Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill The big issues will be the people who made the decisions to ignore advice, cut corners and ignore warnings the well was given them.
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill Had the opportunity to fly to Mobile and we drove over to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach to look around. There was very few people except workers and trucks. Looked like winter with zero traffic and sparsely populated beaches. We walked on the beach and it didnt look terribly bad but heard it was worse in other areas and changing daily. To make a long story short, we ended up getting into a huge discussion at lunch that turned into a round table with about 30 people. The topic of loss compensation was first and foremost and it begs the question, where does it stop and will it break BP? Everyone exposed to oil hitting land is impacted. Everyone supplying goods or services is impacted. Everyone making their living of the ocean is impacted. Its more than huge. I would guess the economy in the gulf region would be bigger than 95% of the countries in the world. What got the discussion heated was 2 condo owners who are filing claims with BP for lost booking income. Supposedly BP is paying these claims and condo owners are getting checks. One lady who works for a cleaning service started asking how she could get her check since she was getting laid off. From there all hell broke loose with people arguing over who deserved compensation more than others, etc, etc. Now this is just a microscopic speck of the magnitude of this spill. If BP has to pay for every penny of direct loss or associated loss I cant fathom the money. Can they really afford this without going under? It doesnt seem any company in the world can afford to compensate an entire regions lost economy and for how long? I suspect BP will stop paying direct claims in the near future. I cant see how they pay a condo owner and not the gas station, grocery store, amusement park, liquor store, souvenir shops, recreation providers, suppliers, workers and the list goes on and on. Where does it end?
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill my answer is "it doesnt". at least not until the well runs dry. both the financial one and the oil one. if the lastest reports that even relief wells may not work, then the impact of this is gonna be much much longer than any of us ever dreamed and destroy the gulf coast economically and make the katrina impact look like pennies. if bp goes under due to this, so what. i really dont care. if investigations showed they played fast and loose, cutting corners to save money, then i dont care if it drains bp. however, i would prefer that tony hayward have his financial security hit and be knocked down a few economic pegs.
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill we are lucky that this happened under bp's watch. they made $6B profit last quarter. and $26B in operating income in 09. the highest estimate ive seen for total cost is $8B, if the thing gets plugged.
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill For those of you getting out there in the marshes, there is a iPhone app that lets you report any spill impacts or oiled wildlife that you see. Check it at this website. http://www.savegulfwildlife.org/
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill If the oily water would somehow inundate the 9th Ward in Orleans, we'd finally see some action. The gulf coast regions don't matter, it seems. But lookout if the welfare Democrat voting base gets hit!
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill Give' em hell James. Some are questioning his motives related to his statements about the spill. However, there is alot of truth in this article: For too long, the federal government and industry alike has simultaneously abused and neglected, patronized and plundered, and now polluted the people of Louisiana. And our plight is now a national emergency. For decades, massive engineering projects across the country have made us more vulnerable. We lose a football field of land every 38 minutes. Since World War II, we've lost wetlands the size of the state of Delaware. I bet Joe Biden would be screaming on national television too if it was happening on his turf. Or if the Hamptons lost 16,000 acres a year, you bet there'd be a Million Hedge Fund Managers march on Washington to demand action. In Louisiana, it's one damned thing after another: James Carville | NOLA.com
