I'd just like to say that I'm pissed. It's now what - day 42 of the oil spill? We're trying all these things that might theoretically work, maybe... if we clap our hands and say we believe in fairies. One of my friends posted a story on facebook yesterday about the Russians using nukes to stop natural gas leaks/fires. Um, how stupid is that? The gulf coast is too close to too many people to even think about doing that.
I think one of the most disappointing things is how the BP execs are handling this situation, making statements like they want this over because they want their lives back?? What about the animals that have died and the people losing their livelihoods because of their newfound inability to fish? I'm pretty sure they'd like their lives back too.
Why didn't a control burn happen at the beginning to prevent it from getting this bad? Why is it going to take them two months to build the only 'sure fire' way to end this? It seems to me that it has to do with preserving as much money as they can and not with protecting the environment or helping the people. Businesses have entirely too much say over how they handle these disasters. The chemical dispersant they're using is making things worse for the animals and not actually breaking up. That video is chilling to watch.
The new plan is to try and build a new pipe and get the oil to the surface. This could not only allow for more leaks when joining the two pipes together, but also backfire and just increase the flow overall into the gulf.
The only sure way to avoid disasters like this is to eliminate our dependence on oil. We need to stop drilling off our coasts and start investing more heavily in alternative energy - wind, solar, biofuel, algae, etc. The investment will be well worth it when we do not have to see footage of animals covered in oil, their habitats and marshes being destroyed, or more people losing their jobs during these hard economic times.
