Month after oil spill, why is BP still in charge?

[robinblue]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_gulf_oil_spill_bp_in_charge

Month after oil spill, why is BP still in charge?


Oil in the marshlands Play Video Reuters – Oil in the marshlands

* Gulf Coast Oil Spill Slideshow:Gulf Coast Oil Spill
* Congressman: Oil leak estimate 'dead wrong' Play Video Video:Congressman: Oil leak estimate 'dead wrong' AP

By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer Matthew Daly, Associated Press Writer – 11 mins ago

WASHINGTON – Days after the Gulf Coast oil spill, the Obama administration pledged to keep its "boot on the throat" of BP to make sure the company did all it could to cap the gushing leak and clean up the spill.

But a month after the April 20 explosion, anger is growing about why BP PLC is still in charge of the response.

"I'm tired of being nice. I'm tired of working as a team," said Billy Nungesser, president of Plaquemines Parish in Louisiana.

"The government should have stepped in and not just taken BP's word," declared Wayne Stone of Marathon, Fla., an avid diver who worries about the spill's effect on the ecosystem.

That sense of frustration is shared by an increasing number of Gulf Coast residents, elected officials and environmental groups who have called for the government to simply take over.

In fact, the government is overseeing things. But the official responsible for that says he still understands the discontent...................

[Cetacea]

1. Good question.

:mad:

[doc03]

2. Who in the government knows anything about capping

an oil well? The only people capable of that are the oil companies. What the hell is the government going to do send the Marines in? You people are falling into the Republican trap. They said a couple weeks ago this would be Obama's Katrina and guess what we have people on DU helping them. Obama should put a diving suit on and fix it himself I guess. If BP knew how to stop the gusher they would have done it already. How on earth could it be to their benefit not to?

[girl gone mad]

3. Really?

You don't think the government could hire the right people for the job, then give those people a mission and the tools to succeed?

The government didn't know anything about going to the moon, either. Then Kennedy hired some really smart people and gave them some money and a deadline.

You're essentially asking people to believe that our government is completely useless.

[doc03]

4. Who they going to hire? People experience with oil

wells like BP, Exxon etc. The people with the tools are BP, Exxon ect. We don't have a decade to wait for the government to come up with a program. Yes I do think the government is pretty much useless in this case. The Coast guard is trying to contain the oil spill as best they can. A question why would it be to any advantage for BP not to do all they can to stop the leak? They shouldn't have been permitted to drill the well there in the first place without proving they could handle such an emergency.

[girl gone mad]

5. There are plenty of people they could hire.

Not every smart engineer with deep rig experience is working for BP right now.

I can give you a billion reasons why BP would be sitting on its hands. Use your imagination.

[noise]

6. BP already downplayed the extent of the leak

which ensures there is less urgency to fix the problem. The fate of the Gulf is too important to leave up to BP execs.