‘President Did Not Accept Experts Who Volunteered Their Assistance’

To The Editor:
I felt compelled to respond to Jack Fichter’s Op–Ed column regarding the BP oil leak.
The article thoughtfully explained his personal account of an oil spill and shared his experience of helping an oil-coated duck. I would bet 99 percent of those living in this area would not hesitate to provide aid to a duck, turtle, or sea bird.
I believe Fichter hit the guardrail with the attack on the Federal government, the oil industry and the former president and vice president. Apparently, Fichter will not let facts get in the way insofar as explaining the worsening of the Gulf disaster.
Fichter explained that in the past 10 years, closed-door energy meetings and the 2005 Energy Act permitting deepwater drilling have been responsible for this disaster. Let’s begin with the premise of the last 10 years as a root cause, I suggest he open the Minerals Management Service (MMS) web page and review the following; Prior to the BP drill disaster, 1 percent of oil spills were due to drilling, 65 percent of the oil released into the waters were from natural fractures in the ocean floor. Microbes normally absorb those releases. President Obama has stated numerous times that he was in charge of correcting and overseeing the spill.
To review that concept, our president declined the assistance of 13 countries to provide deepwater oil recovery vessels from Holland, skimmer ships in the hundreds from Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Britain, along with specialists and environmental experts, three days after the explosion on the deepwater rig. It required six weeks for Louisiana to get a permit from the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection and Army Corp of Engineers to build sand berms to protect sensitive environmental areas. The president dispatched the Attorney General of the U.S. to inspect and state that criminal action would be immediate and forthcoming. Fichter stated that he did not expect justice; does he feel our Attorney General is incompetent? Please note the president did not accept or dispatch drill experts who volunteered their assistance.
The column mentions that BP was part of the 2001 energy meetings suggesting what? That the Sierra Club, Horticulture Society and Greenpeace should be shaping our energy policy? It further suggests that the oil companies wanted to drill in the deep waters, which is the most difficult conditions, most expensive to operate and maintain because of the environmental lobby. Fichter’s closing statement that oil is evil, well maybe, but on the other hand, he suggests “trillions” (using our abused credit card) for green research that has no guarantee of a result, what a concept
Jimmy Carter began spending tens of millions for synthetic fuel over 30 years ago. If green technology is a viable alternative, it has to be cost effective or the average family will bear the financial brunt, within the next decade and possibly several decades, fossil fuels will be the most efficient, economical and only option for our present quality of life.
AL CROSSEN
North Wildwood