The Worst Is Yet To Come

Unfortunately, the oil leak has been gushing for about 41 days (Apr 20).  Oil was first noticed on beaches on or about day 10 (Apr 30).  After an additional 31days of oil flow, the amount of oil making its way to shore does not seem to be equivalent in magnitude to the amount of oil discharged from the well.

Today we are told that plumes of oil are floating below the surface in large quantities and that the attempt to cap the well has ended.  The well continues to spill oil into the Gulf.

It would appear that large quantities of oil have yet to impact the Gulf shore or other areas as the currents decide where to carry the oil.

These submerged plumes may be due to the use of detergents at the well head.

We are also told that BP is not permitting photographs in the area.

The following information comes from The Center for Biological Diversity:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2010/post-disaster-permits-05-07-2010.html

The MMS . . . exempted BP’s offshore drilling plan from environmental review by using a loophole in the National Environmental Policy Act meant only to apply to projects with no, or minimal, negative effects such as construction of outhouse and hiking trails. . . .  MMS exempts hundreds of dangerous offshore oil drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico every year.

Even as the BP drilling explosion . . . continues to gush hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Department of Interior’s Minerals Management Service (MMS) has continued to exempt dangerous new drilling operations from environmental review. Twenty-seven new offshore drilling projects have been approved since April 20, 2010; twenty-six under the same environmental review exemption used to approve the disastrous BP drilling that is fouling the Gulf and its wildlife.

“For Secretary Salazar to allow MMS to exempt 26 new oil wells from environmental review in the midst of the ongoing Gulf crisis shows an extraordinary lapse of judgment. It is inconceivable that his attention is apparently on providing BP with new environmentally exempted offshore oil wells instead of shutting down the corrupt process which put billion of dollars into BP’s pocket and millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.”

Review the exempted oil wells at:
http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/public_lands/energy/dirty_energy_development/oil_and_gas/gulf_oil_spill/pdfs/MMS_Approved_Drilling_2010-05-07_v2.pdf


The Department of the Interior, MMS, and our legislators have failed us in a manner that will cause chaos in the Gulf region for many, many years to come.  Documentary photographs are not allowed.

It is really scary to think that our Government believes they can create trust and confidence in their handling of a very serious attack on the Gulf while they delay actions until studies are completed, they prohibit photographs in the area, and they lack the necessary hardware to fight the oil coming ashore. 

The showing of the Federal Government in this case has left much to be desired.  How can the Federal Government handle anything like health care, climate control, cap and trade, or other issues.  The new laws simply drain our economy of its life in order to redistribute the wealth to a few selected individual and associations. 

If our Government cannot protect us from abuses by BP (maybe that's not the plan) then how can we allow the government to continue to pass laws taking our wealth and giving it to others, in and out of the United States?  I do not really want to bail out the spendthrift Greeks.  But we have not choice-the global governance now has our money to give away as they see fit.