BP CEO Says Oil Damage Is Minimal

BP CEO Tony Hayward tried to minimize his company's oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. Obviously, he is trying to stave off new drilling regulations and possibly limit his company's liability for damages, but I doubt it's going to work. Here's what he said:

"I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest. It is impossible to say and we will mount, as part of the aftermath, a very detailed environmental assessment as we go forward. We’re going to do that with some of the science institutions in the U.S. But everything we can see at the moment suggests that the overall environmental impact of this will be very, very modest."

He also said, "The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume."

But while he was trying to minimize his company's liability, the disaster continues to get worse. There is still at least 5,000 barrels of oil pouring into the Gulf each day (and many experts think the leak is much larger than 5,000 barrels a day). Hayward even admits that it will be probably July at the earliest before the leak can be stopped (that's another month and a half).

Meanwhile sea turtles and Dolphins are dying, and about 19% of the Gulf has already been declared off-limits for fishing. Thick oil has already reached the wetlands of Louisiana (see picture above), and tar balls are washing up on the beaches of Mississippi and Alabama. Yesterday, the oil reached the Gulf currents that will take it to the Florida Keys (and possibly around to the East Coast).

Making matters even worse is the fact that we are at the beginning of a new hurricane season. All it would take is one fairly small hurricane to blow the oil ashore and cause some serious damage.

Hayward may want to minimize the damage his company has caused (along with Transocean), but anyone with half a brain can see it's just not true. The Gulf may indeed be big, but that won't prevent the damage to this country.