As gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico for 86 days, people began to ask where BP’s backup plan was in case of a disaster. Apparently, BP’s backup plan was to blame others. BP’s money-hungry appetite caused the spill. Now, the company has to do what the Gulf did; suck it up.
While BP does take some of the blame, it doesn’t take all of it. BP released a report on the causes of the spill on its Web site. According to the report, there wasn’t any single group responsible for the spill. It was collective, they said.
The report concludes that the tragedy was caused by “a complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human judgments, engineering designs, operational implementation and team interfaces.”
Where’s the data? Where are the numbers regarding the damage? How is BP going to fix anything if they’re wasting time evaluating whose fault it is? BP lost a lot. But the Gulf lost more.
Instead of pointing fingers at others, BP should point the finger at itself. Instead of wasting time blaming others, BP should concentrate on finding ways to make it better. The damage has been done — and a lot of it. Research efforts need to be made to find out how much damage there is, who and what got damaged, and the lasting effect of this damage.
The marine life that has been lost and the release of more than 200 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf, highlights the sad reality that the damage is widespread, and, most likely, irreversible. I’m sure BP wishes for a time machine. But, if they took full responsibility for the money they made before the spill, then there’s no reason why they shouldn’t take full responsibility now.
BP may be caught in a whirlwind of what to do, where to turn, and how to fix it. But, this whirlwind should not include who to blame. Risks were taken and money was made. The damage is done and now it’s time to deal with it.
