BP Spells Big Problems
If a picture says a thousand words, then a video must say a million. This latest Gulf of Mexico fiasco may spell big problems for President Obama by the end of his first term. When certain media and rightwing pundits first begin criticizing the President and comparing his response to the oil spill in the gulf, with that of President Bush’s to Katrina, I dismissed it as mere politics. However, as the oil spill becomes increasingly more devastating by the day, I am starting to believe that this may very well be Obama’s dark cloud that looms over him, throughout the remainder of his first term in office.
This is a stark presumption, I know, but it’s one that I conceded to only after hearing Purdue Professor Steve Wereley reveal a more damning estimate on the amount of oil that he believes is spewing into the gulf each day. Using a technique called particle image velocimetry, Wereley and other scientific minds have been able to analyze a tape that BP released on Tuesday, and calculated, what they claim is a more precise projection of oil leaked in the gulf per day. Initially, the US Coast Guard had estimated that the compromised rig was leaking up to 5,000 barrels per day, but estimates using the aforementioned practice upped that number to around 70,000 barrels, and that’s modestly speaking. This is a startling realization if it is true, and more than likely it is, being that the scientist say that this technique has a 99% rate of accuracy (when conducted properly).
Obama, oh boy, I foresee many forthcoming problems on your hand. While some may argue that the President has done his best to manage the situation. I respond by saying that sometimes a little more than our best is required. I mean, why in heavens name is the federal government still allowing BP to call the shots, when it comes to this oil spill? It makes no sense. Yes, I agree that this conglomerate should be made to clean up their own mess, but since they’re clearly not capable of doing so in a timely manner, I for one believe that our government should act with all deliberate speed to use whatever resources we can to resolve the problem, and that we should just stick BP with the bill at the end of the day. I’m sure that a company that profited a little more than two and half billion dollars in recent quarters can pick up the tab, and that they can definitely do more than what’s being asked of them to do now.
Check out the disturbing video after the jump!
Source: BP video from May 11 showing oil and gas streaming from the Deepwater Horizon well.
