Obama Administration Escalates Response to Gulf Oil Spill

Wall Street Journal ^ | April 29, 2010 2:31 PM EDT | JARED A. FAVOLE And ELIZABETH WILLIAMSON

[BAW]

The White House escalated its response Thursday to the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, as administration officials said that the disaster could prompt a rethink of President Barack Obama's recently announced proposal to allow expanded offshore oil and gas drilling.

In an afternoon appearance in the Rose Garden, Mr. Obama promised to use "every single available resource" of government to help with the spill.

Federal officials said that the slick is spreading and could make landfall as early as Friday evening. The prospects for slowing the spread of the oil appear dim.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, speaking at a White House briefing, said that the slick "is crossing different regions" and that the federal government would set up a second command center in Mobile, Ala., in addition to an existing command center in Louisiana. The leaking well took 90 days to drill and it could take another 90 days for a relief valve, intended to stop the leak, to be put in, said Deputy Interior Secretary David Hayes.

The spill, which could be one of the biggest in U.S. history, threatens to cause significant environmental damage and disruption to business along the Gulf Coast. It also could change the dynamics of an energy-policy debate in the U.S. Capitol.

[Danae]

Not to mention they will have to deal with stopping the leak, and that means rigs over the fallen structure.... Can’t do that well if the oil leaking is catching fire the moment it surfaces....

[listenhillary]

Why is this a Homeland Security issue????

Earthfirst?

[vigilante2]

First time in history a rat approves of off shore drilling, a week later the rig blows up and now government must take control!

[HereInTheHeartland]

Obama diddled around as the oil gushed.
His response in chaotic and weak.
Birds are dying, fish are dying; he doesn't care.

He should be impeached.

[MHGinTN]

Oh, he does care. The more destruction his diddling results in the better he can exploit the catastrophe. Remember what his capo, Rahm Emanuel said: ‘you never want to let a crisis go to waste.’

[Justa]

Calm down. Don't worry about it. I grew up on the ocean on a sheltered harbor and have seen many fuel spills blanket inshore waters. Not once did they close the shellfish beds or did I see dead fish in the aftereffects. The most I saw was mottled scallop shells but they were harvested, shucked and sold without issue. I don't recall anyone complaining or getting sick about it except the enviros. I attributed that to an existing mental disease.

Crude oil is organic and naturally present in marine environments. Anyone who has lived on a well established marine estuary knows you can dig down in the mud to the black, stinky goo layer (about 2 - 6 inches usually) and up pops a glob of crude oil. Been that way since the dawn of time. It's part of the environment.

[ThirdMate]

Several posters have asked why is this a Homeland Security issue. The US Coast Guard is under the Department of Homeland Security.

USCG is the lead agency for oil spill repsonse.

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Under lease to BP until 2013.

I guess I should’ve said operated by.

[thackney]

Please understand the BP did not operate the Deepwater Horizon either. They hired Transocean to drill the well. Transocean supplies the experise and the staff. BP and their partners selects the location, depth and other details of what they want in the completed well.

Transocean places the Blowout Preventer and performs the other necessary task and coordinates with the other subcontractors.

BP only had a few people on the rig when the blowout occurred. This was a Transocean operation.

Transocean is a quality company. But it seems foolish to me that people are trying to blame BP at this point. They wrote the checks and they have responsibility for clean up and hiring any crews for a relief well or other activities related to stopping and cleaning up the spill.

Most if not all the major oil companies hire a drilling company for this stage of the operation.

[DrCheckmate]

An interesting article related to the discussion
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-45744-Adams-County-Conservative-Examiner~y2010m4d30-Obamas-Katrina

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Interesting.

Thanks. ;)

[thackney]

And now defining one of the subcontractor's role, Halliburton did the suspect cementing.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2503968/posts

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Very interesting.

[Issaquahking]

Calm down. Don't worry about it. I grew up on the ocean on a sheltered harbor and have seen many fuel spills blanket inshore waters. Not once did they close the shellfish beds or did I see dead fish in the aftereffects. The most I saw was mottled scallop shells but they were harvested, shucked and sold without issue. I don't recall anyone complaining or getting sick about it except the enviros. I attributed that to an existing mental disease. Crude oil is organic and naturally present in marine environments. Anyone who has lived on a well established marine estuary knows you can dig down in the mud to the black, stinky goo layer (about 2 - 6 inches usually) and up pops a glob of crude oil. Been that way since the dawn of time. It's part of the environment.

Clue...I'm from Alaska. Don't bother preaching. I have a first hand observation of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. I know what the ugly side looks like. Thinking people don't even have a clue, hope I'm wrong, but have my doubts. People need to work this, and get it contained as quickly as possible.

No one is off to a good start. Just like in Alaska, way to slow out of the starting gate, assigning blame is not part of the solution. Our best bet is having BP in charge of the clean-up. While it may not have been their drilling rig, but just like a ship at sea, they are the captain.

Dissappointed that they didn't try something radical - like a napalm run fron an F-16 where the procedure would have been given a chance. In cold water, year's ago Canada had pretty good luck on the intial trials, might be too warm in the gulf.

What you have seen in the past, are minor processed spills, petro based spills are not even in the league with crude. In less than 2 months, it will be more oil than the Exxon Valdez if it goes ugly. We have to hate the sin, not the sinner. Dilligence, and hard work going the right direction, are the only tools available at this time. Worst part is the people that are in charge of the White House; they may try to come riding in, and there is nothing government has ever made better...

[sawoody]

That would be awful if the slick reached New Orleans... and then the levies broke again... and then they set the slick on fire... Awful!...

In your profile you call yourself a "Christian". Celebrating the destruction of land and people's livelihoods doesn't sound very Christian to me. Jerk.

Sorry, that was kind of morbid of me. You’ll have to forgive me if I seem a little jaded these days.

I not only call myself a Christian, I am a Christian. And because I am a Christian I gave sacrificially, in both time and money, to relief efforts after Katrina. For my troubles, I got to watch the people I was helping call my fellow Americans racist; donations were spat on as, “not enough”, people sat on porches demanding aid be brought to them, and the president was blamed for a hurricane, of all things, and damaged politically in a time of war. Forgive me if my compassion has worn a little thin.

I guarantee that, if this slick comes anywhere near N.O., they will scream and bawl like its Katrina II. They won’t let this crisis go to waste. They will use it to justify billions more in aid to the city. The thought of bailing those malcontents out again…well, that was the source of my joke.

Livelihoods?...chuckle. You’ll find as many “hoods” as “livelihoods” in that city. Speaking of livelihoods, because what the libs have done to our economy, I just lost my job of 11 years last week. Lost my health insurance too. Hopefully not my home in the near future. And not one of those people in NO would lift a finger to help a Christian, conservative like me. They won’t need to, because I’m willing to get off my butt, work 3 jobs, and do what it takes to help myself. And in the meantime, I’ll still help anyone out who needs it.

So…you might cut me a little slack. You questioned my faith and called me a jerk. I’m pretty sure that offended me more than my joke offended you.

Sorry for the rant, fellow freeper. You and New Orleans were the closest things nearby when I needed to vent.

[MayfairFly]

I can’t help it that the liberal media only focuses on lower-income blacks as victims of Katrina. FYI, 10’s of thousands of hard-working middle and upper-class white people’s homes were also destroyed in New Orleans.

Those most likely to suffer first from this oil spill live outside N.O. near the mouth of the river. They are mostly white fishermen who have been providing 1/2 the nation’s seafood for many generations. They are not and never have been, from the “hood”.

Sorry about your job, but you’re not the only one. Why do you suppose I now have the time to play on the computer?

[2harddrive]

As a Jewess in the US, I believe the platform was sunk by a North Korean Stealth Torpedo, the 2nd test of the same type that they used to take out the South Korean Navy ship last month.

[Issaquahking]

Excellent article on why we need to stay on track with "Drill Baby, Drill!" even more now, than before. America's independence depends on intelligent development of our own natural resources.

[SierraWasp]

You are so right!!!

But instead... take a look at this thread!!!

[sawoody]

You're right. I was being a jerk and you called me on it. There are tons of good people in NO, and I've met quite a few along the gulf coast. Can't wait to get back to the Mobile Bay area and enjoy the seafood. Though it may be a while after this disaster.

...cringe... I never said anything about blacks and whites, and none of my comments involved race. By hoods, I meant thugs, looters, deadbeats, etc...of which, there were plenty of whites included in the whole Katrina mess. And yes, I know the bad ones are out-numbered by the good guys. I just need to look harder and quit being so negative.

I'm sorry to hear about your job too. I hope you find the job of your dreams, and soon. Take care.