The BP catastrophe: An indictment of Obama's drilling plan?

How could the explosion of Mexico&#039;s oil rig affect Obama&#039;s plans for offshore drilling?

(Image credit: Getty)

last updated 8 January 2015

Oil is gushing from a deep-water well in the Gulf of Mexico, where a BP drilling platform caught fire and sank last week. The slick covers an area the size of Rhode Island. Environmental groups say the disaster, in which 11 workers were lost and presumed dead, show that President Obama should back away from a plan to open the Atlantic coast to oil exploration. But a White House spokesman says Obama won't reconsider, because the U.S. needs more domestic oil and can find it safely. Is Obama ignoring the danger of offshore drilling, or are environmentalists exploiting a tragedy for political gain? (Watch an AP report about the oil spill.)

It's callous for Obama to proceed as if nothing happened: Obama's decision to shrug off this catastrophe adds "insult to injury," says blogger Seymour Friendly at Firedoglake. It could take months for British Petroleum to plug the leak. In the meantime, the marine ecosystem could suffer irreparable damage. It's ridiculous to suggest this disaster couldn't be repeated in the Atlantic.