This may be the single largest ecological disaster in U.S. history. Unprecedented and absolutely disastrous.
The rest is here.
Offshore drilling is not and has never been a viable solution for anything.
Maybe Bill Maher put it best when he said:
But with the oil making landfall in Louisiana — and set to reach the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coasts by Monday — the impact is already being felt. Louisiana fishermen in Venice docked their boats this afternoon, knowing waters could be closed for a long, long time. Lawsuits have already been filed by seafood companies against BP and Transocean, the rig's operator. Analysts estimate that the Louisiana fishing industry could sustain $2.5 billion in losses, while Florida could lose $3 billion in tourism income.
BP CEO Tony Hayward said in an interview with Reuters that the company would compensate those affected by the spill, but the cost could be $8 billion or more — and the company's stock price has already dipped 12%. And the cost to the Gulf's ecosystems could be unimaginable. "Our thirst for fossil fuel means we've been playing Russian roulette with our environment," said Ken Rosenberg, director of conservation science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "The gun just went off."
In response, President Barack Obama put a freeze on new offshore-drilling leases until a review of the accident could be carried out. But he declined to back away from the pursuit of offshore drilling. "I continue to believe that domestic oil production is an important part of our overall strategy for energy security," Obama said on Friday. He went on to remind reporters that BP was ultimately responsible for paying for the cleanup but that "we are fully prepared to meet our responsibilities to any and all affected communities." As the accident goes from a spill to something far worse, it may be BP paying the check, but ultimately the buck will stop in the White House, and Obama will be judged.
The rest is here.
Offshore drilling is not and has never been a viable solution for anything.
Maybe Bill Maher put it best when he said:
"Every asshole who ever chanted 'Drill Baby Drill' should have to report to the Gulf Coast today for cleanup duty."