Obama: Cautious Optimism On Oil Leak Cap
Much in the same way the President has approached the stumbling economy and high unemployment rate with caution, he is taking the same tack with respect to the new cap stopping the Gulf oil leak for the first time in three months.
President Obama said that the science will be what determines the decisions still facing the teams of people working to solve the largest environmental disaster the United States has ever seen. For the time being tests have gone well, allowing BP to slowly choke off the flow rate from the well to the point where they have been able to collect up to 80,000 barrels a day, up from the previous cap of 25,000 barrels per day. Whether or not they can continue to keep such a tight cap on the well until the relief wells allow them to permanently kill the well is still an open question. The fear is that if the pressure rises too high and the well beneath the sea floor is compromised, then oil could start leaking from any number of fissures across the sea bed. If that were to happen it might be a matter of having to wait until the pressure in the oil deposit itself equalizes with the above water.
Additionally, the President said that even if the science tells them they can't completely cap the well, they will still be able to collect significantly more oil than there were able to only two weeks ago. The bottom line is that they have to wait for more data before they can move forward one way or the other.
In the mean time, the President reiterated the work being done to help those people who have lost their livelihood because of the leak, specifically the doling out of claims against BP from the $20 billion fund set up by BP at the request of President Obama. There have been scattered reports from along the Gulf Coast of a sense of relief and happiness from the news about the new cap, but worries still persist about lost wages and looming bills. Whether or not these new events will help Democrats in November at the polls is an open question, although I think it's safe to say that the sooner the problem gets taken care of the better off the President and his party will be.
Watch the President's remarks below:
President Obama said that the science will be what determines the decisions still facing the teams of people working to solve the largest environmental disaster the United States has ever seen. For the time being tests have gone well, allowing BP to slowly choke off the flow rate from the well to the point where they have been able to collect up to 80,000 barrels a day, up from the previous cap of 25,000 barrels per day. Whether or not they can continue to keep such a tight cap on the well until the relief wells allow them to permanently kill the well is still an open question. The fear is that if the pressure rises too high and the well beneath the sea floor is compromised, then oil could start leaking from any number of fissures across the sea bed. If that were to happen it might be a matter of having to wait until the pressure in the oil deposit itself equalizes with the above water.
Additionally, the President said that even if the science tells them they can't completely cap the well, they will still be able to collect significantly more oil than there were able to only two weeks ago. The bottom line is that they have to wait for more data before they can move forward one way or the other.
In the mean time, the President reiterated the work being done to help those people who have lost their livelihood because of the leak, specifically the doling out of claims against BP from the $20 billion fund set up by BP at the request of President Obama. There have been scattered reports from along the Gulf Coast of a sense of relief and happiness from the news about the new cap, but worries still persist about lost wages and looming bills. Whether or not these new events will help Democrats in November at the polls is an open question, although I think it's safe to say that the sooner the problem gets taken care of the better off the President and his party will be.
Watch the President's remarks below:
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