Last updated on January 3, 2023
I was so infuriated by the AP article on Yahoo entitled Choppy seas frustrate effort to contain oil spill that started out by saying:
High winds and choppy seas frustrated efforts to hold back the oil spill seeping into Louisiana‘s rich fishing grounds and nesting areas Friday, and the government desperately cast about for new ideas for dealing with the nation’s biggest environmental crisis in decades.
Like it was just A problem, a natural disaster, instead of being entirely manmade by BP!!!
The spill — a slick more than 130 miles long and 70 miles wide — threatens hundreds of species of wildlife, including birds, dolphins and the fish, shrimp, oysters and crabs that make the Gulf Coast one of the nation’s most abundant sources of seafood. Louisiana closed some fishing grounds and oyster beds because of the risk of oil contamination.
A lawsuit filed this week by an injured technician on the platform claims that Halliburton improperly cemented the well. Cementing is a process in which a slurry is used to fill the gap between the drilled hole and the casing, or the pipe that brings oil and gas up out of the ground.
They STILL don’t name the company that caused this disaster! I had to read farther and look other places to discover that it is BP- British Petroleum. So then I just had to do a BP cartoon immediately, even though I’m suffering the aftereffects of a car accident – and let me be clear, when I say “accident”, that I mean this idiot crashed into me while deciding to take over my lane with his ugly huge Ford van. I’m still in shock, actually – I have been babying this car for the 4 years I’ve owned it, and have never loved a car before. We both have insurance, a miracle, but he put a hole in it, and in my time, and in my pocket, at least now.
Anyway, Donna Brazile writes in CNN:
The failure of the “shear ram,” the set of steel blades intended to slash through a pipe at the top of a well and close off the flow of crude, should not have surprised BP or the corporations that work for it. Eight years ago, the Minerals Management Service found that 50 percent of the shear rams tested failed. So calling the failure of the “last resort device” an accident is like calling the damage caused by a drunken driver an accident. Failure to take the proper precautions is not an accident; it’s negligence.
She goes on to plant a big kiss on Obama’s behind, and say how well he’s handling this, which remains to be seen, of course.
Anyway, it’s clear that BP lied about the extent of the damage, the amount of oil, what would happen, etc. However, I don’t think any of my papers printed this one…:) Libel, anyone? This cartoon is dedicated to marine animals everywhere, and those who didn’t make it through the scum.
Caption: BP PLC IS A LIAR.
(I could also have written, We’re not just initials, we’re jackasses. )
Luckely it didn’t happen in my backyard, because if it did, I might actually give a shit about it.
Let’s hope oil prices don’t go up because this, or we are all the victim here…