Everybody — from the U.S. president down — can say some justified “bad things” about the horrible oil spill at one BP well in the Gulf of Mexico that has been fouling water, sea life and shores, killing many jobs and causing inestimable economic damage for nearly two months — so far.
And no end is in sight. Many are placing “blame.” But despite frantic efforts, there is no prospect of early solution. The mess is likely to increase for months, at least, with damage lingering for years.
Oil and other industrial “experts” are trying “lots of things,” with little progress. Many talk about “who will pay.” But some of that can wait. We need a solution.
Surely, practical engineers have many ideas. But simple “non-experts” wonder why some kind of “inverted funnel” can’t be placed over the rampaging oil well to collect much of the oil and pipe it into tanker ships, keeping the potentially valuable stuff from causing such great environmental damage.
While about 3,000 Gulf of Mexico oil wells are trouble-free, just one well is damaging several states and thousands of people — with no solution in sight.