator not doing its job
April 30 – Oil reaches Gulf Coast Shore
May 2 – Pres. Obama visits Louisiana to assess damage for first time
May 8 – BP containment dome fails to stop leak
May 11 - Halliburton, BP and Transcean point blame at one another
May 12 – First video of leaking well released by BP to media
May 14 – President Obama criticizes oil company executives shifting blame
May 14 – Report surfaces that MMS let BP drill without assessing threat to endangered species
May 18 – Interior Secretary Ken Salazar acknowledges failure of government
May 19 – Scientists criticize White House response to spill
May 20 – BP admits 5,000 barrels per day spillage is too small
May 24 – Report shows lack of oversight by regulators
May 27 – MMS Chief Elizabeth Birnbaum resigns
May 29 – BP abandons “Top-kill” strategy
June 1 – Atty Gen Holder announces criminal investigation into oil spill
June 3 - NCAR releases computer model that suggests ocean currents will carry oil into Atlantic
June 5 – BP announces initial success of cap over leak
June 7 – Government report reveals years of disregard for regulations at BP
June 8 – President Obama makes “Whose ass to kick” comment on the Today Show
June 10 - BP’s stock hits 13 month low
June 10 – Government scientists double oil flow estimates
June 11 – President Obama accuses US Congress of hypocrisy
June 15 – President Obama gives first speech from Oval Office
June 16 – BP sets up $20 billion fund at US insistence
June 17 – BP CEO testifies before Congress
…..
And still the oil spews into the Gulf of Mexico. With no clear end in sight.
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