OILmageddon is what happens when two oil boys are in charge of our federal government. During their term in office, President G.W. Bush and Vice President had appointed lobbyists to run our federal regulatory agencies.
The BP, Deepwater Horizon and Halliburton's unstoppable oil volcano, enabled by the W. Administration crusade to drill, baby, drill, continues to spew devastation into the Gulf regions of Louisiana and Alabama. Mississippi and Florida are next in line as recipients of the same ecological and economic carnage.
A Hurricane Creekkeeper John Wathen of Alabama and volunteer pilot Tom Hutchings of SouthWings flew over the Gulf of Mexico on Friday to take a look at the massive oil slick spreading from the site of the BP disaster.
The Gulf is Bleeding.
See the horrifying video below the fold.
Cross posted on Texas Kaos and The Burnt Orange Report.
A number of excellent, enlightening and truly informative diaries (thank you fishgrease and unenergy) have been written here to address this issue and I have provided links to hopefully, all, if not most of them below. I've also provided links to articles written in today's Houston Chronicle that reveal Transocean's efforts to limit its liability and BP's judge shopping activities right here in Houston.
It should come as no surprise to anyone (except for the Rush and Glenn teabagging Republicans) to learn that the Bush/Cheney Administration appointed lobbyists to serve as federal government "regulators."
The Interior Dept. was no exception.
Sex, drugs and oil spills.
For the Bush administration was, to a large degree, run by and for the extractive industries — and I’m not just talking about Dick Cheney’s energy task force. Crucially, management of Interior was turned over to lobbyists, most notably J. Steven Griles, a coal-industry lobbyist who became deputy secretary and effectively ran the department. (In 2007 Mr. Griles pleaded guilty to lying to Congress about his ties to Jack Abramoff.)
Given this history, it’s not surprising that the Minerals Management Service became subservient to the oil industry — although what actually happened is almost too lurid to believe. According to reports by Interior’s inspector general, abuses at the agency went beyond undue influence: there was "a culture of substance abuse and promiscuity" — cocaine, sexual relationships with industry representatives, and more. Protecting the environment was presumably the last thing on these government employees’ minds.
Now, President Obama isn’t completely innocent of blame in the current spill. As I said, BP received an environmental waiver for Deepwater Horizon after Mr. Obama took office. It’s true that he’d only been in the White House for two and half months, and the Senate wouldn’t confirm the new head of the Minerals Management Service until four months later. But the fact that the administration hadn’t yet had time to put its stamp on the agency should have led to extra caution about giving the go-ahead to projects with possible environmental risks.
Spill, baby, spill forever for their are no quick fixes for this calamity.
BP finally released its own video of the oil leak volcano.
BP is obviously in over its head. It has no clue as to how to stop the poisonous and toxic horror that is slowly creeping into the coastal regions of Louisiana and Alabama.
Meanwhile, when on the ropes, BP blames the carnage wreaked by the oil volcano on Halliburton and Deepwater Horizon. I have not heard of Deepwater Horizon before but most of us in Texas, especially Houston, know all that we need to know about Halliburton.
The blame game.
The Republican enabled robber oil barons will never, in a day, take personal responsibility for their heinous ecological and economic devastation anywhere on the planet whether it is in the U.S. or overseas.
Like the Wall St. bank robber barons, BP, Dick Cheney's Halliburton and Deep Water Horizon set up a gambling casino in our own back yard of the Gulf of Mexico.
Adios to jobs related to the fishing industry. Forget about buying or ordering oysters, shrimp and crabs at our favorite local restaurants in the Gulf region. Adios to the beach tourism industry when the stinking black oil sewage creeps into the water, sand and slowly seeps into the lobbies of Gulf front hotels and casinos.
Meanwhile the incompetent and obviously clueless oil boys attempt to fix the unstoppable oil leak with, excuse me, but Jesus H. Christ, garbage, golf balls and tires?
Golf balls, tires and garbage? In the 21st Century?
BP must be winging it all right.
Update 5/13/10.
The Houston Chronicle reports today that Deep Horizon is seeking to establish liability limits.
If this happens, guess who will pick up the tab for the mess? That would be you and me the taxpayers.
It is interesting to note that BP has requested a particular federal judge to hear its case.
BP has asked that the cases be heard by Houston-based U.S. District Judge Lynn Hughes.
I'll be going on a little fishing trip to learn all that I can about Judge Hughes.
Today's front page Houston Chronicle article also reports that there were multiple failures and shoddy workmanship that are responsible for the leak.
http://www.chron.com/...
Bad wiring and a leak in what's supposed to be a "blowout preventer." Sealing problems that may have allowed a methane eruption. Even a dead battery, of all things.
New disclosures Wednesday revealed a complex cascade of deep-sea equipment failures and procedural problems in the oil rig explosion and massive spill that is still fouling the waters of the Gulf of Mexico and threatening industries and wildlife near the coast and on shore.
The public also got its first look on Wednesday of oil gushing from the broken pipe that rests nearly a mile under water as BP PLC, the well's operator, released a video taken by a remotely controlled camera. Oil flowing from a break in the yellowish pipe becomes lighter in color as it mixes with natural gas. Over the past 21 days more than 4 million gallons of oil have been released.
A litany of worrisome events and findings that were at play on the night of the well explosion and pipe rupture was described in internal corporate documents, marked confidential but provided to a House committee by BP and by the manufacturer of the safety device. Lawmakers released them at a House hearing.
This is what happens when lobbyists are in charge of our regulatory agencies.
Thank you W.
Thank you Cheney.
Thank you BP.
Thank you Halliburton.
Thank you Transocean/Deep Horizon.