Unlike the Beverly Hillbillies, BP's 'shot in the ground' - in this case a mile below the surface of the gulf - will not lead to a destitute family living in a mansion in Beverly Hills, happily ever after. That was fiction. In real life, shrimpers and fishermen, living catch to catch, will lose their livelihoods as the shrimp and fish lose their lives in a thick gooey mess, whose surface presence understates the enormous damage being done below the surface.

This is a dirty, dangerous industry, with a record even worse than King Coal's. See here and here for long term damage assessments, which history shows will almost certainly be too low.

The Center for Biological Diversity has just put up a new, and constantly updated website where you can get a lot of information and take action steps.

This is a short recap of what may turn out to be the worst oil spill (really, it is a an oil gusher) in history, but it would be erroneous to compare it to the Exxon Valdez, which, at the end of the day, was just a single oil tanker with a finite amount of oil to spill (10 million gallons). The proper comparison is to the Ixtoc 1 Oil disaster, where:

Approximately an average of ten thousand to thirty thousand barrels per day were discharged into the Gulf until it was finally capped on March 23, 1980.^[4] Prevailing currents carried the oil towards the Texas coastline. The US government had two months to prepare booms to protect major inlets. Eventually, in the US, 162miles (261km) of beaches and 1421 birds and were affected by 3,000,000barrels (480,000m³)[1] of oil.^[4] Mexico rejected US requests to be compensated for cleanup costs.

For some reason, the MSM seems to forget about this disaster, maybe because it was created by those "sloppy Mexicans" or because it happened 30 years ago, or simply because "Mexico rejected US requests to be compensated for cleanup costs." Whatever the reason, it took 9 months to cap it, and it was the second worst oil spill in history.

Today, BP will attempt to lower a cap - Chernobyl style - over the oil gusher, with a pipe leading to a waiting ship a mile above the surface to collect the mixture of oil and other chemicals, which, it is hoped, can be safely separated and disposed of while a new well is drilled sideways over the next few weeks and months in order to staunch the flow - a mile below sea level - by remote controlled robots. The technology has certainly improved since Ixtoc 1, but the risks have risen even higher. If this doesn't work, or it makes things worse, there is not much else in BP's or the Government's arsenal. Will this go on 9 months like Ixtoc 1, draining billions of gallons and deadening the Gulf, for decades?

Author's Website: http://newthinking.blogspot.com/

Author's Bio: Scott Baker is a Senior Editor and Writer at Op Ed News, a Writer for DailyKos, and is the author of Neitherworld - a two-volume novel blending Native American myth, archaeological detail, government conspiracy, with a sci-fi flair. He has a blog: http://newthinking.blogspot.com/ He also manages a Google Group focused on Geonomic Principles: http://groups.google.com/group/common-ground-nyc Scott has several progressive petitions on Change.org: Help the Terminator save California (by setting up a State Bank) http://www.change.org/actions/view/help_the_terminator_save_california and A new form of capitalism: Geonomics http://www.change.org/actions/view/a_new_form_of_capitalism_geonomics and Close the Gap (in the NYC Greenway's East Side) http://change.org/actions/view/close_the_gap_2 Scott was an I.T. Manager for New York University for over two decades, where he initiated computing, developed databases, established networks for two major departments and earned a Certificate for Frontline Leadership. He had a video game published in Compute! Magazine. Scott now chooses to use his computer for the greater good. He is a recent graduate of the Henry George School of Social Science in New York City and has had an article published in the Georgist newsletter - Groundswell - put out by Common Ground. Scott is a modern-day Renaissance Man with interests in astronomy, history, natural sciences, psychology, philosophy, Native American culture, and all future-forward topics; he has been called an adept syncretist by Kirkus Discoveries for NeitherWorld. Scott grew up in New York City and Pennsylvania. He graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Pennsylvania State University and was a member of the Psychology honor society PSI CHI. Today he is an avid bicyclist and is active in several Green organizations and Progressive organizations such as Transportation Alternatives, East Coast Greenway, Common Ground, and has a presence on Facebook, Change.Org, OpEdNews, and PickensPlan. Scott is a strong proponent of the Georgist Single Tax: "Tax the use (and abuse) of natural resources, not wages or capital," which would dramatically reduce use of finite resources - which, rightfully, belong to all of us, and increase productivity in Earth-saving ways, while virtually eliminating unproductive Speculation (by taxing away the fuel for it) and decrease poverty and Social Injustice. Technorati code: a72h4zxgud

May 7, 2010

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