By Joshua Kaanaana

BP Has a Big Problem (or) BP is in Big Poop :]

Everyone is talking about the Gulf Coast oil spill. Unless of course Arizona comes up, but that’s a whole other story. The explosion that subsequently set off a catostrophic “Oil Volcano” on April 20th has been lobbing an estimated 210,000 barrels of oil a day into the open water effectively putting in danger wild life, local businesses, and residencies all over the region. The oil is expected to spread as far as the Mississipi river and the eastern United States coast.
Blue fin tuna, dolphins, sea turtles, and brown pelicans are all expected to be in extreme danger, especially since this is their mating season. Fisheries, boating companies, and tourism are all expected to take a drastic dive in profit; many of them will go completely bankrupt. It’s no wonder that BP (The company who operated the oil rig responsible) is being sued already by a plethora of companies affected. It’s also no wonder that BP officials are asking Gulf Coast residents to sign settlements already so that these same people cannot sue BP in turn for destroying their livelyhoods with this environmental dissaster. So how much are the settlements worth? A measly five thousand dollars. Chump change in the face of the obstacles that the Gulf Coast faces for the next two or three decades.
The Senate is currently considering a bill that would raise the amount of damages oil companies are responsible for from seventy five million to ten billion. With all the profits the oil companies have made in the last decade, and decades to come, they can afford it. But what of BP? Their role in this disaster is indisputable. If one is involved in a car accident, the first question that one asks is who is at fault. Not because we’re all good people and we want to make sure justice has been served, but because when it comes down to it, whomever hit who is responsible for all the damages that occurred. So why, I ask you, should BP not pay every single penny to proper sources for the damges they have caused, be it five billion, ten billion, or one hundred. The coast guard that has been dispatched for the last two weeks, and they need a paycheck. The businesses being ruined need to stay afloat until they can get back in the water. And tell me how you can pay back a fish for detonating any viable chance they may have at a safe place to mate. Even if BP must pay over time, it’s not our fault that the big oil company never had any plan b, c, or d to save us or itself from, well…itself.
So please Barack Obama, Louisiana, and all others affected by this disasterous conflict: start the tab and bill BP with interest.