The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Its Political Issues Essays

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Its Political Issues Essays The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Its Political Issues Essay The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Its Political Issues Essay Essay Topic: Deep For many oil companies, the Gulf represents some of their most profitable and promising properties. The White House is seemingly making an increased show of pressuring BP, but President Obama is facing political heat from within his own party for what some say has been a lackluster response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Since the spill began, there has been some intense political debate regarding BPs responsibility, the governments response, and the extent of the environmental damage. Matthew Dowd, political consultant and chief pollster to former President George W. Bush, said the incident is likely to pose a huge political problem, similar to what President Bush faced after Hurricane Katrina. Administration officials also said the government will make changes to the way it allows offshore drilling, including new measures for the permitting process, new safety requirements for offshore rigs, and what was described as strengthened inspections for drilling operations. Having taking at least partial ownership of the crisis, the Obama administration is redoubling efforts to crack down on BP, sending a letter to CEO Tony Hayward complaining that his promises to provide complete and timely information on the spill have fallen short in both their scope and effectiveness. BP has already agreed to set aside $20 billion over several years to pay for claims resulting from the oil spill. The company has paid the U. S. government $390 million for the cost of cleanup and received an additional bill for $128. million from the Obama administration. Obama and his senior White House staff, as well as Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, are working with BPs chief executive officer Tony Hayward on legislation that would raise the cap on liability for damage claims from those affected by the oil disaster from $75 million to $10 billion. However, WMRs federal and Gulf state sources are reporting the disaster has the real potential cost of at least $1 trillion. Critics of the deal being worked out between Obama and Hayward point out that $10 billion is a mere drop in the bucket for a trillion dollar disaster but also note that BP, if its assets were nationalized, could fetch almost a trillion dollars for compensation purposes. There is talk in some government circles, including FEMA, of the need to nationalize BP in order to compensate those who will ultimately be affected by the worst oil disaster in the history of the world. The Obama administration also conspired with BP to fudge the extent of the oil leak, according to our federal and state sources. After the oil rig exploded and sank, the government stated that 42,000 gallons per day was gushing from the seabed chasm. Five days later, the federal government upped the leakage to 210,000 gallons a day. Obama aides stressed that BP would bear the cost of the spill, including the cost of plugging the well, cleaning shorelines and paying for government air and water tests. Separately, fishermen and others anticipating environmental damage filed class-action suits against the company. On a day when the stock market rose broadly and sharply, BPs stock price fell more than 8 percent to $52. 56 a share. In the minds of politicians and strategists, the oil has practically become a giant ink blot, a Rorschach test in which each of the opposing sides sees proof of â€Å"the larger narrative. † Florida Sen. Bill Nelson called on Obama to step back from his expanded offshore drilling plans. In a letter to the president, Nelson said he would file legislation to ban the Interior Department from following through on Obamas proposal for new seismic and drilling activity. He said the gulf spill may be an environmental and economic disaster that wreaks havoc for commercial fishing and tourism along the Gulf of Mexico coast. Reference : nytimes. com/2010/06/30/us/politics/30polmemo. html? pagewanted=1 http://political. com/content/bp-oil-spill http://abcnews. go. com/GMA/Politics/bp-oil-spill-political-headache-obama-democrats-slam/story? id=10746519 http://washingtonexaminer. com/politics/white-house/political-problems-oil-spill-may-stick-obama http://edition. cnn. com/2010/US/09/14/bp . justice. legal. action/index. html washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/29/AR2010042902290. html

Sports World Should Be Drug Free Essays - Drug Control Law

Sports World Should Be Drug Free Essays - Drug Control Law Sports World Should Be Drug Free Critique on The Sports World Should be Drug Free This article was derived on the question: Why the sports world should be drug free? Barry McCaffreys answer to this question is based on a simple assumption that drug usage in sports has a direct impact on children which will ultimately lead to downfall of sports. The essay takes on the belief that all or most kids look up to athletes. And if these athletes do drugs then kids will do drugs. It is directed to the athletes themselves, coaches, and the parents of all children. McCaffrey states that after the death of athlete Len Bias, youth cocaine use suddenly dropped (page 1). It seems that this is a safe assumption because after a death of a famous athlete, people as well as children learn the disastrous effect of drug use. He also believes that when athletes use drugs and are rewarded for their athleticism kids get the misimpression that drugs are not dangerous to their well being, dreams and aspirations (page 1). This essay is compelling and also logical. We as a culture know that children look up to all athletes. They are pictured on cereal boxes, sneaker ads, cartoons, etc. The author makes the natural assumption that if these athletes use drugs that kids will get the picture that it is alright for them to use them as well. His argument is very convincing especially for a parent. He gives evidence that professional organizations are know getting involved to take a stand against drug usage. McCaffrey states, Eighteen Major League Baseball teams are showing anti-drug public service announcements in their stadiums at home games. Major league soccer is sending strong anti-drug messages to its young fans. On October 23rd , as part of the Office of Drug Policys athletic initiative, the first ever National Coachathon Against Drugs will see coaches across the nationfrom pee wee to the big leaguesstarting practices with messages against drugs (page 2). The only thing about McCaffreys argument is that he didnt consider the other sides point of view. He must of thought they did not have a relevant case to even consider their view. He did a good job researching and making a firm strong point. Bibliography McCaffrey, Barry R. The Sports World Should Be Drug Free St. Petersburg Times. September 9, 1998. p. 12A

Junk Food Ban Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Junk Food Ban - Essay Example Worse still, the ban only serves to reduce funds that schools receive for extracurricular activities, and in some cases, extracurricular activities such as sports that could help to combat obesity. Moreover, students like the sodas because the sodas help to keep them awake in class. Clearly, junk food ban does not get to the bottom of the obesity problem. In my opinion, junk food ban is only one solution to combat childhood obesity. A total approach that involves schools, parents, and the government is needed. A solution that combats obesity problem at its roots is influencing lifestyle changes of kids. Influencing kids to adopt a healthier lifestyle involves not only schools but also families. Furthermore, lifestyle habits form at a young age. Therefore, parents and schools should inculcate healthy eating and exercising habits in their children from young. Other than banning junk food, schools should also encourage physical activities. In addition to Physical Education classes mandated by the curriculum, schools could encourage physical activities during recess and hold sports events. Teachers should encourage a healthy lifestyle even outside school compounds. Schools could also share effective methods of teaching Physical Education and Health Education classes. To foster the outcome of junk food ban, schools should promote healthy diets. They could introduce programs such as the milk program to cultivate healthy eating habits. To inculcate good lifestyle habits, parents should begin by setting a good example for the children by eating healthily and exercising regularly. Next, they could educate children on the detrimental health consequences of obesity. In addition, they could educate children on portion size and serving size. Also, they should not use food as means of punishment or reward. Furthermore, children should be discouraged from eating while watching television programs, as research has shown that junk food consumption tends to increase while watching television programs. During these times of consumerism, advertisement plays a great role in influencing the wants, needs, and tastes of children. Parents should educate children on the motives of the advertisements. Besides, parents could encourage healthy diets by offering children variety. More importantly, flavor need not be sacrificed in a healthy diet. Parents could try out new recipes that combine flavor with a low-carbohydrate, low-fat, and l ow-sugar diet. Regular exercise goes hand in hand with a healthy diet in the solution to obesity. Parents should show children that exercising is fun. They could spend quality family time with their children by jogging, bicycling, swimming, walking in the parks, playing at the playgrounds, and engaging in other fun physical activities instead of planting themselves in front of the television. Parents should educate children on the health benefits of physical activities. Lastly, parents could support their children's effort to stay healthy by participating in school and community events. Other than introducing the junk food ban, the government can also work on other aspects including sports facilities, the media, health checkups, regulation of advertisements, and taxation. In the face of urbanization, less land is being devoted to greenery and open space. The government should therefore build more and improve accessibility to sports facilities such as gyms, swimming pools, and jogging