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Supreme Court agrees to review legal challenge to Arizona's employer sanctions law
On Tuesday evening, 15 June 2010, US President Barack Obama gave his first speech from the Oval Office during prime television viewing time to lay out a "battle plan" for dealing with the ongoing spill at BP plc's Macondo/MC252 well in the Gulf of Mexico. Sweet, light crude oil has been spilling from the site of the well in deep water off the coast of Louisiana (USA) since the explosion and sinking of the mobile offshore drilling unit (MODU) Deepwater Horizon on 20 April 2010. The MODU is owned by Transocean, Inc., and was under contract to BP plc at the time of the explosion.
Obama's speech had elements of both realism ("Already, this oil spill is the worst environmental disaster America has ever faced") and optimism ("And in the coming weeks and days, these efforts should capture up to 90% of the oil leaking out of the well"), but time will tell whether the President's speech will serve as a rallying cry to galvanize significant change, and to what end: safer, cleaner, methods of oil production?; strengthened federal regulations?; development of greener energy sources?; or lifestyle changes to reduce the use of fossil fuels?
The President accurately described the response to the Macondo/MC252 spill as the "largest environmental cleanup effort in our nation's history." The Unified Command directing the spill response efforts lists the mobilization of approximately 29,700 personnel and more than 8,100 vessels, in addition to dozens of aircraft, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and multiple MODUs.
According to BP, the total volume of oil collected by the "top hat" containment system through mid-June 2010 was approximately 127,000 barrels (5.3 million gallons). Prior to installing the top hat, around 22,000 barrels (924,000 gallons) of oil were collected by a different device called a Riser Insertion Tube Tool. An additional 20 million gallons of oily water have been skimmed, and 5 million gallons of oil (around 120,000 barrels) burned from the water's surface. Unfortunately, if the spill rate estimates of 35,000 to 60,000 barrels (1.5 million to 2.5 million gallons) per day are accurate, the total volume of oil recovered is perhaps equivalent to only as much oil as leaked from the well in a two-week period.
In addition to detailing response efforts, Obama's speech discussed recovery and restoration of both the environment and local economies ("And sadly, no matter how effective our response is, there will be more oil and more damage before this siege is done. That's why the second thing we're focused on is the recovery and restoration of the Gulf Coast"), and the prevention of future incidents ("The third part of our response plan is the steps we're taking to ensure that a disaster like this does not happen again"). But the President faced a region and, indeed, a country divided in its sentiments about the oil economy.
According to a recent article at CNNMoney.com, a 2007 study published by the Texas A&M University Press found that, if the Gulf of Mexico were a country, it would have the 29th largest economy in the world. The area's four largest industries, oil, tourism, fishing, and shipping, account for US revenues of around US $156 billion annually. However, while losses to the fishing industry are among the most visible, the fishing and shipping industries together represent only 1% of the Gulf's economic activity. Tourism accounts for about 46% of the area's revenues, and more than half (53%) of the Gulf's economic activity centers around the oil industry.
The President sounded somewhat defensive when explaining his position on both potentially opening additional areas to offshore drilling and his decision to impose a six-month moratorium on deepwater drilling (which was struck down by a federal judge in mid-June). According to Gallup, Inc., at the time of his initial 31 March 2010 announcement, 70% of registered voters supported Obama's decision to allow new offshore oil and gas drilling, although his middle-ground stance came under fire from both environmentalists and oil industry supporters. By the end of May, supporters had dropped to 52%, and the percentage of voters opposed to the expansion of offshore drilling had doubled from 22% to 44%. However, survey results released in late June by Public Policy Polling indicate that Louisiana (USA) voters still overwhelmingly support offshore drilling. The poll asked, "Do you support or oppose drilling for oil off the shore of Louisiana?" A strong 77% said they supported offshore drilling; only 12% were opposed.
The hardest sell in the President's speech may have been this: "The tragedy unfolding on our coast is the most painful and powerful reminder yet that the time to embrace a clean energy future is now. Now is the moment for this generation to embark on a national mission to unleash America's innovation and seize control of our own destiny." Obama listed other painful reminders — that oil is a finite resource; that the US consumes more than one-fifth of the world's oil, but holds less than one-fiftieth of the world's oil reserves; that "each day, we send nearly $1 billion of our wealth to foreign countries for their oil; and [that] today, as we look to the Gulf, we see an entire way of life being threatened by a menacing cloud of black crude." It remains to be seen, however, if the current disaster will be enough to inspire sufficient zeal for the United States to "seize the moment," and "rally together and act as one nation — workers and entrepreneurs; scientists and citizens; the public and private sectors."
A recent Washington Post/ABC poll found that nearly two-thirds of Americans blame the spill on inadequate enforcement of regulations and, at the same time, three-quarters of those polled blame BP and its drilling partners. Yet, in a Wall Street Journal poll, more than one-half of respondents (53%) also said they agreed that "the potential [benefits] to the economy [from offshore drilling] outweigh the potential harm to the environment."
It would appear that Obama's "battle plan" has one overriding flaw — identification of the foe. In the words of Pogo, title-character of Walt Kelly's long-running cartoon, "We have met the enemy, and he is us." It may be true, but it will be a difficult battle cry to rally behind.
For more information, see www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-nation-bp-oil-spill; www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com; http://money.cnn.com/2010/05/30/news/economy/gulf_economy/index.htm; www.gallup.com/poll/137885/Americans-Divided-Increased-Coastal-Oil-Drilling.aspx; www.publicpolicypolling.com/; www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20007815-503544.html; www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/09/AR2010060903547.html; and http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703339304575240513356154980.html.
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