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The Cost of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
- By Damian Myers
- Published 06/14/2010
- Local Politics
- Unrated
Damian Myers
Damian Myers is a journalist who writes for many newspapers and Internet sites. He is known for his recent articles on the the odd and probability of slot games. Damian is currently focusing American politics as he finds the government to be more exciting than the most popular online casino games. Damian is trilled by the Obama registration and he looks forward to sharing his opinion about it.
There is no doubt that the oil spill which happened in the Gulf of Mexico is a tragedy on an absolute massive level. The Deepwater Horizon offshore drilling platform that was near the Louisiana coast exploded and the costs have been horrendous. The 11 workers who died was just the beginning. The damage it has done to the environment will never be calculated.
First and foremost the fishing industry has been hit hard by this. The oil which has leaked into the gulf has wiped out all of the fish. Additionally there are numerous bird species which have been affected by it. Every which way you look at it, it is a disaster on a massive level.
The spill doesn't look good for the Presidency of Barack Obama. He seems to treat his presidency like a game of bingo. Maybe you can get away with thinking your job is a bingo game in some fields but when you are President of the United States you simply can't get away with it. He has to be decisive and he needs to act quickly.
As a result of all this his public approval ratings have taken an absolute nose dive. 53% say he has done poor or very poor. Similarly many people are unimpressed with the response of BP. And why wouldn't they be when there are dead pelicans, herons, turtles and dolphins being pulled out of the water every day.
Unfortunately all early attempts to seal the pipes and stop the leak have failed.
They have been able to close the valves and the oil has continued to spill. In the interim, the currents and tides will cause the oil to be taken to other parts of the surrounding areas. It just is a horrific situation.
BP doesn't come out of this looking very trustworthy. Their CEO Tony Hayward said the spill was 'quite tiny; in comparison to the size of the ocean. He also said the environmental impact would be very modest. The US military didn't think so and has joined the efforts to try to clean things up. This includes trying to burn the oil off. BP has already spent close to a billion dollars in trying to clean it all up and when you calculate how much money they lost for the oil being spilled in the first place, this is all one massive catastrophe.
Then you have the state of Louisiana arguing with the Federal bodies about how to best deal with the mess. It claims that it will take the government to court if it doesn't allow it to act as it best sees fit. It claims the 10th Amendment to the US constitution allows a state the right to act as it sees fit in an emergency.
Every time a disaster such as this happens you would like to think it is the last time. You would hope that it is. They said the same thing after the Exxon Valdez. Sadly people are careless and the costs for this are paid by a lot of other people. It is unfortunate but what can you do.
First and foremost the fishing industry has been hit hard by this. The oil which has leaked into the gulf has wiped out all of the fish. Additionally there are numerous bird species which have been affected by it. Every which way you look at it, it is a disaster on a massive level.
The spill doesn't look good for the Presidency of Barack Obama. He seems to treat his presidency like a game of bingo. Maybe you can get away with thinking your job is a bingo game in some fields but when you are President of the United States you simply can't get away with it. He has to be decisive and he needs to act quickly.
As a result of all this his public approval ratings have taken an absolute nose dive. 53% say he has done poor or very poor. Similarly many people are unimpressed with the response of BP. And why wouldn't they be when there are dead pelicans, herons, turtles and dolphins being pulled out of the water every day.
Unfortunately all early attempts to seal the pipes and stop the leak have failed.
BP doesn't come out of this looking very trustworthy. Their CEO Tony Hayward said the spill was 'quite tiny; in comparison to the size of the ocean. He also said the environmental impact would be very modest. The US military didn't think so and has joined the efforts to try to clean things up. This includes trying to burn the oil off. BP has already spent close to a billion dollars in trying to clean it all up and when you calculate how much money they lost for the oil being spilled in the first place, this is all one massive catastrophe.
Then you have the state of Louisiana arguing with the Federal bodies about how to best deal with the mess. It claims that it will take the government to court if it doesn't allow it to act as it best sees fit. It claims the 10th Amendment to the US constitution allows a state the right to act as it sees fit in an emergency.
Every time a disaster such as this happens you would like to think it is the last time. You would hope that it is. They said the same thing after the Exxon Valdez. Sadly people are careless and the costs for this are paid by a lot of other people. It is unfortunate but what can you do.
