Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Okay, now it is time to say something

I have kept pretty silent for well over a week now about the Obama administration's response to the oil spill. I know there were several conservatives that began trashing on the administration about a week after the incident. (For example, Rush Limbaugh)

But after seeing the media disgraceful reaction after Katrina and the immediate blaming of President Bush, I did not want to get caught up in jumping to conclusions and pointing fingers. Simply, I wanted to be fair to the Obama administration.

Well, it is now obvious, the federal government did indeed drop the ball on this.

There was a plan in place by the federal government since 1994 that could have contained a great deal of the oil coming out of the pipes. The plan was not only not implemented, but the equipment required for the cleanup was not in place, and their access to the equipment in very limited.

If U.S. officials had followed up on a 1994 response plan for a major Gulf oil spill, it is possible that the spill could have been kept under control and far from land.

The problem: The federal government did not have a single fire boom on hand.

The "In-Situ Burn" plan produced by federal agencies in 1994 calls for responding to a major oil spill in the Gulf with the immediate use of fire booms.

But in order to conduct a successful test burn eight days after the Deepwater Horizon well began releasing massive amounts of oil into the Gulf, officials had to purchase one from a company in Illinois.

When federal officials called, Elastec/American Marine, shipped the only boom it had in stock, Jeff Bohleber, chief financial officer for Elastec, said today.
What is even more disgusting is the lack of attention the media has given to the federal response. I understand they are Obama lovers, but when does the fawnfest stop and real journalism begin?

I also understand that the Obama administration wants to abdicate their responsibilities and point the finger straight at BP. The Obama lovin' media is playing right along. However, the information is finally leaking its way to the surface. Unlike the oil that is gushing to the surface, the media's response to this incident is even slower than the Obama administration's response.

95%?

Gouguet speculated that burning could have captured 95 percent of the oil as it spilled from the well.
Now we are in a position to scramble to borrow equipment from other countries.

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