[QUOTE="theone86"][QUOTE="Jacobistheman"] The fact is that basically the problem basically has as much money as it takes to fix this problem, more isn't going to do crap. Like many things engineering related are limited by time and humans ability to solve problems, not money. If you don't think that BP deserves any money, don't buy gas from them.Jacobistheman
I agree with this in part. The leak is not going to be stopped until they get that trench dug out, them thinking they could stop it with other methods was naive, and the damage they've done is irreversible, it's going to take decades to get the most noticable parts of the spill cleaned and even then the long-term damage to teh ecosystems simply cannot be washed away. That being said, the damage they've done is irreversible AND the only way to keep disasters like this from irreveribly damaging areas like the gulf is to make sure they don't happen in the first place, which BP SHOULD have done but didn't. Because of that I have absolutely no sympathy for them, if the costs surrounding this spill tank the entire corporation I wouldn't shed a tear.
I am wondering what more you think BP could have done to prevent this? This had three things on the rig that failed to make this happen. Three major systems in anything is going to cause complete falure. Also, BP didn't even own this rig, a company called Transocean Ltd did. There is a specific shutoff valve designed to prevent specifically this type of incident from occuring and multiple groups including the U.S. Congress had asked multiple times why proper safety measures weren't being installed to prevent EXACTLY this type of thing, and BP's response was that the odds of such a failsafe being needed were extremely low and they didn't think it was worth the cost of the shutoff valve. A watchdog group actually compiled a report that detailed EXACTLY what did happen to the rig and EXACTLY what the consequences for the disaster would be and they were 100% right, and after they sent their report to Congress a bunch of congressmen signed a letter to the person in charge of government oversight of the whole thing asking why BP wasn't required to have the shutoff valve and she basically blew them off, convienent that she has ties to the oil industray and a nice, lucrative job waiting for her there should she ever get out of the government oversight biz. So ASIDE from ignoring safety reccomendations, ASIDE from learning from spills like the Exxon-Valdeez where the SAME thing happened with people reccomending safety equipment and procedures to prevent a disaster, the company ignoring them because of cost, and a massive spill irreperably damaging the environment, ASIDE from all that they could have at least had people qualified to handle disasters on staff at all times and proper safety procedures in place, which they didn't. And frankly BP, Haliburton, and Transocean are all responsible, I'm making no distinction between the three. And finally, of course, another thing that could have prevented this was to NOT DRILL THERE IN THE FIRST PLACE, again like many people who were concerned about a spill reccomended and again who were ignored, but at the very least if you absolutely HAVE to drill offshore have the right goddamn equipment in place to prevent a disaster.
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