A BOP (Blow Out Preventer) back up system is required in every country except the United States. Why not here? Because it was recommended but left it up to the industry to do the right thing. Big Mistake! Has nobody in Washington got it? You never leave anything up to big business and corporations, they will always take the cheap way out.

About 10 years ago a rig similar to the Deep Water Horizon had a problem and the BOP failed to work, there was no backup system installed on that rig either. Luckily there was no massive amounts of oil being dumped into the water in that incident.

This alarmed Minerals Management Service officials. Evidently it did not alarm them enough to make it mandatory for oil companies to install any back up system, as noted above it was left up to the oil companies. The back up system most mentioned is a acoustic switch that would send a signal to the BOP in effect telling it to close the valves, it is required every where except here. Why not here gets real interesting. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) wants to know why also. he has been touting the dangers of offshore drilling for years. Stop and think about it, if a massive oil spill hits the beaches in Florida it would cripple the tourist business. The two things that bring tons of money into the state are tourism and Citrus.

Minerals Management Service´s regulation of the oil and gas industry has been looked at before. In 2008 then Interior Secretary Earl Devaney found that employees rigged contracts and engaged in illegal moonlighting, drugs, sex and gift-taking from oil companies.

This is once again a case of greed in one form or another ruling what folks in D.C. will do and the hell with doing the right thing.

For more on what probably caused the explosion and sinking of the rig and for Halliburton´s roll in the scheme of things see Safety fluid was removed before oil rig exploded in Gulf Oh no not Halliburton, they are such a trusted and honest company. Riggght.

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