Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster...

Figures...... Connie and I finally have enough free time to spend at the beaches and now we have an oil well exploded in the Gulf of Mexico pouring untold millions of gallons of crude oil into the water, destined to wind up on probably every square inch of beach.

Not to mention that fresh local seafood is going to likely get pretty darn scarce for a while. I just flat out REFUSE to knowingly eat seafood (or any food for that matter) imported from China.

Florida is already reeling from the economy in real estate, so this is definitely going to impact tourism and the fishing industry (both commercial and sport). Fortunately the "snow bird" season is already drawing to a close, so that will mitigate the effects somewhat.

Still, I think one colossal mess is in store for the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico. And if the spill goes through the Florida Keys and around into the Atlantic, probably MUCH more widespread than that.

The scary thing is that they really don't have a handle on how to shut down the leak that is a mile under water. And there is talk of a complete blowout that could raise the amount of oil pouring out by 10 fold.

Not good.....

I saw a report today that said that if the collection and containment goes perfectly they hoped to contain 20% of the oil. That is if all the conditions work out just right.

Here's a report I found interesting...

That is so bad,the people who are liable for the spill should have to pay severely.....

Originally Posted by stephen

That is so bad,the people who are liable for the spill should have to pay severely.....

I doubt anyone can even imagine the total cost, much less afford to pay it.

I think this is going to be a wake-up call for a lot of people. Yes, humanity CAN make a mistake that it can't stop once it starts, nor can they fix the damage that is caused by it.

I agree and it sickens me.
It pretty much all goes back to money.They were making billions of dollars with that oil rig,but were to cheap to spend the 500,000 that could have prevented that accident. No amount of money will ever fix it now,I just hope that they find a way to get it cleaned up.

Originally Posted by Rich Z

I think this is going to be a wake-up call for a lot of people. Yes, humanity CAN make a mistake that it can't stop once it starts, nor can they fix the damage that is caused by it.

Sadly, I do not think it will be a wake up call.

As long as money is the motivating factor, I think these things will continue to happen. They happen to a smaller degree in many businesses every day. Greed is powerful.

Everything I've read says oil drilling is safe.....

The video Joe posted was very political. I don't think I ready to assume that was the cause and it is all the Bush Administrations fault. There's more to come.

What's the over/under on how high the price of things affected by this will go? And I assume BP is "too big to fail" so we will have to bail them out of any financial difficulty they get into even if it was caused by their own actions.