The Gulf of Mexico

So, now BP and their contractors have failed yet again to stop the thousands of barrels of oil pouring up from the sea bed.  It is still pouring out, floating to the surface and heading for the coast line where it will poison the wildlife that live out their lives in the water and on the edges of land.

It seems the mission is now going to be a task of sweeping up the oil with little hope of stopping the massive leak.

It isn't as simple as just sweeping it all up.  The Gulf of Mexico is warm and that means storms.  That toxic sea water could very likely be dumped further inshore than you'd imagine. 

And that Gulf Stream heads up into the Florida Straits.  According to wiki the water moves at a rate of 30 million cubic metres per second.  The waters of the Gulf of Mexico aren't static.  They will move and they will take that pollution with them.  The waters move right up the coast of America and Canda, they move over to the west coast of Africa and they move up passing the UK and keeping Norway warmer than you'd expect it to be.

I hope BP get it cleaned up.  Otherwise, they'll be cleaning up a lot of oil from a lot of different places. Will they work for years in an attempt to repair every bit of damage the damage? Really?

One thing that may come from this is a growing realisation among the public that companies are legally obliged to make profits that require risks to be taken and cost burdens the public will carry not the company.  Risk-management is a burden so such departments within companies are too often ignored and minimised; red-tape is viewed as something to be reduced and then reduced further. 

Too often the real costs are externalised. 

We need more red-tape.  And we need a change in company law - all costs must be calculated and  borne by the corporate body upfront rather than externalised to be paid for by others before profits and premiums are paid.