Blowout in the Gulf : The BP Oil Spill Disaster and the Future of Energy in America (Hardcover)--by William Freudenburg [2010 Edition] ISBN: 9780262015837

The story of how a chain of failures, missteps, and bad decisions led to America's biggest environmental disaster.On April 20, 2010, the gigantic drilling rig Deepwater Horizon blew up in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven crew members and causing a massive eruption of oil from BP's Macondo well. For months, oil gushed into the Gulf, spreading death and destruction. Americans watched real-time video of the huge column of oil and gas spewing from the obviously failed “blowout preventer.” What was missing, though, was the larger story of this disaster. In Blowout in the Gulf, energy experts William Freudenburg and Robert Gramling explain both the disaster and the decisions that led up to it. Blowout in the Gulf weaves a fascinating narrative of failures, missteps, and bad decisions, explaining why this oil spill was a disaster waiting to happen—and how making better energy choices will help prevent others like it. "On April 20, 2010, the gigantic drilling rig Deepwater Horizon blew up in the Gulf of Mexico, killing eleven crew members and causing a massive eruption of oil from BP's Macondo well. For months, oil gushed into the Gulf, spreading death and destruction. Americans watched real-time video of the huge column of oil and gas spewing from the obviously failed "blowout preventer." The evening news showed heart-rending images of pelicans, dolphins, and other Gulf wildlife covered in oil. What has been missing until now, though, is a book that tells the larger story of this disaster. In Blowout in the Gulf, energy experts William Freudenburg and Robert Gramling explain both the disaster and the decisions that led up to it. They note that - both in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere - we have been getting into increasingly dangerous waters over recent decades, with some in the industry cutting corners and with most federal regulators not even noticing. In the process, the actual owners of the oil - American taxpayers - have come to receive a lower fraction of the income from the oil than in almost any other nation on earth Contents......Page 6 Prologue......Page 10 1 A Question for Our Time......Page 16 2 The Macondo Mess......Page 24 3 Stored Sunlight and Its Risks......Page 36 4 Colonel of an Industry......Page 78 5 Barons and Barrels......Page 90 6 Off the Edge in All Directions......Page 106 7 “Energy Independence”......Page 128 8 To Know Us Is to Love Us?......Page 144 9 Cleaning Up......Page 168 10 Today and Tomorrow......Page 186 Notes......Page 206 References......Page 218 Index......Page 240 Prologue: The Deep-water Horror Zone -- 1. A Question For Our Time -- 2. The Macondo Mess -- 3. Stored Sunlight And Its Risks -- 4. Colonel Of An Industry -- 5. Barons And Barrels -- 6. Off The Edge In All Directions -- 7. Energy Independence -- 8. To Know Us Is To Love Us? -- 9. Cleaning Up -- 10. Today And Tomorrow. William R. Freudenburg And Robert Gramling. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [203]-223) And Index. The authors feel that BP's Oil Spill Response Plan was pure fantasy. For the future, our emphasis needs to be on true prevention, and our risk-management polices need to be based on better understandings of humans as well as hardware