BP - Beyond Perturbing

I used to be a big fan of British Petroleum. I liked their commercials, and I found their service stations to be clean and generally a step above their competitors. I was even taken with their "beyond petroleum" ad campaign describing their move towards cleaner energy by focusing their top scientists on bio fuels and green technology. Now, I can't say I am a fan. In fact, I need to say that I am beyond perturbed.

My latest issue with BP stems from the failure of their "Top Kill" method to contain the oil spill in the gulf. The top kill method as reported by CTV News (it's not made up; it's Canadian) was designed to "overwhelm the broken well with a combination of heavy fluids and debris." And as you may have seen on multiple news channels, the liquids consisted of mud and concrete, and the debris consisted of pieces of rubber and golf balls.

I understand the use of concrete, but my main question is this: Did anybody honestly think that throwing golf balls at the spill would stop the leak? People's livelihoods are on the line, as are some of nations most prized and beautiful wetlands. Entire ecosystems are at risk of destruction, and hundreds of people stand to lose their very way of life. And the solution is to throw fricking golf balls at it? Who is running BP, George Bush? No, George Bush loves oil too much to let it go to waste. This level of incompetence is unprecedented.

This spill should be a wake-up call to America and the world. We cannot survive if we continue to use fossil fuels as our primary source of energy. The risks involved are too great. BP has proven that we do not know how to contain problems when they occur. We need to seek cleaner and safer forms of energy, and truly begin the transition.

Maybe this whole spill was a part of BP's "beyond petroleum" campaign. By committing corporate suicide, they hope to show the world that we need cleaner fuel sources. Of course, I don't believe this, these are the same people who decided golf balls were an appropriate course of action. It would take quite a mastermind to come up with such a plan, and masterminds have better ideas than golf balls.

In light of the failure of the top kill plan, BP has decided to try yet another option - capping the leak using remote operated robots. (It's a similar plan to one that has failed before, but at least it is more plausible than others they have tried.) As CTV News points out, this will be the seventh attempt to plug the well. If this plan fails, the leak could gush into August, while a relief well is being drilled.

We better find a solution soon, because the more time that passes - the worse off our wetlands become, and hurricane season is approaching. A hurricane in the gulf could bring the oil inland - destroying wetlands and river regions far beyond the coastal plain. The Christian Science Monitor reports that if left unresolved, the oil from the well will flow into the gulf for seven years. That's seven hurricane seasons. BP needs to stop this now.