10 Reasons to Still Be Pissed Off About the BP Disaster

1. BP is gunning to get back to drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. When the Department of Interior issued its first deepwater permit since the Deepwater Horizon disaster, it was for a well that BP owns half of. Earlier this month, company officials also announced that they are seeking an agreement with the US government to resume drilling at their 10 deepwater wells in the Gulf this July, arguing that they will follow tougher safety rules, the New York Times reported earlier this month. This comes even as the government is said to be considering manslaughter charges against the oil giant for the deaths of 11 workers last year.

2. People are sick. Nearly three-quarters of Gulf coast residents that the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an environmental justice group, polled this year reported health concerns that they believe are related to the spill. Of the 954 residents in seven coastal communities, almost half said they had experienced health problems like coughing, skin and eye irritation, or headaches that are consistent with common symptoms of chemical exposure. While the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is conducting health monitoring for spill cleanup workers, residents in the areas closest to the spill are concerned that their own health problems have gone unattended.

3. Fish and other sea life in the Gulf are still struggling after the disaster. The death toll for dolphins and whales in the Gulf may have been 50 times higher than the number of bodies found, according to a recent paper in Conservation Letters. Earlier this year, a large number of dead dolphin calves were found on the coast, and scientists have linked many of those deaths to the oil disaster. Anglers are also reporting dark lesions, rotting fins, and discoloration in the fish they're catching in the Gulf, as the St. Petersburg Times reported last week.

4. While those most affected by the spill are still waiting for payments, some state and local officials have been making bank off the disaster. As the Associated Press reported recently, some local governments have been using the $754 million from BP to buy iPads, SUVs, and laptops. Meanwhile, BP just gave another $30 million to Florida to help entice tourists onto its beaches this summer.

5. Congress hasn't changed a single law on oil and gas drilling in the past year. A year later, the liability cap for companies that cause a major spill is still just $75 million, companies with dismal safety records can still obtain new leases, and they can still avoid compensating families when workers die on rigs. In January, the National Oil Spill Commission released 300 pages of findings and recommendations that Congress has largely ignored.

Article & List

The other 5 are a must read also. BP (per my friend's statement) has refused to allow residents to visit their own beaches in the areas, and that is on this list as well. BP has hired Xe, Dyna Corp and a host of local security companys as well to "protect" the beaches down there. All are armed with the exception of those who speak with the media, those "unarmed" personnel are sent to herd the reporters who try and take photos of the oil and "tar balls" (also mentioned in the list) and have even had complaints of intimidation and brutality levied against those who are supposedly "protecting" the beaches. What is happening is that BP along with those others who are responsible to develop clean up techniques are covering up the problem while the national media remains asleep at the news wheel. After I visited the area I can say for a fact that these security personnel down there are making hundreds of thousands a dollars monthly helping to cover up the problem for BP while the nation fogets that there is a problem not only down there, but just under the surface of our oceans.

It is a shame what is happening down there.

I am frustrated because I will be in Pensacola in a week, and my husband is set on swimming at the beaches.....but I keep trying to gather info on jjst how safe that is or not,and cannot find any info. A year ago it was unthinkable, but is it safe now or what? Nobody seems to want to comment on that......

reply to post by coquine


Ya'll be safe down there!!
Hope you all have a good time despite this mess though

reply to post by chevy369


I know. I can understand a malfunction or a human mistake. But to cover it up as they are doing while the national media helps in covering it up by ignoring it and failing to showcase this tragic event, is just upsetting. But, its how business crooks operate.

reply to post by coquine


My friend, Steve who I went through basic & AIT with and served in the Army with for 14 years, says he nor anyone down there goes in the ocean. He works as a city cop and they issue and recieve alerts about the water and beach quality all of the time and several of the beaches (as I and the article states) are closed. That is by armed security personnel hired by BP. The city's no longer control many of the beaches I understand. It has been passed to the EPA who then handed "security" over to BP per their promise to keep the public safe.

I find it very disconcerting that Xe and the lot of other security contractors, mercs, are allowed to carry weapons and keep people out like this. But then again what does the government care.

reply to post by TraptInTheSystem


There was a solicitation in FedBizOps for security services right after this oil spill. Someone was quick on the draw to get that on FBOps that quick. The EPA was on the solicitation at the time. On the Interested vendors list, all of the big named security mercs were listed. No surprise really. They are becoming the choice of the government rather than using local law enforcement because they keep the mercs quiet more easiliy than a bunch of LEOs.

Nice thread OP..

Thanks for the info..

If you want another reason..

read my thread here..

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by baddmove


I sure will read your thread. Thanks for the link

No extra reasons needed to be pissed off about it. The simple fact it happened is enough but then the complete lack of ability to fix the problem in a timely manner is above and beyound rediculous for it being the year 2011. We can put rovers on Mars yet our oil production abilities are still crap. What bothers me the most is the fix they did for this is temporary. It may last a hundred years but sooner or later that cap is going to come loose and the oil pipe is going to decay and the oil will once again start spilling into the ocean.

We don't have to wait for a natural disaster to wipe out humanity. We seem to be doing a fine job of it all on our own.

I'm PO'd that we are not drilling in ANWR yet. Much safer than drilling over a mile deep in the Ocean.