BP Refuses to Acknowledge that Size Matters with the Gulf Oil Spill

The oft-cited figure of 5,000 barrels a day of oil leaking into the Gulf of Mexico from BP's ill-fated rig is almost certainly an underestimate, according to independent calculations and analysis of video footage, reported NPR last Wednesday. The actual amount could be an order of magnitude larger, perhaps 84,000 barrels a day.

BP has downplayed the importance of measuring the spill, saying they want to focus on stopping it rather than measuring it, reports the Washington Post. The Coast Guard has toed a similar line, saying their response would be the same regardless of the spill's size.

Then BP CEO Tony Hayward told Britain's The Guardian that the spill "was small in proportion to the Gulf" (see this article at NPR). So that's your story, huh, Tony?  It doesn't matter how much oil is spilling, and now that we've settled that, the amount we're telling you really isn't very significant.  Pretty slick.

Let's do the math:
One gallon of motor oil pollutes 1,000,000 gallons of water (North Carolina Clean Water Education Partnership)

There are approximately 643 quadrillion gallons (6.43 * 10¹⁷⁾  in the Gulf of Mexico [gulfbase.org]

42 gallons/barrel @ 84,000 barrels/day * 14 days = 49,392,000 or 4.9 * 10⁷ gallons

So this much oil (I know it's not motor oil, but for the sake of argument) could potentially pollute a volume of 4.9 * 10¹³ gallons.  That's about 3/4 of one ten-thousandth the total volume of the Gulf.  It doesn't sound like a lot, but we're talking about a five followed by 13 zeros.  This number could easily double in the weeks to come.  No matter how much dispersant BP sprays in the area (toxic in its own respects), the impacts will not be spread evenly.  Consider the impact to the fisheries, the wildlife, the coastal and benthic ecosystems, and the potential for bioaccumulation up the food chain.  Consider the people whose livelihood depend on the sea.  The arrogance of this person is dumbfounding.  This is a careless remark and by the looks of this tragedy, careless is part of BP's MO.