The Deepwater Oil Spill

I came across this NT times Graphic on the Oil Spill in the Louisiana Gulf recently. So far BP and associated entities have been unable to completely seal off the spill resulting in enormous damage both to the environment, livelihood as well as BP's reputation and share price.
A number of news reports and blogs talking of less than best practice in the well engineering & implementation as well as the inability of the company to fix the leak has lead to the grilling of BP's Chief Executive Tony Hayward being grilled by the US Congressional enquiry yesterday. According to the Australian ABC report "Mr Hayward has been accused of evading questions and ducking responsibility for what has become America's worst environmental disaster."
Yesterday we hear Mr Hayward has been moved aside and will no longer manage the oil spill. Private industry can move swiftly when it wants and needs to lift its public image.
Accountability of large corporations has always been problematic in our current democracy. With their large power base, earnings and multinational base, evading social responsibility has been the norm and our laws are made to allow the transfer of these too hard problems onto governments.
Thus the public again pick up the costs - monetary, environmental, social problems.
We will see if President Obama has the ability to call BP to account. It will also be interesting to see if the "no drill" rhetoric lasts much beyond the immediacy of the spill.
But when will the oil stop leaking???

BP Litigation and Gulf Oil Spill

A few months ago I watched an interesting documentary on the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound,  Alaska. The documentary exposed the tactics used by Exxon to reduce the damages inflicted by the American Court system, down to what was a ridiculously low level considering the damages inflicted to the livelihoods of the people.
It also showed the environmental effects of the oil still lingering 25 years after the spill.
Now with the current disaster afflicting BP and the Louisiana coast, it will be salutary if similar issues arise. This linked article argues that with 200,000 litres of oil a day spilling from the well head, this current spill may be larger than the Exxon spill. I hope not after watching the 3 month delay is capping the recent West Australian spill.
Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico is a less pristine, more populated and probably economically more important to the US and other countries than Prince William Sound. So for their sakes I hope the clean up and capturing oil technology is not only better, more efficiently employed and the toxic effects less long-lived in a tropical system.
Lets also hope BP (Beyond Petroleum) is a better corporate citizen than Exxon. I doubt it, as the legal system goes into full swing once the spill is under control, though there are suggestions the legal system may up the damages amounts
A Youtube Video show some of what has been happening in Alaska