live and loud: British Petroleum

Unless you’ve fallen into a very, very deep hole, you have probably heard about the worst ecological disaster in decades, That is an oil well Leak in the Gulf Of Mexico south of poor Louisiana, Whose been hit with some of the worst ecological, and natural disasters in the past few years.

On April 20th A drilling rig owned by Transocean Ltd. which in turn is owned by British Petroleum exploded killing 11 people, and injuring 17 others and creating a massive oil leak 5000 feet below the surface of the ocean. The leak is now a logistical, and environmental nightmare, which will haunt many gulf coast States and other nations in the area for decades to come. When the Problem first occurred BP downplayed it as not that bad and had expectations that it would be fixed very quickly, they estimated that it was leaking about 1000 barrels of oil into the ocean a day, which was a gross in estimate, And really a flat out lie. BP Which is the fourth largest company in the world, with revenues of over 200 billion dollars a year, was far more concerned with its public image to investors rather then fixing the problem. Since the April 20th explosion the disaster has become a household name all over the world being covered by international media 24 hours a day.

As a few weeks have passed the magnitude of the situation has been brought forward to the United States and the world, Experts in the field from all over the world are now on site and trying to figure out the damage and how to fix the issue. On May 27th an Updated estimate of the leak was released which was 12000-19000 barrels of oil a day, however some estimates are up to 100000 barrels of oil a day which is 16 million litres PER DAY being leaked into the ocean, hopefully that estimate is wrong. The nature of oil being lighter than water is for it to float to the surface and spread out. 1 drip of oil will spread out 100 times on the surface of water. The oil slick created by this leak is now about 3800 square miles, (6000 square kilometres), but there are massive underwater plumes of oil that have yet to make it to the surface so the scope of the disaster is yet to be realized.

Then there is the environmental damage created from this incident, both short term and long term, Oil is a horribly toxic substance to living things, and will kill almost anything immersed in it, including, all creatures big and small from whales to plankton. The major problem with oil is that water and oil DO NOT MIX whatsoever due to there physical and chemical make up, so the oil will not breakdown and the whole area will have toxic contamination. The sheer volume of oil being leaked is disgusting and this will be the worst ecological disaster ever. All types of plants, animals and sea life in the affected area will see shocking loss of life and will probably never return to pre spill numbers.

This Disaster Really seems to outline the culture of giant companies like BP, and the worldwide obsession with fossil fuels, and many others in America and around the world. Obviously BP knew right from the get go this was going to be bad for them, yet there first move was not to get a huge cleanup effort going it was to assure there investors and stockholders everything was going to be fine. The three main companies involved in this are BP, Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton who manufactured much of the equipment used for these rigs. (Dick Cheney, The Ex Vice President of the United States Used to be President, CEO and chairman of the board of Halliburton and still has massive investment ties and powerful connections within the company). Unlike in other countries using similar rigs the United States Does not mandate the use of shut off valve at the bottom of the well which is much of the reason this situation is so complicated.

The United States is no doubt pissed about this disaster and President Obama Will use the full extent of the law to go after the people and companies responsible for the damage created. BP has being named responsible for the leak and will have to pay out of its own pocket to fix the situation, However, there is no monetary price you can put on the damage created, you are talking about damage to the earth. After a month long series of unfortunate events to try and rectify the situation in the Gulf, BP was able to install a cap on Thursday and has not stopped but slowed the leak. The political, environmental and economical fallout remain to be seen but it will not be good.

This disaster also outlines America's and the rest of the worlds insatiable need for oil and fossil fuels. Looking to the short term which is all that really matters to to most people and companies currently, Fossil fuels and there by products are no doubt the cheapest and most efficient way to power the world we live in in terms of trucks, trains, ships, electricity, transport and many of the staples we live by. If You look at the full scale and long term effects of using fossil fuels to power our world, from the risks of extracting, to transporting to burning these fuels. It is far worse then spending the extra money now to start using more environmentally friendly modes which long term will be way better, i guess that is the nature of consumeristic nations, get it cheap, who cares about the effects.

Putting Out The Blaze