Paul Horsman is a Greenpeace campaigner, currently in Louisiana to assess the destruction from the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Read his previous Deepwater Horizon blog here.
In a clear attempt to downplay the impacts of BP’s latest oil spill, chief executive, Tony Hayward, recently 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.” His comment shows a cynical disregard for the reality of what is happening here to the environment, wildlife and communities who live and work here on the southern coast of the US.
I’m not sure whether Hayward and the folk at BP are just being arrogant or ignorant – or maybe both. On Monday I stood in gloopey thick oil accumulating on the beaches at the end of the Mississippi River – at the low water mark and below, the oil was 20-25 centimetres (9-10 inches) thick. Maybe Mr Hayward would care to join me and watch as BP’s oil oozes from the high tidemark to form thick brown streaks down the short beach; or perhaps he could come to the breakwater rocks and see the splattered mess. Continue reading
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