Is US Government Responsible for Gulf Oil Spill?

On April 20, 2010, an explosion occurred on the Deep Water Horizon rig and caught fire in the Gulf of Mexico. Eleven people were missing after the incident. Seven workers were airlifted to the Naval air station in New Orleans and were then taken to the hospital. An estimated of 2 million to 9 million gallons of crude oil has been spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. This spill has caused a significant impact on various aspect of the environment including wildlife and the individuals living around the Gulf coast. The Island Ann usually pulls out shrimp during this time of year. However, due to this explosion, the Island Ann and 700 other local fishing boats are being used to clean the oil spill instead of being used for their business purposes. Fishing industry around this area has been largely impacted by this disaster resulting in the local economic downfall. Not only the financial sector, but also the environment has been significantly disrupted from this catastrophe. There has been reports of turtles and other endangered species being recovered with their bodies covered in oil. If the spill is not stopped fast enough, we might be in the verge of losing these precious marine lives. Government and environmentalists have blamed the oil-well owner BP for letting this occur by not putting a spill-proof system on their rigs. In my opinion, the US government is also somewhat responsible for not conducting regular inspections and safety precautions used by the oil companies. Even though the government along with the owner BP is trying to contain the spill and clean-up the oily mess, the effort had not been taken seriously in the early stages of spill. It has now become a social issue that has forced the government including the president to divert huge amount of resources in managing this problem. However, this issue should not be overlooked and serious measures to control this problem would be necessary in order to gain social, environmental and economic stability.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2010-05-06-oil-cleanup_N.htm