Obviously the Gulf of Mexico oil spill takes the lead today – because it is going to be with us, doing untold damage, for months and possibly years ahead.
You are probably well aware that major corporations, such as British Petroleum, employ Public Relations people to guide them in their responses to such disasters – primarily with the intention of playing down the severity of an event that has so many side effects.
Their first interest is of course self preservation – which is why they have said “it’s not our accident – but it’s our responsibility.”
If you understand what that means, let us know.
Our free newsletter is necessarily somewhat brief in its coverage of such issues, because our focus is on providing you with information related to being prepared for emergencies – and for tens of thousands of people around the Gulf Coast, this is indeed a livelihood-threatening disaster.
Fishing grounds have been closed, and as the oil slick spreads – or sinks into the ocean because of the use of toxic dispersants that are only designed to get it out of sight rather than clean it up – more and more people are going to find themselves out of work.
In fact, we will not be the least bit surprised to see hundreds and possibly thousands of people migrating out of that region.
Meanwhile, in its efforts to withhold vital information from the public, be aware that BP has released only a 30 second clip of the oil gushing from the blowout – and it is entirely possible that this volcano of oil is blasting crude 5000 feet to the surface at a rate two or three times greater than they will admit.
Update – how about maybe 10 times greater? “U.S. Coast Guard estimates of the amount of oil surging into the Gulf of Mexico from the Deepwater Horizon rig may be low by a factor of 10 or more, National Public Radio has reported.
“Analysis of sea floor video made available by BP suggests that 70,000 barrels a day are pouring into the Gulf, not 5,000 barrels a day as estimated by the Coast Guard.
“If the analysis by Purdue University professor Steve Werely is correct, the amount of oil in the Gulf has already exceeded the 1989 Exxon Valdez tanker accident in Alaska.”
The fact is that even the Exxon Valdez disaster 20 years ago in which almost 11 million gallons of oil fouled the Alaska coast is no yardstick to judge this one by.
Here we have a coastline that is home to millions of people, ports through which a huge proportion of US goods are received or shipped, fishing grounds that till now have kept up with some of the multi-billion-dollar demand for sea food of various kinds, and, within the Gulf itself, hundreds of other oil rigs (and capped wells) which the US relies on for much of its fuel requirements. And an oil slick vast enough to more than cover Hawaii, or San Francisco – or Washington DC. And that was after only 20 days….with three months to go before they even look like getting their interception well completed…if they can.
As of now, BP’s latest effort at controlling this gusher is to try and insert a 6 inch pipe into the broken and jagged riser and divert as much oil as possible into a tanker ship on the surface.
Now imagine a street demonstration in which a water cannon is being used for crowd control.
To stop themselves being blown off their feet, the demonstrators decide to stuff a smaller diameter pipe into the water cannon’s nozzle….from 5000 feet away.
What are their chances of doing that?
We will tell you quite bluntly that no-one, absolutely no-one, can say with any certainty at all when this blowout will be brought under control – if ever. Nor can they tell us what the full range of its impact will be on wildlife, sea life, family life – and the future. (There are still places in Alaska where contamination exists – so what are the chances of the Gulf of Mexico returning to “normal” any time soon?).
