Obama's Katrina

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill

What may possibly be the worst oil spill in United States history began on April 20th, 2010 when a ball of methane gas escaped from an exploratory well and exploded inside the oil column causing a tempest of fire. The explosion has been described as a sudden explosion that gave them left than 5 minutes to evacuate. Rescuers on the scene described the burning as being so hot that it was melting the paint of the rescue boats. On April 22nd, the coast guard received confirmation that the rig had sunk, but that same day an even worse nightmare was realized, and oil slick was found spewing from the collapsed rig. What would occur in the next 40 days was nightmarish and tragic to the extreme, bring back memories of Exxon-Valdez, only hovering in the background is always the possibility that this time could be worse.
The Gulf Coast Spill

Originally the spill was estimated at releasing about 5,000 barrels a day; however, recent imaging has suggested that about 70,000 barrels of crude could be escaping into the Gulf of Mexico everyday.
BP has since attempted to resolve the issue numerous times and ways. First was the by manually closing the valves that failed to close in the first place. They attempted this six different times and on every occasion was met by failure. They did in the end, eventually close the third and smallest leak spot but two others remain and recent studies show that the rate of flow was not decreased.

Most recently BP tried to shut down the well completely using the 'top kill method' to try and pump heavy drilling liquids into the open shaft to disperse and suppress the oil and then pour a cement top to seal off the well completely. However, as of May 29th, BP had announced that this method too had failed and that they now had no other way to effectively stop the spill until relief wells could be built, which at the earliest is in August. They have since moved on to a new plan to remove the damaged riser and then attach a lid and funnel to the shaft in order to decrease the flow and control the area it affects, thus making it easier to clean up.

This measure may actually initial increase the flow of oil because it will remove the bends in the pipes that have thus far restricted the flow. Releasing the flow may allow an unprecedented amount of oil to spew into the gulf before the cap and funnel can be attached. Yet, sadly this is the last and best effort left at BP's disposal.

To be honest, I have tried to put of writing about this catastrophe because simply I am just as lost as anyone on this issue. I truly don't know what can be done. I feel that BP and other oil companies have, once again, misled the world into believing they could manage this type of issue but in the end they really can't. People are hounding the government to jump in and fix it yet to me that's just petty fear. Answer this, who has more experts on oil and oil technology and deep sea technology. the government or oil companies? At this time, unfortunately it would be BP and the other oil companies, our government doesn't have any real expertise here. Not only that, where does the governments role give them authority to even step in. One must remember BP is not only a foreign company, but it is a foreign company owned by the British government (thank you Winston Churchill). Not only do they not have constitutional grounds here, but can it really be believed that the US will persecute and harass a company belonging to our biggest trading partner and ally? I think not. It's a sad perspective but true.

This lack of power, ability, and entrapment is why the Deepwater Horizon Spill is President Obama's Katrina. He is being unfairly blamed because simply he was assured the companies could handle this, but it was a lie. Much like New Orleans levies, BP's words no longer hold much water. It's sad and painful and I wish BP luck and good fortune in fixing this catastrophe, but one must stop blaming Obama. Because whether he will ever admit it or not, this will be his Katrina. One gets the largest natural disaster in US history and the other gets what may be the largest man-made catastrophe, the two are similar beyond imagination. Again unfortunate, but true.

Later,
Cody



(Photo: Courtesy of Reuters)