Plug the damn hole!

[pepurr]

Here is a letter received by me from the White House moments ago.



Good afternoon,
Today I am travelling to Louisiana with President Obama to review the efforts currently underway to respond to the massive oil spill and to lend support to the region. The Administration's efforts have been relentless from Day 1, and I know the President is eager to return to the region to check up on the progress and meet with those most directly affected by this tragedy.
Yesterday, the President briefed the press and the American people on this disaster. You can watch the video of his press conference here:



To give you a sense of where we are today: We have about 20,000 people in the region who are working around the clock to contain and clean up this oil, approximately 1,300 vessels are responding on site, over 11 million gallons of oil-water mix have been recovered, and over 3 million feet of boom have been deployed to the Gulf region.
Earlier this week, the Federal Government gave BP the approval to attempt a "top kill" procedure â?? plugging the well with densely packed mud to prevent oil from escaping. It's too soon to tell whether this approach will be successful at reducing or eliminating the flow of oil, so we are exploring every reasonable strategy to try to stop this leak before the relief wells are finished.
For people living in the Gulf Coast region, for Americans across the country, and for the Obama Administration, the only thing that really matters is stopping the leak, cleaning up the mess, and restoring the Gulf Coast's environment and the livelihoods of the people who live there. We will not rest until we've done just that.
Those who are responsible will be held accountable. That includes not only the obligations BP and other responsible parties have, but also the commitment we have, as public servants, to build an effective framework for regulation that protects the American people and guards this country's natural splendor.
In case you don't have time to watch the video from yesterday's press conference, I want to reiterate a key point the President made, because while stopping the leak remains priority #1 at the White House, it's also important to recognize the need for longer-term solutions. He said:

Let me make one final point. More than anything else, this economic and environmental tragedy â?? and it's a tragedy â?? underscores the urgent need for this nation to develop clean, renewable sources of energy. Doing so will not only reduce threats to our environment, it will create a new, homegrown, American industry that can lead to countless new businesses and new jobs.

Here are two important resources to keep track of the situation:
The first is the website of the coalition of groups, led by the National Incident Commander for the BP oil spill, Admiral Thad Allen of the Coast Guard. It has a number of links to assistance for those affected by the spill and many other resources:
http://www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com/
In order to keep the Nation aware of everything its government is doing in response to the spill, the White House has also created a web page that includes a daily report of the ongoing Administration-wide response to the Deepwater BP Oil Spill:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/deepwater-bp-oil-spill/
As the President also said, we are going to make sure this leak is stopped -- but our work doesn't end there. This Administration will use everything in its power to protect the safety and livelihoods of our fellow Americans in the Gulf Coast.
Sincerely,
Carol Browner
Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change

pepurr Reviewed by pepurr on 05-28-2010. Plug the damn hole! We are all impacted by this, no matter where you live. Things like this keep adding up, and chipping away at our biosphere. The Coast Guard said 210000 gal. a day. That's 3818 barrels a day, or 1,393,636 barrels a year. They say there is enough oil down there to keep it flowing for the rest of our lives. Who's life? Our kids lives? My life? If it is our kids lives and they never get that thing plugged, that will be 104,522,727 barrels of oil. Enough to have 418 Exxon Valdez disasters. Rating: 5

[Psycho4Bud]

I watched that crap on tv. He did a wonderful job of passing the buck and dodging questions. Proved himself once again to be a fine politician.:rambohead:

Have a good one!:s4:

[irydyum]

All the technology in the collective scientific world, and the best idea they have is to plug it with mud? WTF:wtf:

Sad state of affairs that a catastrophic event like this and our government just wants to throw mud at it. Reminds me of most politicians campaigns, just sling some mud, we will win.

Get the politicians out of the way and let the engineers at it, you can't tell me that oil wont leech out through mud given time.

[RedLocks]

There is a real time feed btw for anyone that don't know showing the Gulf and the coast being destroyed..

Live video link from the ROV monitoring the damaged riser

[Islandborn]

Finally Obama found a Federal Agency to cut funds to 3 months ago and its the Coast Gaurd Crisis Center.......awsome timing...bet he's starting to feel like Bush during Katrina LMAO.:stoned:....


washingtonpost.com

[pepurr]

I recieved this letter from the White House moments ago. It addresses the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexio.


Good afternoon,
Yesterday, President Obama and I met with former Senator Bob Graham and former EPA Administrator Bill Reilly who will chair the bipartisan BP Oil Spill Commission. The President has tasked the commission with conducting a full and thorough investigation of the cause of the BP oil spill.
As the President stressed in his remarks, the Administration will do everything in our power to ensure the American people never have to face another crisis like this one again:

If the laws on our books are insufficient to prevent such a spill, the laws must change. If oversight was inadequate to enforce these laws, oversight has to be reformed. If our laws were broken, leading to this death and destruction, my solemn pledge is that we will bring those responsible to justice on behalf of the victims of this catastrophe and the people of the Gulf region.

You can watch the President's remarks on the bipartisan BP Oil Spill Commission here:

Last week, I travelled with President Obama to Grande Isle, Louisiana. The President heard heartbreaking stories from the Mayor of Grande Isle, David Carmadelle, about fishermen who didn't know where their next paycheck would come from and residents who watched in horror as oil washed up on the shores threatening fragile coastal ecosystems and their way of life.
To be clear: BP is responsible for this oil spill, and we will make sure that BP and any other responsible parties pay not only for the cost of the cleanup, but also for the economic damages suffered by people living in the region whose livelihoods have been affected or destroyed by the spill. We will hold BP and other responsible parties accountable. And where government officials have been too cozy with the oil industry -- a problem that goes back a decade -- we will clean house.
In the coming weeks and months, the bipartisan commission will hold public hearings and request information from the government, experts in the oil and gas industry, and relevant companies with the full support of the President and the Administration. In six months, they will deliver a report to the President with their findings and options developed to ensure that a tragedy like this one never happens again.
In the meantime, we will continue to make every effort and listen to every idea to stop the damage, contain and clean up the oil, and help the people of this region return to their lives and livelihoods. You can track our progress and find additional information and resources on the ongoing Administration-wide response to the oil spill on the White House website:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/deepwater-bp-oil-spill/
Sincerely,
Carol Browner
Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change

[highasarobin]

Obviously this isn't at the top of the governments list of things to do. I was watching the news today and a senator was talking about the oil spill. He talked about how this will affect the lives of those who live by the contaminated water, the money that will be lost from a decrease in tourism and bullshit like that. Bullshit that revolves around the inconvenience this is having on people. What about the fucking wildlife? And if Bush was the president right now everyone would be on his ass about stopping the leak, but because it's Obama who is "in charge", no one says shit. Everything Obama does is good and right and and everything he says is truth. All through out his presidency he hasn't done shit, and he wins a nobel prize? It makes me chuckle. Everything's a joke.

[middieman440]

im not racist but its because hes the 1st black president,everything he does is right and not wrong,but all in all who ever it may be its always going to be about money......

[highasarobin]

Oh I know it is. And how the media portrays him to be. People are so focused on the desegregation in politics, they don't see what's really going on. They will though. It's just going to be another Bush situation.

Everythings always about money.

[jtsik330]

Finally Obama found a Federal Agency to cut funds to 3 months ago and its the Coast Gaurd Crisis Center.......awsome timing...bet he's starting to feel like Bush during Katrina LMAO.:stoned:....
sub=AR]washingtonpost.com[/url]

People were dieing while Bush was doing nothing! The media compares the presidents reactions when at one end people were drowning from a flood for a few days and on the other we have the worst oil spill ever. People in New Orleans say that comparison is bs.