BP disaster

More happy talk from BP on the Deepwater Horizon rig disaster. Dispersants just make it look better and probably make it worse. They're adding another toxin so the first poison will sink and spread out.

Questions: Has a "blow-out preventer" ever worked (or even been tested) at this depth? What do you call a person who installs a device with that fails pretty often and calls it "fail-safe"? (Answer: liar.) How is fishing in Prince William Sound, Alaska 20 years after Exxon Valdez? How about Campeche, Mexico 30 years later? Or Timor Sea after last year's blowout? What of the continuing disaster in the Niger Delta?How is clamming at Summerland, California 40 years after that blow-out?

When we assess risk we need to consider not just the chance of failure but the possible consequences. Since there is no such thing as "fail-safe" we need to insist that even a slim chance of total devestation is not a good bet, especially when the cost is borne by all (plants and animals too) and the benefits go mostly to machines and their servant/masters.