Gulf Oil Spill Not the Biggest Ever

Don't confuse us with the facts and that doesn't stop the media and politics from inferring otherwise.

Personally, I sincerely hope that this one doesn't set any records.

Curiously - and not to get political here, honest! - I'm hearing as much or more passionate "doom and gloom" on this issue coming from US right wing pundits. The need to spin for short-term gain strangely outweighing their long-term desire to support drilling.

I guess the adage of "never let a good crisis go to waste" is a universal one on both ends of the political spectrum as well as with people intersted in selling newspapers.

Are you with BP by any chance? ... The big money is always right ... screw the masses no matter what. ... disgusting ... and to top it all up you probably work Monday to Friday 9 to 5 ... you go and clean up BP's mess ... or the gulf it's not the US of A anymore, it's Louisiana's right? ... since Katrina's I guess ...

I'm going to go from bad to good here so please be patient.

As this article states, the Ixtoc I well eruption had oil landing on sandy beaches and not marshland. The cleanup and environmental impacts that oil will have on these two ecologies will be vastly different. The Deepwater Horizon disaster will not have to produce as much oil to wreak greater ecological damage to the marshlands along the US's southern shores. The Deepwater Horizon disaster is not done yet.

Yet, after an uncontrolled release of this much oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the ecology did recover eventually. I'm certain that just like the ugly parts of this story repeating, so will the recovery of life in the Gulf.

So it's all fine? ... is that what you mean?

No, its not all fine.

To make an analogy, the patient (life in the Gulf) is going to be very sick for awhile. The patient may even get a permanent scar from this disease. But the patient will live. While the patient is recovering, people who make their living from the patient will have to adapt. This will hurt both patient and the people living around the patient. Some of these people will never be able to return to the patient for one reason or another. But I say again, the patient will live.

What do you mean? Trying to burst Obama's bubble. He has claimed the mess to be 'unprecented', more or less like everything else he gets into. İ wonder if he tells his wife the scrambled eggs are 'unprecented' at breakfast each morning.

Gee, you guys sure do hate your president.

Is it, in principle, possible for him to do anything right?

Don't really hate him - the alternative was worse for me (too old and the running mate!). Be nice to see just one politician (probably since İke) that was less interested in his place in history and just wanted to be a statesman doing what is best for the country. To difficult to go against the big groups behind the parties though and no one seems to have the courage to do so.

Sure. And he deserves credit for the things he does right. In the last year I think he has scored some very good wins on capturing and killing terrorists abroad. I applaud his commitment.

Are there problems? You bet!

I don't favor most of his policies, he's inexperienced, and he also sorely lacks leadership skills and conviction to his principles, but I don't hate the man.