It’s good news (at least, we all hope!) that “BP succeeded on Sunday in its second attempt at inserting a new tube into its damaged oil pipe that has been gushing oil from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico for three and a half weeks.” Still, even if this latest “fix” actually works for more than a few minutes/hours/days, this situation remains a complete, unmitigated disaster for Gulf of Mexico, as well as for everyone who lives and works along the Gulf coast. In addition, it is important to point out that, even when BP manages to stop this oil gusher, the effects will linger, most likely for years to come. For more on that, see “Oil spill imperils an unseen world at the bottom of the gulf”, “Huge oil plumes found under Gulf as BP struggles”, and “Natural Gas Leak 3000 Times Worse Than Oil”.
I strongly recommend that Bob McDonnell and others in the “drill baby drill” crowd read this material with an open mind (if that’s possible with these lunkheads) and reconsider their uncritical, reckless, whole-hog, mindless support for drilling off Virginia’s coast. At the minimum, the Gulf of Mexico disaster should make McDonnell et al. think long and hard about the potential costs (huge) and benefits (minimal) of drilling a few miles from Virginia Beach, particularly in relation to other options like energy efficiency and offshore wind power. It should make them think long and hard, but knowing these people, it probably won’t, unfortunately.
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
