It is obvious that BP did not have a real back-up plan, but simply a "copy and pasted" plan that was not effective to the Gulf. The fact that the back-up plan was very outdated and copied from an Arctic back-up plan, shows their lack of care for the situation, they just wanted to make the public assure that everything would be alright in the event that a spill actually happened. When the spill in the Gulf happened, the presence of their carelessness was publicized, and the public immediately wanted to now why their back-up plan was not in effect, and not working. Although the spill was well below BP's worst case scenario, "Scientists on a federal task force said in early August that the blown-out well had disgorged as much as 62, 000 barrels a day at the outset- an enormous flow rate". I was personally surprised when I realized from this article that BP was really not prepared for this accident. Although BP's burn fleet was in effect, and many people were helping, it still was not enough to fix the problem and clean up the massive amount of oil spilled into the Gulf. After 12 weeks of massive oil spill, the cap was finally placed on the well.
This information about the spill is vital for the general public to know. The major facts people need to be informed about isnt even the facts of how it happenned or how BP has failed in their attempts, it is the effects on the environment. Over decades the oil that is in lagoons or marshes can stay there for decades, degrading the environment. A major priority is to just keep the oil away from the beaches because they drive the economy in the areas affected. However, the environment in all areas affected is significant as well.
Carelessness is the one word I would use to describe this situation. It was not like BP wanted this spill to take place, but the fact that they did not take precautions just in case something goes wrong was the fact that troubled me the most. Sarah pointed out the fact that BP had the some other Artic plan as an alternate plan that was outdated, which clearly shows the company’s lack of care towards Mother Earth. After such an intense oil spill, the environment is obviously going to have negative effects. We cannot change what already happened, however, this serves as a warning call to tell us to be careful with every step we take to make sure this does not happen again. This is an issue that needs to be publicized because it serves as a caution to other oil companies that if they, too, have irrelevant back-up plans, then they better come up with a new one. At the same time, it reinforces the fact that we must take care of the Earth because there is only one.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree Prutha. It is as though BP made the conscious decision to not prepare for any mistake. They then proved to fail miserably when it came to acting fast and aiding in the successful recovery the Gulf. Sarah extensively described how BP failed our environment. However, another important failure is the lack of participation and accountability from the U.S. government. As it was noted at the end of the article, if this wasn’t a giant red flag, warning us we must change our ways, what is? It is obvious to me, but apparently not BP or the government, that we are no longer able to skip the dirty work without paying for the reprocusions. I hear Friedman, author of Hot, Flat and Crowded, echoing in my mind saying, "As with our houses, as with our future” Americans mortgage everything, promising they’ll pay later. Well, BP, pay up.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with Sarah that this catastrophe was caused by careless acts; however, I think BP is going to experience "karma" for its lack of interest in safety and precautions. Since the spill, BP gas prices have been often significantly higher than other gas stations. A BP sits across the road from a Citgo gas station by school. While the BP is much more accessible, I go through the struggle of making a U-turn to go to the Citgo. I do this not only for the lower price, but because in the back of my head I remember BP's unprepared laziness. Many people have turned against BP and I have even seen one man wearing a shirt that had oil dripping of the BP logo flower above an explicit word telling off the company. While this may be a hard hit to BP, it certainly will not bring it to any end as people do still stand by the company. It truly is a tragedy that our environment and even humans will have to suffer long into the future because of one company's slack and essentially, American's affluenza to need more and more. As we continue to grow and desire more cars and more gas stations, oil rig numbers may increase, which may also increase the chance of this happening. The government should watch out for carelessness in the future.
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