Oil and Water

The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is everywhere lately, and it's as potent as a political wrecking ball as it is an environmental one. As of a few months ago the Tea Party rallies were chanting "Drill baby, drill," and garnering all the more hatred for it. Even more surprisingly President Obama proposed increased offshore drilling about two months ago.* Despite what conspiracy theorists might say, I don't believe that anyone could foresee the oil spill in the gulf, even though the eventuality of such spills is a harsh and clear reality of oil drilling operations.

What I find odd in this whole scenario is where the blame falls. Sure, BP is getting blamed, but it seems to me, that the really harsh criticisms are going to Obama. That's not really a fair judgement for people to make. Presidents accept a lot of blame by nature of their office, but it's not as if Obama caused the rig to explode, he can't help it if the numerous attempts to alleviate the leak have failed, he really can't do much more than throw money and manpower at it. Perhaps people don't feel that it's enough. As a self-proclaimed "rabid environmentalist" I would love to see a solution come forward, but the reality is that this is a massive spill and clean up will take a long time.

What doesn't need to take a long time is to close off the flow of oil. The primary failure here seems to be that BP wants to capitalize on the oil, instead of taking steps to shut off the flow. From day one I wondered why we couldn't just send down a "bunker buster" (low yield tactical nuclear warhead) and fuse the hole shut. If that's politically unfeasible, a large amount of high explosives could have a similar effect. Going beyond blowing the leak shut, I can't help but feel that there are still a large number of fairly low tech options open to us.

Technical data on the leak would be helpful, what is the rate of flow, what pressure is the oil being released at, what are the relevant dimensions of the equipment on the sea floor? I have seen that BP turned to the public for suggestions to aid with cleanup and shutting off the flow, and I'm sure that there are some pretty good, inventive ideas out there, but wouldn't this extra data help those with a bit more engineering experience determine an effective solution?

My point is this, the whole political and corporate mess seem to be getting in the way of effective solutions. Political careers shouldn't take a precedent over the health of our seas, nor should saving face. For the present, oil is a necessary part of our nation's livelihood, but these games that we play in the interest of oil are excessive and dangerous. Our focus should be on the environment which is more necessary to our continued survival than any capital or fuel gained from a failed well. If and when the industry has taken appropriate measures to ensure the safety of their drilling operations, and I mean modern measures, not measures that have been in use since the 70's, they know where to look to find oil.

*He has since banned new offshore drilling.