Griper Blade: Oil Disaster Prevention isn't the Complete Solution

Let's stop calling it a "spill," OK? The word suggests a limited quantity, dropped accidentally into the water. What we've got is an underwater gusher, continually pouring oil into the Gulf of Mexico. At a rate of 42,000 gallons a day, there's no sign of it slowing down on its own. Something will have to be done. As it is now, what we're able to clean up is more than replaced every day. We can't possibly keep up.

And what we're doing about turning off the tap isn't working. The oil is coming out with tremendous force -- "leak" doesn't describe it any better than "spill." The gusher is pushing underground oil up with one million pounds of force -- capping this isn't a process, it's a Herculean feat of engineering. One that is so far proving to be beyond us.

Last week, AP reported that the main safeguard against leaks and gushers like this, something called a "blowout preventer," is far from fool proof:

- Accident reports from the U.S. Minerals Management Service, a branch of the Interior Department, show that the devices have failed or otherwise played a role in at least 14 accidents, mostly since 2005... [CLICK TO READ FULL POST]