San Francisco (Obama.net)- The Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill caused by careless drilling by BP was the biggest oil spill in the history of the United States. The spill cost countless people their jobs, countless animals their lives, and heavily damaged the environment in the region. After BP not taking responsibility until being formally billed by President Barack Obama and his Administration and the spill continuing for close to three months after beginning, it appears that the spill and damaged well are finally under control.
As President Obama announced, “A new cap was fitted over the BP oil well earlier this week. This larger, more sophisticated cap was designed to give us greater control over the oil flow as we complete the relief wells that are necessary to stop the leak.”
Obama went on to say that teams of scientists and experts are working to determine whether or not the well is now firmly secure and if the new cap is strong enough to make sure that no further damage or problems will occur.
According to President Obama, even if the cap and the rest of the equipment being put into place to control the leak do not fully stop the leak, the equipment will be able to take up to and contain 80,000 barrels of oil per day, which is on average 55,000 more barrels per day than previously. This is equivalent to taking in all of the oil on daily basis until the well is fully unloaded.
This will result in the protection of the ocean and shoreline from any further damage that would cost the local towns even more money and kill even more of the environment and its animals.
According to Obama, “It is our responsibility to make sure that we’re taking a prudent course of action and not simply looking for a short term solution that could lead to even greater problems down the road.”
Obama made it clear that the new cap, while good news, is not a definite answer. He pointed out that while the cap may keep the oil from gushing out, it is also possible that it could increase the pressure in the well and slowly seep the oil in other spots of the well that could lead to an even larger catastrophe, possibly another explosion.
While the new cap may not contain the well, the equipment attached to it will allow the oil to be lead to ships on the shore to protect the ocean and environment.
The cap is not the final solution to this ninety-day problem, but it is a giant leap in the right direction. Relief wells are scheduled to be completed sometime in August, but until then the new cap and corresponding equipment will have to take care of the job for now.
The biggest positive of the new cap has to do with the highly increased rate of daily oil containment. By being able to contain approximately 320 percent more oil on daily basis, the Gulf of Mexico and the shoreline regions can now be more confident in the hope that their environment will not have to deal with anymore damages and problems.
With the hard pressing of President Barack Obama, British Petroleum has finally stepped up and taken responsibility for the spill and helped Obama and his administration construct and implement the current new cap. And once the relief wells are finally put into place, the true relief effort will be underway. After that happens, the final clean up will begin.
Some have predicted that it could take years for the environment to truly be cleaned up and restored to its former self if it is ever to be restored. But with the hard work of President Barack Obama, the people of the Gulf regions can be sure that relief and more importantly, complete recovery will come in due time and on that day all of the men and women who were forced out of work nearly three months ago will be able to leave home in the morning and go to work knowing they are going to do what they love.
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