Newsfeed was going to be really cheeky in the way this post was to be written. But right in the middle of our smart alecky wordsmithing, BP announced that the current attempt to cap the three-month old undersea gusher deep beneath the Gulf of Mexico is actually working.
After a few setbacks through the week, including a mechanism that needed replacing, a halt from the U.S. Government, and lots of nerves, BP installed a new cap that closes the valves in the well, then lets pressure build. As engineers monitor the pressure, the more there is, the less likely there are any leaks and the integrity of the cap is solid.
Now this is just a test, and it will be at least six hours and as long as two days before BP can claim any victory. And even after that, the company is still working on two relief wells that are scheduled to be completed next month.
But, even if the cap holds, it’s really just the solution to a physics problem. The end of the political, social and environmental drama is nowhere in sight as a 2,500-mile oil slick is still floating atop the Gulf. Billions in damage has been done to local economies, and scientists have yet to determine the harm caused to surrounding ecosystems.
