The "worst case scenario" has gone from neglible according to BP's site specific plan, and the BP Regional Gulf of Mexico Splill plan, the likelihood of well problems was infinitesimal and the damage should that occur minimal. The plan for dealing with a well blowout more than a mile under water were essentially the same as if that well were on dry land. I suspect that such an insane assumption also impacted the environmental impacts. On land, one could do a number of things to isolate a blown well - containment dams, moats, etc. However, even in shallow water such containment is not possible.

That "worst case" has grown and grown. The implications magnifying as people look at what is happening, and what is happening goes far beyond "decades to return to normal." The "worst case" could mean more than the Gulf of Mexico becoming a dead zone, to damaging the oceans and its inhabitants beyond recovery. In other words, the worst case could be an ocean killer and that would decimate - if not ultimately eradicate - virtually all life on the planet.

Before one leaps to the conclusion that the claim of possible planetary death is "tin foil hat" alarmism, think a moment about what is peice-meal coming into reality. The oil is not just on the surface, but throughout the entire water column from ocean floor to surface. Those plumes in the water column that BP denied, are now proven. The dispersant (Corexit) that BP continues to liberally dump is full of toxic chemicals, and does little more than make it look like there is less oil on the surface. In other words, liberal amounts of poison are being dumped in the Gulf for cosmetic purposes. The dispersant is making cleanup more difficult, and introducing another slew of toxicity into the ocean food chain.

We were told, that the oil would remain in the ocean and not be transported by rain. Now we know that it is raining oil from Louisiana to Florida (and perhaps beyond). Oil (and dispersant) continues to push into the marshes an bayoos of the Gulf coast, but has also jumped a steady progression of disaster by showing up in Lake Ponchartrain in New Orleans.

The Gulf Coast houses 40 percent of the breeding and nursing grounds for the entire United States. All of that is at risk - or already damaged. It is almost a certainty that the oil will leave the Gulf and enter the Atlantic. There is little doubt that it will impact the East Coast - and its fisheries. Once in the Atlantic, it will have various sea life impacts all the way to the Arctic - including hitting the North Sea fisheries of Europe. Along the way, it will decimate - if not drive into extinction - a number of species. One that is already endangered because of its desirability and over-fishing is the blue fin tuna. This fish breeds and migrates through the Gulf of Mexico.

We then have a different toxic effect from the well blow out. One is the dramatic increase in methane which is now at levels which are "one million times greater than normal" in some areas of the Gulf. This is enough to "potentially deplete oxygen" in those areas and create dead zones. Methane is also a highly potentn global warming gas. The massive amounts of oil are also raising arsenic levels in the Gulf. This is happening because oil is interfering with the normal process whereby arsenic bonds with material on the seabed and then gets buried by sediment. The oil in the water means that arsenic is staying suspended and then aggregates in the the food chain. Arsenic bio-accumulates - meaning that lower level food chain absorbs arsenic which is then taken up by others who then are eaten by another species etc. At each step along the way the accumulation of arsenic increases. Those at the top of the food chain (humans, the fish we eat, etc) end up ingesting the highest levels of arsenic.

Much of the environmental impact concern has been to species in direct contact with the oil and other toxic substances. Increasingly, there is concern for species that migrate through the region (birds and aquatic life) who are nwo likely to be negatively impacted. Over a million birds migrating between North and South America, as well as a feew species which migrate globally are now in the crosshairs of the toxic stew that now makes up the Gulf and Gulf Coast.

The disaster in the Gulf of Mexico has an ever-growing footprint that is extending far beyond the Gulf and could become hemispheric at least. With that growing wave of destruction goes the human and social impacts. These casualties include tens of thousands jobs and multi-generational, regional cultural decimation, destruction of a significant food supply for the U.S. and elsewhere, loss of entire communities, and unknown health impacts which may go on for decades at the least.

Even if the well was killed today, the damage has been done, and it is possible that BP will have difficulty killing the well. It is within the realm of possibility that the well casing is damaged beyond usefulness. It is possible that given the nature of the seabed around the well, that the seabed could collapse and create and ongoing oil seep of unknown proportions. It is possible that the pipe will collapse as they try to shoot drilling mud at high pressure.

So what does responsibility mean? What does "making it right" mean? The damages from BP's disastrous activity in the Gulf of Mexico go beyond any type of economic damages. You cannot bring back people's livelihood when the basis of that livelihood is detroyed. You cannot bring back species driven into extinction with a few well placed donations. You cannot put global warming gases back in the bottle.

Certainly there are things that BP can and should do. Among those things is to NOT continue reckless drilling around the globe.