Now that the "top kill" has failed, Robert Reich implores Obama to take control of the operation:
The Obama administration keeps saying BP is in charge because BP has the equipment and expertise necessary to do what’s necessary. But under temporary receivership, BP would continue to have the equipment and expertise. The only difference: the firm would unambiguously be working in the public’s interest. As it is now, BP continues to be responsible primarily to its shareholders, not to the American public.
Oy. Sounds like anti-corporate grandstanding to me and won't help stop the gush. It seems pretty obvious to me that BP has every incentive in the world to stop this leak. It's just that it's incredibly hard to do. Andrew Revkin looks at the next strategy:
[BP] is moving to cut away the tangle of pipe from the well and install a small containment cap, called the “lower marine riser package." Engineers say the hope is that the device, far smaller than the ineffective white metal structure installed over one gushing leak earlier in the month, can catch the escaping oil without clogging with the methane slush that thwarted that earlier attempt.
Reich notes that the "highly risky" method could increase the flow of oil as much as 20 percent. (More visual translations of BP's fake Twitter feed can be found here.)