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How "crudely" ironic (sorry for the pun) that shortly after President Obama announces a new national policy to open up offshore oil drilling, we now have this looming disaster unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico?

The situation in the Gulf deteriorated again late Wednesday as the U.S. Coastguard revealed that oil is gushing from the damaged well five times faster than previously thought. A change in prevailing winds means the growing oil slick is likely to reach land Friday, despite BP's massive efforts to contain it.

If that isn't bad enough, it looks increasingly likely that the only way BP can shut down the leak is by drilling a second well, a process that could take two to three months.

Which, in the worst case scenario could lead to this:

"If the oil reaches the shore it will kill all the shrimp, all the crabs and all the oysters," said Kim Vo, owner of the largest shrimp distributor in Venice, Sharkco Seafoods International.

If the disaster was due to corporate malfeasance, that's one thing, but this doesn't seem to be the case:

The response to the subsequent oil spill has also been exemplary. "Our approach is to massively over-respond," said BP Chief Executive Tony Hayward. The company is spending $6 million a day deploying 32 ships and five aircraft to skim off the thickest parts of the oil slick and spray dispersant chemicals over the less affected areas. It rapidly deployed two rigs to drill $100 million relief wells that will stem the flow of oil.

It would perhaps be more reassuring if this looming environmental disaster was the product of obvious corporate malfeasance. But that doesn't appear to be the case. The real story is that despite the best efforts of some seasoned and professional operators with huge resources at their disposal, the oil slick washes steadily closer to the shore.

What's left unsaid is that not only is it in BP's best interest to spend that $6 million/day, but they are required by law to fix and clean this mess up! More importantly, what's NOT left unsaid is this:

"If this thing keeps leaking a thousand barrels of oil a day [for months] it will drive a stake in the heart of drilling close to shore," said Florida Democratic Senator and drilling opponent Bill Nelson.

Note to the Republican party and all right-wingers: This is what "Drill-Baby-Drill" looks like sometimes. Is it worth it?

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