Category Archives: Commentary

You probably heard by now that the Florida-based Red Lobster restaurant chain will soon stop serving oysters. But the take-away should be just how much the Gulf means to the nation’s seafood supply. Industry officials figure that from 60 to 70 percent of the oysters consumed in the United States come from the Gulf of Mexico. They come from all around the Gulf, from Florida to Texas – but Louisiana [...]

The latest revelation about oil-flow estimates came Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” when host David Gregory spoke to U.S. Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), chairman of the Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Mr. Gregory: “Congressman Markey, we’ve got this live image on the, the, the seafloor that shows the belching oil into the Gulf. In many ways, this could become an iconic image of this presidency politically. [...]

The $20 billion victims’ fund amounts to a lifesaver for BP. The agreed-to payment plan is $5 billion each year (including 2010) for four years. According to my CPAs, that is just a fraction, roughly a quarter, of what BP could pay if it had to. BP’s annual income before taxes is as follows: 2009 $25 billion 2008 $34 billion 2007 $31 billion 2006 $35 billion And remember, the amounts [...]

As the Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe moves into Week Four, a new unsettling milestone has been set: The United States Senate has convened hearings way, way before operators of the drilling rig or the U.S. government have a handle on stopping the flow of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The hearings are convened under the title of “Economic and Environmental Impacts of the Recent Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. ”Discovering what went wrong [...]