Re: A critical thinking exercise.

Great assessment Zoe. I agree with much of what you are saying, particularly about the health risks associated with this disaster. It is just not possible that there are no health risks, as some would have us believe.

I have never believed it is anything but human greed that is driving the responses, (or lack of them in many cases), to this oil spill. I also have never thought it was anything but human greed, that caused this spill in the first place.

I posted this exercise because it is important to put aside our own particular bias or habitual ways of thinking, and really look at what is happening. The truth will come out, but I wonder how many will be able to put aside their own views and accept it.

It seems to me that no-one has thought that BP/Transocean/Haliburton, perhaps know very little about the area in which they decided, (and got permission from the government, and encouragement), to drill their deep sea oil well. People have assumed that they knew what they were doing, I don't think this is true, I think they felt they had enough data to give it a shot, with very high risks. They increased the risk by shoddy practices, to save themselves a buck.

I've had a look at what data is available, regarding the oil and gas reserve in the Gulf of Mexico, (outside of the internet), and I am now leaning towards the view that the companies involved, (not just in the oil spill, but all companies currently drilling in the Gulf), have very little idea of the vastness of this reserve, or the content of this reserve. When it comes out that these companies, and the US government, went ahead with this drilling operation, with so little knowledge of what they were dealing with, (and are still trying to deal with), what will be the spin.

spud Tweet