By Alex Schlotzer:

Despite a number of high-profile attempts to cap the US’s now-worst-environmental disaster, the oil well in the Gulf of Mexico continues to spew oil at an alarming rate. What has changed though is the spin BP is now using; a shift in its reporting if you will. Instead of speaking about the leak being capped we’re now hearing about how many barrels of oil the energy giant has captured.  It appears that BP is attempting to spin a line that the barrels of oil saved means they’re saving the day.

What we are not hearing is what BP is doing to clean up the spill, or to ensure it won’t reach other environmentally sensitive areas further ahead of the spill.  All the spin is concentrated on the $1.5bn that BP has spent so far trying to plug the leak.

Now we’ve learned that the cap is only stopping half the flow. Only half! The job apparently won’t be completed until an undisclosed date and then there’s no guarantees that this will plug the flow; or even make the leak worse.

There just isn’t enough emphasis on the efforts being made to completely stop the flow.

The other problematic issue for me is Obama taking responsibility for the spill and the continuing environmental disaster. It’s hardly his personal responsibility; he is not the management or chair of BP.  Obama’s responsibility is ensuring state and federal responses are coordinated and funded and that BP is held accountable legally and financially. He also has the responsibility of ensuring necessary checks and balances are reviewed and tightened.

Otherwise the sole blame and responsibility for dealing with and paying for this mess is BP’s. And BP’s only.

BP operations in this country and in every country in which it operates should be checked out, by those countries, as sound precautionary measures. We cannot afford an environmental disaster on the scale of the Gulf of Mexico. Yet another argument, if one was needed, in favour of a sound regulatory system.

So what do you think? Should BP be closely monitored? Add your contributions below.