Is the US government doing enough on the oil spill?
By mensab
@mensab (4200)
Philippines
June 27, 2010 4:09pm CST
It has been weeks and tens of thousands of gallons of oil is being leaked on the gulf of mexico affecting thousands of lives whose livelihoods depend on the gulf. the biodiversity of the gulf has been compromised. still, we watch the oil leaks daily in huge volumes. with all our technological inventions and skills, humankind helplessly watches its downfall.
1 person likes this
6 responses
@dboman (457)
• United States
27 Jun 10
According to this article:
http://article.nationalreview.com/437185/the-unengaged-president/mark-steyn
there are 2000 skimmers in the United States. 20 of them are being used for the Gulf Oil Spill. The Dutch offered their "super skimmers" to help, but President Obama refused to waive the Jones Act to allow them to help us.
According to this article:
http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/05/06/us_not_accepting_foreign_help_on_oil_spill
13 foreign entities have offered help with the oil spill clean up. The White House has refused all of them.
@spalladino (17891)
• United States
28 Jun 10
Actually there are currently 447 skimmers working in the Gulf. The problem with the rest of the fleet is that they are located on the west coast of the United States and in Alaska. According to the news down here, over 2,700 locally owned boats will be outfitted with skimming equipment asap, not only providing additional assistance but giving jobs to locals. I also read that skimmers and other equipment from the Netherlands, Norway, France, and Spain are headed this way and that Texas Senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison has filed legislation to waive the Jones Act.
@mensab (4200)
• Philippines
28 Jun 10
it is not only the environmental stress that is happening now. the worsening situation is also causing heightened trauma and psychological stress on people living near the coast and the rest of those affected. the faster they halt the leak, the better it will be. there is no clear and effective response so far from BP and government. sigh..
@TTCCWW (579)
• United States
28 Jun 10
America should have been taking some of those oil royalties and spending them on some kind of first response organization like FEMA. We could have at least stock up on boom material. The states have all been making money off this for generations so why are they not more prepared. It is their coast.
We simply cannot allow drilling where we cannot clean it up. The government has no expertise to deal with this and if anyone would have suggested another government agency to deal with regulation they would have been thrown out of office.
@Netsbridge (3253)
• United States
28 Jun 10
At least this BP spill has given the US a firsthand taste of what Somalis and several developing coastal nations go through on a daily basis - as they are used to having toxic wastes and other pollutants washed up on their shores and thus degrading their ecosystem.
@sierras236 (2739)
• United States
27 Jun 10
No, the Federal Government isn't doing enough. The local governments are doing their best with the resources they do have. Part of their problem is all the legal hoops the Federal Government is putting them through. BP is doing all it can but is hampered by simply being in over their heads from this type of spill and by the PR blitz that is trying to clean up their image but is having the opposite effect.
@elmiko (6630)
• United States
28 Jun 10
i think the U.S. government is doing all it can do. BP has more expertise in knowing about oil spills since their involved so much in the oil business. if the government felt they could do more i think they would had already done it with how bad its getting. its sad their wasn't better preparation in planning how to deal with such an oil spill we have going on now. it seems like bp would of had a better plan on how to deal with a mess like this. if bp can't get the spill to stop i wonder how long and how much oil is going to continue accumulating in the gulf. its a disturbing thought.
