Thoughts on the oil spill

For 63 (64 by the time I post) days now, the news headliner has been the oil in the Gulf of Mexico. I have mixed feelings about this. First and foremost, as a biologist, I am saddened at what this is doing to the ecosystem and environment. The number of species, from birds, fish, mammals, and small inverts that are being affected is heart-wrenching; it will be a domino affect, starting with phytoplankton, and moving all the way up the chain of life. But also as a biologist, I know that dolphins and turtles have an increased mortality rate during this time of year, and that the results from necropsies won't be know for quite a while. I am not quick to point the finger to blame for these deaths, though if statistics show an above normal average, then yes, maybe. Honestly, I am tired of hearing about it. The pictures are hard to look at, and make me want to be there helping the turtles and birds, or doing wildlife surveys. I find them unbelievable at times....

It has become a big political mess and lots of finger pointing. I am not a fan of politics, and really don't affiliate with anyone particular. I am not going to say the President is responsible for the spill; its not like he went out and caused the explosion. Just like Bush didn't cause Katrina (which is a whole other can of worms..) Or how 'there were signs' or 'the workers noticed issues' 'a problem was bound to occur', yada yada yada. Haven't we heard that before? Like before terrorist attacks and other disasters? I guess I find all the arguing pointless. Stop blaming and finger pointing and focus on getting the thing fixed and the clean up, then worry about pinning the blame. People were irate that whats his name BP CEO was out at a yacht race or something. He has a degree in business or something, not engineering. He is not going to be the one to go out there and cap the well. He can only so so much; in watching him speak, I can tell he is stressing. And its not like this is a very hush hush operation- you can watch every thing that they do, even a live cam of the oil leak. Maybe I have different feeling because I am not on the coast, feeling the direct effects. I do want to be out there helping the wildlife though. I heard Trace Adkins on Larry King Live; he was pointing out that this is a British company, not US, and the moratorium on drilling is insane. Trace used to work on a rig, so he knows a little what he is talking about. Its a way of life; we need oil, gotta come from somewhere. Miners die in mines, but we still do it (granted its not having a detrimental environmental impact). Drilling is just as safe as construction and similar professions.

Today a federal judge blocked the moratorium that the administration set in place, which will be appealed, so on and so forth. Can we just focus on one thing? Like stopping the oil and the clean up? There will be plenty of time to play the blame game. Other issues I am reading about is lack of people working to clean up. Not just anyone can go out there and clean up or work; you have to be trained, know how to handle the situation. Political people aren't going to fix it; its the engineers and bubbas that work on the rigs that are going to figure something out and get it taken care of. As for the clean up, its going to take a while.

I guess the administration could have handled it better. I don't follow that part too closely. BP should have done a better job of taken care of their business. Yes, there were things they could have done, like doing things right. I doubt that the CEO or president of BP knows exactly every detail that goes on in the company, like the exact day to day operations of a rig. So yes, fine them, make them pay like crazy, to the families of those injured/killed on the rig, to those contracted to do the clean up, those whose way of life is on hold. Today I read an article blaming the Coast Guard for lack of cooperation and help. I might be partial, but how dare someone blame them. I am pretty sure they are doing all they can, which is patrols, investigations, and so forth. They are watching out for the safety of everyone out there working, so if they have to do things that end up slowing a process down, its because of safety.

Media hype doesn't help (like it ever does). I do enjoy the pictures of people standing in the oil, swimming in the heavy areas, standing in it, and so on. Don't you think there is a reason that the clean up workers are in hazmat suits, or wearing certain clothes and masks? Yeah, there will be health issues I am sure as a result of this, but at least some are taking precautions...

I am sure I could go on and on about various aspects of the issue. And I am sure I will think of more things later on...but what's the point? I am not the most educated in anything going on (political especially), getting most of my info from the news, but I do read NOAA's site, and a few others. Bottom line: 11 people died, many were injured. Since the collapse of the well, oil has been leaking into the Gulf of Mexico, with an impact yet to be foreseen. Lets focus on what is really important