It’s been nine days since the explosion on BP’s oil rig off the coast of Louisiana and things only seem to be getting worse. More oil is leaking into the Gulf than expected and by this time the oil slick has likely reached the fragile coastline. Containment is next to impossible and we’ll be dealing with the aftermath for years to come. As the federal government helps the efforts, Obama has reportedly stated that no new drilling will be allowed until officials can figure this whole mess out. Great news! While it’s not an official ban, at least new offshore drilling is on hold for the time being.
This morning on Good Morning America, White House senior adviser David Axelrod
said, no new drilling until “there is an adequate review of what happened here and what is being proposed elsewhere.” Obama is rethinking his stance on offshore drilling compared to a month ago, when he
lifted the ban on offshore drilling because it was crucial to national energy security. This change comes in response to Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, who,
on Thursday called for a moratorium on all new offshore oil exploration while the cause of this rig explosion is under investigation.
To clarify his statement, Axelrod goes on to say, “All he has said is that he’s not going to continue the moratorium on drilling but… no additional drilling has been authorized and none will until we find out what happened here and whether there was something unique and preventable here.” Although not an official ban, this is good news for the environment and hopefully we can keep another disaster like this one from ever occurring again.
Cleanup crews are working fervently to protect the nearby shorelines and contain the spill, but with 5,000 barrels leaking out a day, there’s a lot of oil to roundup. A number of methods are being attempted to deal with the spilled oil and the leaking rig including chemical dispersants, barricades, a containment box around the rig, and drilling relief wells. An investigation has been started to determine the cause, which could likely be human error, and the heads of BP are expected to testify.
Watch the video of Axelrod’s statement here.
Via ABCNews
photos credits: NASA Earth Observatory and NOAA
Everyone is making a big deal about the “bigot” gaff British Prime Minister Gordon Brown made. But because I’m a ruthless SOB who knows how to get thing DONE… I’m going to point out that our beloved President Obama made even a bigger blunder a while back when he opened the East Coast for offshore drilling.
WHO KNEW that safe, harmless British Petroleum oil rig in the Gulf was going to blow up and cause the worst environmental disaster since the Exxon Valdez. I’m sure all you “Drill Baby Drill” right-wing, fanatic rednecks in Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Texas and Florida are looking forward to all that valuable oil washing up on your coastline and wetlands… you’ll be RICH, right?
(lol… You pathetic, morons chant “Drill Baby Drill” but think Oil Companies should NOT be responsible for SPILLS and let the government using YOUR tax dollars to take care of the environmental disasters. Ohhh and guess what? The oil from that doomed rig wasn’t even benefiting the USA. That oil was going to Communist China…
WHAT?
I’m going to WRITE, call talk radio, make speeches and work tirelessly until you right-wingers go down in history as the worst sucker fools ever. Republicans and their Corporate masters have ravaged and expatriated most of this nation’s wealth and resources… WHY WOULD ANY GREAT AMERICAN SUPPORT THAT? The way I see IT, Conservatives are a bunch of anti-American traitors.
That’s the problem here… President Obama has been TRYING so hard to cater scandalous multinational Corporations and their nutcase Republican/Conservative flunkies… he’s forgetting about the serious Progressives who got him in the Whitehouse.
EVERY TIME Obama announces Center Right policy decisions to make Republicans happy his poll numbers go DOWN in the community that VOTED for him in 2008. You got to STOP this Mr. President. The
Right-Wing ISN’T WORTH THE SACRIFICE… I WANT THAT CHANGE that was promised m#*~/’s!
The LAST thing the USA needs right now is for the Republican Party low grade thought processes to TAKE BACK Congress…
I’m overjoyed to see the Democrats are FINALLY starting to take on the Republican Party of NO! Harry Reid must of got a shot of testosterone or something because he muscled the Republicans to allow debate on Wall Street Reform. OK Republicans, filibuster! Explain to the American PEOPLE exactly WHY you think regulation and reform are bad ideas.
Now that the entire Gulf Region of the USA is threatened by this horrific oil spill… maybe Republican voters can remember Bush/Cheney removed all safety and environmental regulations from oil rig operations.
All legitimate EVIDENCE proves the Republican Party is setting up the American PEOPLE for a big fall we’re going to take because of all the waste, fraud, abuse, scandal, sexual deviancy, corruption, lies, incompetence, job outsourcing, off-shore tax evasion, reckless economics, welfare for the rich, war profiteering, Constitutional violations AND a Corporate Crime Wave of epic proportions…. The WORST looting of a nation’s wealth and resources in the history of MANKIND! All the result of 8 years of Bush/Cheney and the Republican Controlled Congress of 1994-2006…
Where was the Tea Party anger THEN? ya #*~/ ignorant hypocrites.
consciousmc.blogspot.com
Dems will be out in November. Common sense will again reign and drive all you liberal ideologues back to your dorms or one room eco capsules, whichever.
Then what are you gonna do? Maybe write a longer paragraph in ALL CAPS this time!