Is It His Katrina Yet?

WILLIAM A. JACOBSON

MAY 16, 2010 10:30 AM

The evidence mounts of bungled permitting, delays in response, and understating the impact:

U.S. Said to Allow Drilling Without Needed Permits – “Those approvals, federal records show, include one for the well drilled by the Deepwater Horizon rig, which exploded on April 20, killing 11 workers and resulting in thousands of barrels of oil spilling into the gulf each day.”

Gulf Spill May Far Exceed Official Estimates – “The amount of oil spilling into the Gulf of Mexico may be at least 10 times the size of official estimates, according to an exclusive analysis conducted for NPR.”

Size of Oil Spill Underestimated, Scientists Say – “The figure of 5,000 barrels a day was hastily produced by government scientists in Seattle. It appears to have been calculated using a method that is specifically not recommended for major oil spills.”

Giant Plumes of Oil Found Forming Under Gulf of Mexico – “The discovery is fresh evidence that the leak from the broken undersea well could be substantially worse than estimates that the government and BP have given.”

What will it take for it to be His Katrina? Waddaya think, Brownie?

Verdict. Not His Katrina yet, because there was no cover-up:

White House Allowed BP to Keep Video of Gushing Pipe from Public for Three Weeks – “The White House allowed BP to hide its video feed of a gushing oil pipe in the Gulf of Mexico from the public for three weeks, all the while that same video played live in the White House Situation Room, ABC reports. This startling revelation comes just as Obama prepares to get really angry in public about the spill – just in time to cover up his administration’s collusion with BP to hide the true extent of the massive disaster in the Gulf.”

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Related Post:
“Eight Days In April,” by Paul Krugman

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