The Gulf Coast Oil Spill

(Yahoo) (USA Today) An oil spill in the Gulf Coast that threatens to eclipse the Exxon Valdez disaster in 1989 spread out of control and drifted inexorably toward the Gulf Coast on Thursday as fishermen rushed to scoop up shrimp and other types of fish before the oil spill hits the shoreline. As of right now, the oil is oozing into Louisiana's wetland. On April 20 the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon exploded and sank in 5000 feet of water. The workers were finishing a well for BP (British Petroleum) about 40 miles Southeast of the Mississippi River. BP operates and leases the oil rig. The spill was bigger and closer than imagined--five times larger than first estimated with the leading edge just three miles from the Louisiana shore. BP estimated that the oil spill was gushing out 1000 gallons a day, which conflicts with the Coast Guard and the government reports. "It is of grave concern," David Kennedy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration told the Associated Press. "I am frightened. This is a very, very big thing. And the efforts that are going to be required to do anything about it, especially if it continues on, are just mind-boggling." The oil slick could become the nation's worst environmental disaster in decades, threatening hundreds of species of fish, bird, and wildlife along the Gulf Coast, one of the world's richest seafood grounds, teeming with shrimp, oysters, and other marine life. The leak from the ocean floor proved to be far bigger than initially reported, contributing to a growing sense among many in Louisiana that the government failed them like they did with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Also, there was a deadly tornado in Mississippi that killed ten people last weekend. President Obama dispatched cabinet officials to deal with the crisis.

The Coast Guard revised the amount of oil spewing from a damaged wellhead at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico to 5000 barrels a day, fives times higher than earlier estimated. Cade Thomas, a fishing guide in Venice, Florida was worried his livelihood would be destroyed. He said they lied to us. They weren't proactive in dealing with the oil spill. Thomas said as soon as it blew up, they should've started wrapping it with booms. The Gulf Coast has been working with BP in trying to contain the oil spill which hasn't been very successful. The types of containment that's used are booms, dispersants, and controlled fires to burn the oil off the water's surface. The solution is to drill a $100 million relief well to plug in the leak. The problem is that it will take three months to drill it. According to USA Today, the Deepwater Horizon had a primary shut-off system that is supposed to turn off the oil in the event of a catastrophic failure. However the shutoff system apparently failed. Jack Gerard, president of the American Petroleum Institute, was asked why the oil industry didn't have more effective safeguards in place to prevent spills such as this one. He said he didn't know why this spill happened and they're meeting with government officials in the highest levels to figure out a solution.


The spill could easily eclipse the Exxon Valdez's 11 million gallon oil spill that leaked from the grounded tanker Exxon Valdez in Alaska's Prince William Sound on March 24, 1989. Engineers so far have been unable to stem the underground gush of oil. This spill could grow much larger than the Valdez oil spill because there's much more oil underground than there was at the Valdez tanker. If it's leaking 5000 gallons of oil a day, then it could lose approximately 150,000 gallons of oil within a month if it continues at losing oil at the same rate according to the BP estimate.

This oil spill could amount to a serious crisis if not contained very quickly. It could prove to be an ecological nightmare for the wildlife and the fish in the Gulf Coast if this continues. It's also a waste of oil as well. The fishing industry could potentially be devastated if the oil continues spreading and it's not contained. Some people fish for a livelihood along the Gulf Coast. Much of our shrimp that's shipped to the local supermarkets come from the Gulf Coast. BP needs to take responsibility for this along with the federal government in trying to clean this mess up. BP is the company that operates the rig that exploded. It's not an American company. President Obama said that he's suspending any future offshore drilling until safeguards are put in place to prevent another oil spill like this from happening. However, the new leases that are to be issued for offshore drilling wouldn't be issued until 2012 anyway. BP and the Coast Guard both weren't proactive quickly enough, according to what I've read. This explosion happened ten days ago. When an oil spill like this happens, it's imperative that containment procedures are used immediately to prevent wildlife from dying as well as to try to prevent the environmental damage it could cause. I'm not a radical environmentalist but we should do everything possible to prevent pollution like this from happening. It's not good for the oceans, the wildlife, and for the economy. Deep sea fishing is part of the economy in that area.

This oil spill will give the federal government and various groups an opportunity to exploit this for their gain. The government seems to always be looking for a crisis to exploit. White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel stated you can't allow a good crisis go to waste. The environmentalists will use this oil spill as an excuse to make their point that offshore drilling is too hazardous for the environment. We need offshore drilling but we need to use safeguards to prevent such leaks as what happened ten days ago. We have the technology to drill and design oil wells that can be contained to where they won't pollute the environment. Our oil companies could possibly use this situation as another excuse to hike up the crude oil and gasoline prices once again. They could say they have no choice but to raise prices with the amount of oil we're losing on a daily basis. Congress will probably use this as an opportunity to pass a cap and trade bill. The government will use this crisis as a means to restrict America's energy resources. While at the same time there will be individuals and businesses making money off cap and trade. Al Gore has been on a global warming crusade for the last several years. Look how rich he's become. I was listening to Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly one time on the O'Reilly Factor last year and they were both discussing how Goldman Sachs would stand to profit from cap and trade. The government will exploit this disaster to further restrict our natural energy resources so they can enslave the American people while at the same time they will become rich off it. That's how this works. Somebody will stand to benefit financially through this whole ordeal. There are government officials, individuals, and businesses that will become rich off the backs of the American people. That's how crooked this whole thing is. The sooner this oil spill can be stopped, the better.