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Journalism of Courage
The birds run into trouble when they dive for prey. From above,the water does not look so very different. And of course a bird has no way of knowing about the millions of gallons of oil that have gushed into the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon rig sank on April 22nd. Theyre not oil-contaminant specialists, sighs Tom MacKenzie of the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Birds will land wherever they have to. For many gulf coast gulls,terns and cormorants,this has been a lethal mistake. The oil coats their feathers so they cannot fly. It upsets their thermoregulation. And if they try to clean themselves by preening,they ingest the oil,which causes kidney failure. As of this week rescuers had collected hundreds of oiled birds,turtles and mammals. More than half of the birds were already dead. The live ones are exhausted,hungry and thirsty. Some are lethargic,says Mr MacKenzie; others are too excited.
The oil has been flooding out for more than seven weeks now. The damage is becoming more apparent. The solutions are not. With regard to the well itself,things are in flux. BP,still desperate to stem the flow,tried a new manoeuvre last week. On June 3rd the company severed the damaged riser pipe that used to lead from the failed blowout-preventer on the ocean floor to the rig,and lowered a containment cap onto the cut pipe to catch some of the flow. This cap,says the company,is now collecting more than 10,000 barrels of oil a day,ferrying it up to a tanker on the surface.
As the spill drags on,Americans are becoming ever more frustrated. More than 80 disapprove of BP,according to a new poll,and more than two-thirds are dissatisfied with the federal response. The administration has stepped up its outrage a bit. Last week the White House press secretary said that thinking about the oil spill made the president clench his jaw. This week Mr Obama unclenched the jaw long enough to add that he was consulting experts so he could decide whose ass to kick.
That would doubtless be cathartic for the president and for many Americans,but it would not be enough. As the oil seeps into Louisianas fragile wetlands,it is apparent that the damage will last for years to come. The federal response needs to reflect that. Amy Liu of the Brookings Institution reckons that the president still has a chance for a double win. If he can lean on BP to pledge its resources to a large-scale coastal restoration effort,she argues,that would show leadership with regard to BP and commitment to the soiled gulf states.
