Obama Says-Oil Leak 'Potentially Unprecedented Disaster'-BP To Pay Bill!

I pray for our planet!

ArticleThe US president has travelled to Louisiana to visit the area most in peril from the slick which continues to grow, having already tripled in size, in the Gulf of Mexico.
Speaking at a news conference shortly after his arrival he said: "BP is responsible for this leak. BP will be paying the bill.
"But as President of the United States, I'm going to spare no effort to respond to this crisis for as long as it continues."
Meanwhile, US officials have closed commercial and recreational fishing for a minimum of 10 days in federal waters affected by the spill, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said.
The man charged with running the White House response says the slick is likely to hit the Gulf Coast shoreline "at some point".
Bottom line is this: this oil spill threatens not only our wetlands and our fisheries but our way of life.
Lousiana Governor Bobby Jindal
Coast Guard Commandant Thad Allen said: "There's enough oil out there, it's logical to assume it will impact the shoreline at some point. The question is where and when."
High winds are hampering attempts to prevent the slick from hitting land and there has been some evidence of oil already washing to the shore. Engineers have still not been able to shut off the flow from the ruptured well.
Rig operator BP told Sky News it was doing everything possible to tackle the problem and ensure the clean-up operation was successful.
But the company is facing criticism over its planning for such a disaster and the subsequent handling of it.
On one of the Mississippi Delta's bayous, only accessible by boat and home to people who live off the water, communities are expressing their anger.
Stefanie Sandbom told Sky News: "I want answers. I want to know why this happened, why it took eight days before anyone even thought this was going to hit our coast?

A satellite picture shows the oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico
"I think we have been lied to and I think our whole community understands that."
The waterways are among the most unusual communities in the world.
One man arrived by raft from Cuba and continues to live and work from a shack he shares with beagles and a dozen chickens.
Much of the complex of watery lanes, small islands and canals have vanished in the last few decades due to erosion that followed the building of levees to protect New Orleans.

The BP rig explosion
The region's fishing and tourism industry is worried about the impact of the slick.
Captain Boola, who runs the Reel Tite fishing company, said: "A lot of these people lost everything Hurricane Katrina.
"It is like you have been stitched up and someone comes along and rips out the stitches."
Wildlife experts remain on stand-by to deal with the impact on the area's wide range of bird and aquatic life.
The spill has also raised questions about the future of oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, something President Obama wants to expand.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said: "Bottom line is this: this oil spill threatens not only our wetlands and our fisheries but our way of life."

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How many ways does our dependency on oil hurt us?

Politically we are at the mercy of the producing countries that control the supply. Wars are fought to maintain the access.

Economically we are at the mercy of those who set the price of oil.

Environmentally we have one disaster after another that are among the most serious man has created.

Practically oil makes our country go: transportation, industry, home heating... Cut the supply and everything stops.

Hmmmmm... Just think if all the billions upon billions of dollars spent on wars in the Middle East were spent on developing alternate sources of energy. Wouldn't that change the world?
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Is BP the only one to blame? Aren't we all a little bit to blame? It took more than one company or one politician to get drilling started in the Gulf.

Hopefully, they can fix this. I would love to be out there working on this problem. It's a very tricky situation, and time keeps on going by. This will probably affect the Gulf for quite awhile.

BP will likely be history because of this. If others continue to drill in the Gulf, what do we do? I guess we'll hope they don't have any kind of accident.

[edit on 2-5-2010 by ibiubu]

BP will foot the bill, yada,yada, blah, blah,blah. BP will become in danger of going bankrupt. BP is too big to fail. The U.S. And or UK taxpayers will have to. Bail them out. YAWN!

Wasn't Obama the one that OK'd new offshore drilling?

Doesn't he have a bill to pay here too?

Have we seen any pictures of this leak?

So far all I can find is an exploding oil platform and some oil on the water and lots of government and corporate types frightening everyone.