Since the Deepwater Horizon oil rig went down in the Gulf last month, there have been two unstoppable gushes: one from the ocean floor and the other from the mouth of BP’s top executive, Tony Hayward. Here are three of his worst:
1. “The Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean. The amount of volume of oil and dispersant we are putting into it is tiny in relation to the total water volume.”
— Tony Hayward, May 13, 2010
2. “I think the environmental impact of this disaster is likely to be very, very modest.”
— Hayward, May 18, 2010
3. “Do I feel that anything I’ve done I would have done differently? Not at all.”
— Hayward, May 18, 2010, after previously admitting in an interview published May 14, “We made a few little mistakes early on.”
Hayward easily holds the top three gaffes about the gusher, but as a bonus, here are four more oiy-ly instances that have slipped into the running.
4. “I don’t honestly think it opens up a whole new series of questions, because, you know, in all honesty I doubt this is the first accident that has happened and I doubt it will be the last.”
— Robert Gibbs, White House Press Secretary, April 23, 2010, inspiring all kinds of confidence in the safety of offshore drilling three days after the spill
5. “The reality is we will be depending on oil and gas as we transition to a new energy future. You are not going to turn off the lights of this country or the economy by shutting it all down.”
— Ken Salazar, Secretary of the Interior, on May 18, 2010, in response to Senator Bernie Sanders’ question about reinstating the moratorium on offshore drilling
NOTE: Petroleum accounted for less than one percent of electricity generation in the U.S. last year. Oil does not keep the lights on.
6. “We need the increased production. The president still continues to believe the great majority of that can be done safely, securely and without any harm to the environment.”
— Gibbs, White House Press Secretary, April 23, 2010
7. “There were good reasons for us to put in offshore drilling, and this terrible accident is very rare in drilling. I mean, accidents happen. You learn from them and you try not to make sure they don’t happen again.”
— Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), May 4, 2010, on why the new American Power Act includes new offshore drilling
