“We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused,” said Barack Obama last night on his television address about the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
As a line in a speech, it sounds good, as if President Obama is taking charge. In real life, how on earth is it possible for BP to pay for the damage that it’s caused with its dangerous, sloppy offshore drilling?
How, for example, is the Obama Administration going to make BP pay for the damage caused to the goblin shark?
The goblin shark is a fascinating animal. It’s a rare animal, almost never seen, spending most of its time swimming in the deep waters below 600 feet, where it’s always dark. It has curving, needle like teeth, and eyes that seem to pop out of the side of its head, next to a kind of paddle-shaped flat snout. Remarkably, it has a set of semi-detached jaws that can be projected forward out from its head, to snap quickly into the water, snatching up prey. To see this maneuver in action, take a look at the video below.
Where the goblin shark lives in the Gulf of Mexico, there are now huge clouds of doubly-toxic suspensions of crude oil and Corexit dispersant. There has also been a huge amount of methane released into the waters of the Gulf, encouraging microbial growth which appears to be creating large areas where the water does not contain enough oxygen for fish to breathe.
In short, conditions in the goblin shark’s Gulf habitat have become downright deadly. Given that the goblin shark was already extremely rare in the Gulf, it’s possible that the species will be wiped out there.
How is BP going to clean that up? What’s it going to do? Conduct operations to capture goblin sharks from other parts of the world and transplant them into the Gulf? Start a captive breeding program?
No, BP isn’t going to do any of these things. BP’s so-called “clean up” will be a superficial affair, removing only the pollution that’s easy for people to see from the land and on the surface of the water. Down deep, the filth will remain.
BP might pay hotel owners for economic damage caused by lack of tourists. BP might pay fishermen. But, is BP going to pay for the damage its causing in the deepwater?
Not one stinking penny.
Besides the fact that the spill hasn’t been stopped yet (and probably can’t be stopped now), the costs will be on-going for perhaps decades. Secondly, how do we put a value on what corporations consider a free right – the ocean as dump – when we try to come up with a figure for this lost resource that absorbs CO2, provides food & recreation, and also gives us a sense of connection to the earth when enjoying it (via jet skiing, snorkling, sport and commercial fishing, water skiing, or just looking at its beauty from a beach)?
Lastly and connected to my first comment, please read this (comment from the Oil Drum):
http://www.theoildrum.com/node/6593#comment-648967
I am surprised that people still do not see these type of things are done in purpose, just like the chicken-pig flu. Obama is just a puppet, but his puppeters are trying hard to create a catastrophe. Number 1. To weaken USA economy (why do you think Obama is giving all those stimulus, but making no plan to recover the money, but from the middle class) so that we cannot help ourselves much less help other countries. Number 2- To avoid USA to drill its own oil, so that we can keep making our enemies rich (Muslims and Comunists), so they then, can attack us with our own money.
Obama is a traitor and should be prosecuted.
Anonymous, aren’t you aware that Barack Obama was at the front of effort to EXPAND offshore drilling? He’s been part of the Big Oil drill baby drill problem, not some Communist Islamic opponent, as you suggest.
If you’re going to have a crazy conspiracy theory, you should at least have it loosely based upon the facts, rather than simple mistaken impressions. You’re lacking the veneer of plausibility.