Will we learn a lesson from all this is the question we must ask? There are limits to what man should be able to do to the planet. We do not have a right to conduct every action we want regardless of the consequences for the planet just because we can. Too often that is however how large corporations operate. The cost of this disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is currently being forecast in the $8 billion range, and now that to will increase with the latest reports that 5,000 barrels of oil a day are leaking. Who pays the cost, and what the long-term results will be, are questions we all need to ponder. We blindly think that we can still live in the era of oil as a source for our economic engines. We must think more clearly about a long-term sustainable energy policy that does not rely on oil from either international markets that are not in our best interest to support, or environmentally fragile areas that can result in disastrous results as such with the case below.
In a hastily called news conference, Rear Adm. Mary E. Landry of the Coast Guard said a scientist from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had concluded that oil is leaking at the rate of 5,000 barrels a day, not 1,000 as had been estimated. While emphasizing that the estimates are rough given that the leak is at 5,000 feet below the surface, Admiral Landry said the new estimate came from observations made in flights over the slick, studying the trajectory of the spill and other variables.
Doug Suttles, chief operating officer for exploration and production for BP, said a new leak had been discovered as well. Officials had previously found two leaks in the riser, the 5,000-foot-long pipe that connected the rig to the wellhead and is now detached and snaking along the sea floor. One leak was at the end of the riser and the other at a kink closer to its source, the wellhead.
But Mr. Suttles said a third leak had been discovered Wednesday afternoon even closer to the source. “I’m very, very confident this leak is new,” he said. He also said the discovery of the new leak had not led them to believe that the total flow from the well was different than it was before the leak was found.
The new, far larger estimate of the leakage rate, he said, was within a range of estimates given the inexact science of determining the rate of a leak so far below the ocean’s surface
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 
BP may be a giant organization but their activity in the gulf of Mexico has shown a lack of responsibility and a commitment to the environment around the area. According to reports , there seems to be no specific responsibility assigned to groups wor king withBP in the area; so when the explosion occured precious time was lost to take action to minimize the damage. As a result the entire area and the neighbouring states have now to bear the brunt of this inaction. The US Govt shoud insist on BP to clean up the area so life can be restored over aperiod of time. The Us Govt should also review thier laws towards permits of similar nature more strictly atleast in the future.
You are totally correct. Thanks for commenting.
The front page of The New York Times this morning, (Sunday June 6, 2010) makes the point in a great read about asking who was in charge of making decisions for the oil rig before the disaster took place.
I think that drilling for oil offshore is disaster waiting to happen…..whoops seems we are there already.
Government oversight needs to be ramped up.