Gulf Oil Spill: Similar Disaster Could Occur in Arctic Later This Year
The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has heightened fears of a similar disaster occurring off America’s Arctic coast, where Shell is due to begin exploratory drilling later this year.
by Alex Spillius in Washington
President Barack Obama has ordered a review of the Anglo-Dutch firms plan’s to drill off the coast of Alaska.
Activists have claimed that the remote nature of the proposed drilling site, sub-zero temperatures and gale-force winds would be formidable obstacles to any potential clean-up operation.
The Alaska Wilderness League said in a statement that it would be almost impossible to mount the kind of clean-up witnessed in the Gulf of Mexico, describing the Arctic as one of the “most remote and extreme environments on Earth”.
Meanwhile, in the Gulf of Mexico, there was no end in sight for the massive clean-up operation, as BP officials said on Sunday that one of their efforts to slow the leak was not working as effectively as it had initially.
A mile-long tube inserted into the leaking well siphoned some 57,120 gallons of oil within the past 24 hours, a sharp drop from the 92,400 gallons of oil a day that the device was sucking up on Friday, according to John Curry, a BP spokesman.
However, the company has said the amount of oil siphoned was likely to vary from day to day.
Over the weekend Mr Obama created a commission to examine what caused the explosion on and subsequent leak from Deepwater Horizon BP rig and to “make sure it never happens again”.
He noted concerns about the “cozy relationship between oil and gas companies and agencies that regulate them”.
However, the president underlined that he remained committed to retaining off-shore oil as part of his energy plan. “Because it represents 30 per cent of our oil production, the Gulf of Mexico can play an important part in security our energy future,” he said.
The establishment of the commission came as oil continued to gush from the rig, blackening more of the Louisiana’s marshlands and beaches. Even at the lowest estimates, more than six million gallons of crude have soiled Gulf waters.
Bob Dudley, BP’s managing director, said that the latest bid to stop the leak in a ruptured pipe 5,000 feet below the surface would began on Tuesday or Wednesday. A “top kill” operation that has never been tried before will shoot heavy mud into the pipe then seal it with cement.
With the crisis entering its fifth week, the Obama administration has been forced increasingly on the defensive for responding too weakly and placing too much trust in BP.
Normally friendly voices have begun to criticize the president personally. James Carville, a former Bill Clinton campaign manager and Louisiana native, said the president had been “lackadaisical” and “naïve”.
Chris Matthews, a popular liberal cable TV presenter, said the president was “acting a little like a Vatican Observer”.
“The president scares me,” he said. “When is he actually going to do something? He doesn’t want to take ownership of it.”
Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said: “There’s no doubt that we have had some problems with BP’s lack of transparency: We asked that a video feed [of the oil gush] be made public, and that took ten days. We have sent letter recently in order to get them to post their air-and-quality data.”
© Copyright of Telegraph Media Group Limited 2010
“However, the president underlined that he remained committed to retaining off-shore oil as part of his energy plan. “Because it represents 30 per cent of our oil production, the Gulf of Mexico can play an important part in security our energy future,” he said.” (from the article)
It truly amazes me how some Progressives continue to try and sell Obama as believing in Green Issues. I can’t be the only Green to think Obama’s grade on the environment so far is a D?
He still believes in off shore drilling even after the monster ”THE BLOB” was released and is still expanding by the second because the oil is still spewing out. He is for building new nuclear plants which are unsafe. He believes in clean coal and hasn’t ended the practice of montaintop removal mining. Why would a Green Party member vote for Obama in 2012 when he has such a bleak record on the environment?
” Normally friendly voices have begun to criticize the president personally. James Carville, a former Bill Clinton campaign manager and Louisiana native, said the president had been “lackadaisical” and “naïve”.
Chris Matthews, a popular liberal cable TV presenter, said the president was “acting a little like a Vatican Observer”.” (from the article)
James Carville is from Louisiana and is seeing his beloved home turn into a toxic mix of death being brought to its shores. He is worried about the health of the people who live there. This is in his backyard so he has every right to be angry at the way our government is handling this unfolding disaster.
Why do people who live there have to fight government to start building their sand bar that they are having to get a permit before they can start building a defense to stop the oil from reaching the wetlands that are now dying? It is heart breaking to see what is happening there. I spent time in LA and met people whose family had been there for generations who live in Southern LA. They are nice hard working people, the real salt of the earth people, who are willing to fight to save their environment and home, but who have to deal with getting permits before building their defenses? This is wrong!!!!!
People might not agree with James’s political views, but one thing I have always thought about him was that he is a honest and passionate man. I am glad he is speaking up for the people in LA who are fighting the fight of their life to protect LA from ” THE BLOB”.
Chris Matthews is another honest and passionate man. He and the Ed Show are really great. If Obama wants to start doing something than he needs to tell the government to not force people who are trying to fight “THE BLOB” to get a permit before they can start doing the work needed to build their sand bar to stop the oil as a first defense. Tell government to get out of the way and let the people who have ideas to help the situation get to work and not MAKE them fight the government before they can start working to put their plans in place. They are trying to stop the damage that is being done and shouldn’t be delayed in putting into play their ideas to see if they work.
Maybe the answer is that we have a government who is over their head and needs to step out of the way and say “I don’t know” what to do and let the local people in LA who have ideas put those ideas to work and untie their hands of having to get permits? Does that seem like a logical first step?
Chris Matthews I believe is Catholic so he would understand my praying to St Jude to step in and help the situation. He is the saint known for lost causes. We must find a way to stop the oil and untie the hands of the people in LA who have ideas to try. I just pray that this idea they are trying next works. If not, we will continue to have ” THE BLOB” get bigger and bigger each passing day.