oil

What explanation is there for being so lenient on BP after the spill?  Why are we accepting the 5000 barrels/day figure?  Why are we not forcing them to do testing and monitoring, funding university scientists, and making all data publicly available?  The only reason I can see is that BP doesn't want information collected that could be used against it in court, but why is that the American People's problem?

Another hidden subsidy of oil... of course wind and solar are going to be more expensive as long as oil companies aren't forced to buy insurance and pay for the inherent risks of what they're doing - why should BP not be allowed to be sued into oblivion to compensate the fishermen and tourism workers who will be losing their jobs and livelihoods because of BP's screwup?  I bet the people along that coast wish they'd installed "expensive" wind farms and solar all along that area instead of "cheap" oil rigs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/03/us/03spill.html

I wonder whether the economic impact of this will approach that of Hurrican Katrina...

Part of me hopes it makes landfall... maybe having Mississippi and Louisianna coasts covered in oil would change the tea-partier's tunes...

"Coast Guard officials are considering setting the Gulf of Mexico oil slick on fire as it moved Tuesday to within 20 miles of sensitive ecological areas in the Mississippi River Delta.

"Officials say it could become one of worst spills in U.S. history."

http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/27/news/economy/oil_rig_gulf/index.htm?hpt=T2

"A leaking Australian oil well is likely to pour oil into the Timor Sea for nearly two months before it can be stopped, the operator said on Sunday, as environmentalists expressed grave fears for rare wildlife."

http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE57K1RM20090823