The British Petroleum oil spill is being called the biggest environmental disaster ever faced in the US. The following discusses the reasons why it is the biggest environmental disaster for the US, the solutions BP has presented, and the money for fixing the spill and dealing with the repercussions.
Largest US Environmental Disaster:
White House Energy adviser Carol Brenner says its "probably the biggest environmental disaster we have faced in this country". What makes it the biggest environmental disaster ever? As of the first of June, the following is estimated:
- 25 percent of the Gulf of Mexico fishing waters is affected.
- 491 birds, 227 turtles, and 27 mammals have been found dead on the Gulf Coast shoreline.
- 100 miles of Louisiana coast line has been "oiled" .
- Consumer agencies are on alert due to Louisiana being the source of 40% of the seafood supplied in the United States.
The above data was listed in Reuters as the reasons that are driving the reference for Deep Water Horizon spill to be labeled as the biggest environmental disaster in the US to date.
BP Solutions to the Oil Spill that Are Not Working:
The public out cry for British Petroleum to make a difference is growing larger by the day. There is also growing concern about the upcoming hurricane season. The latest solution to capping the spilling oil is called "top kill" and is being tested to see how well it would work. Top kill involves using cement and mud to force fill the pipe that is currently leaking so as to stop the outflow. The plan for relief wells to be dug is in motion, but that will take until August. A pollution control dome did not work.
As of 29 May 2010, BP reported that the top kill was not successful either. "The Government, together with BP, have therefore decided to move to the next step in the subsea operations, the deployment of the Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) Cap Containment System."
The Lower Marine Riser Package (LMRP) is the next step, but BP truly does not know what is going to work and what will not work. The LMRP is an effort to add a control valve back to the one that broke. This procedure is risky, but BP doesn't have a choice in trying. With over 100,000 gallons of oil being spilled a day as an estimate, BP has to try.
Dan Pickering, an energy investor in Houston, explained in a Business Week interview that the deadlines are not reliable. Fred Aminzadeh, a professor from University of Southern California said worse case scenario is that BP cannot plug the leak. Historically, large oil spills have taken 10 weeks to 9 months to get under control. BP is currently digging relief wells but this may be a stop and go process due to the hurricane season.
Money to Maintain Ecology and to Support the Fisherman along the Gulf Coastline:
In the background of the busy efforts to contain the spill and to plug the spill, there are political efforts going on to keep the backlash at bay. BP has made contributions to encourage people to still visit Florida and has hired fisherman to help in the containment in an effort to sustain the economies being effected by the spill.
Cost and Future Repercussions of the Spill:
Currently, CNN posts predicted cost is 12.5 billion dollars to clean the mess up. BP's current cost is 8 billion. Supposedly BP has put away 3 billion to study the ecological effects. It is now being said that the estimates of the 5000 barrels a day going into the ocean could be wrong based on other calculations done by oceanographers and scientists at University of Florida and other southern state subject matter experts. From a simple observer's standpoint; why can't the leak be stopped and then spend the money and effort to take care of the ecological, financial, and political effects? Not only that, but what is to come of the criminal investigations that have been initiated by US Attorney Eric Holder to investigate if US off shore drilling laws were broken before the explosion on Deep Water?
The oil spill is the largest ever in US history and it will have political and ecological effects that go on for years to come, but right now, the leak itself may be for the next year. The US claims that BP can handle it, but the English are already skeptical over the company's financial welfare. The company's stock value has dropped 42 billion in six weeks. Analysts in England are concerned because BP is a major stock in most retirements funds in the country. Thus the impacts of this mistake will effect many, and the affects will be broad. The devastation is unknown except for being able to say that it will be great.
Tobey Strauch - I graduated from Iowa State University with a Masters in Industrial Systems Engineering. I have traveled around the world to England, ...
