The U.S. expresses outrage over BP executive Tony Hayward’s day off--while the BP CEO skips continents to enjoy a day of yachting vacation, millions of gallons of BP crude oil continue to pump into U.S. oceans and crude oil arrives on shores.
The BP top executive took today off from the Gulf Oil Spill caused by the European oil company--to see his 52-foot yacht "Bob" compete in a boating race off of England's shore. Hayward’s leisure—and his leisure trip—is inspiring ire across the Gulf of Mexico and across the nation at large. U.S. residents are irate over Hayward’s display of indifference while the United States environment is being killed by the BP oil disaster--the nation’s Gulf Coast wrecked temporarily, and possibly permanently.
While it’s a great day for sailing around the Isle of Wight, with perfect climate and breezes, the American nation's Gulf Coast and its residents are simmering over the BP CEO's getaway vacation: crude oil from the BP oil disaster continues to dump into the oceans and on land, in the form of tar balls.
The BP gusher is nowhere near being fixed, now washing ashore—killing animals, possibly destroying the Gulf’s fishing environment permanently, and tainting United States oceans and even other states.
"Man, that ain't right [BP Hayward's yachting vacation]. None of us [in the Gulf areas] can even go out fishing, and he's at the yacht races [in England]," Bobby Pitre, age 33, told the media. Pitre runs a tattoo shop in the crossroads town of Larose, Louisiana and says, "I wish we could get a day off from the [BP] oil, too."
BP spokespeople stupidly push to defend CEO Hayward in one of the worst PR escapades of all time—BP continues to accrue criticism or even inspire hatred from the United States public, as BP’s spill continues to ruin the environment and devastate incomes and lives. The BP spill, the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history--exceeding the Exxon-Valdez disaster by more than eight times, remains far from being remedied. In fact BP continues to allow oil to gush into the U.S. oceans and environment, let alone moving toward any point of actually being able to effectively begin clean-up efforts that will allow any healing from the BP oil disaster.
BP Company spokesman Robert Wine says the yachting break is Hayward first break from the Gulf Oil Spill since it began over two months ago.—when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20 when it killed 11 BP company workers and set off an undersea oil gusher that BP has yet to contain. "He's [Hayward’s] spending a few hours with his family at a weekend.
I'm sure that everyone would understand that," spokesman Wine said.
Well, perhaps someone better explain that view to the U.S. nations and residents of the Gulf Coast areas and surrounding affected states.
BP probably wouldn’t wish to do a poll right now—Wine couldn’t be more incorrect—while he may be “sure that everyone would understand that,” the universe he lives in is apparently far removed from that of the U.S. nation. BP spokesman Wine stupidly noted that BP’s Hayward is apparently a well-known sports fan of the J.P. Morgan Asset Management Round the Island Race--one of the world's largest sailing races and an event attracting more than 1,700 boats and 16,000 sailors. Renowned yachting sailors compete with wealthy amateurs in the 50-nautical mile sailing course that circles the island at England's southern tip.
That’s great—BP's Hayward's a sport fan. We’ve got a lot of sports fans in the United States, including in the Gulf, but none of them are able to devote their time, energy or thoughts to their sport of choice. Despite that fact, BP needs to learn that everything’s relative—and there are times to hunker down with work that requires immediate attention. While many would prefer to be on holiday—there are simply times when vacations just aren’t an option.
While BP’s Hayward skips continents to enjoy his day of sailing and sports leisure, the BP Oil Spill continues to gush—tainting American oceans, shorelines, wildlife, fishing industry, food supply, and human lives—possibly permanently. Apparently BP's Wine somehow missed the pertinent fact: regardless of what leisure activities BP’s Hayward prefers, work typically falls before leisure, particularly for a CEO.
But far greater than that responsibility holds the responsibility that BP has not only ruined the U.S. environment through its disaster—but continues to ruin the oceans and environment, while failing to find a solution to cut off the gushing oil that continues to flow. U.S. residents might well feel differently, even with extensive environmental damage, if BP had at least found a solution to stop the crude oil that continues to pump into the seas.
If the worst emergency status of the BP spill, in the initial gushing phase of the oil disaster, had been resolved, Gulf residents could at least move on to the second phase of addressing cleanup, a “day off” might have a bit more understanding. What BP fails to see however is the image of a foreign oil company causing the worst environmental disaster in history—one which still hasn’t had successful efforts to at least stop the flow—yet is somehow deserving of a “day off” while America suffers an injury on par with a cut carotid.
The only company capable of stopping the flow is BP—yet the oil giant's CEO decides to skip out for a day to rest--or rather skip across continents.
BP’s Hayward has already inspired ire throughout the U.S. with comments condescending at least—outright stupid for simply his own well-being, and that of the oil company. The worst of BP’s PR nightmare only began when BP’s Hayward dumbly told the Times of London that Americans were particularly likely to file bogus claims for compensation from the [BP Oil] Spill. Hayward later shocked Louisiana and the nation by stating that no one wanted to resolve the crisis as badly as he [as BP CEO] did because "I'd like my life back."
Simultaneously the Gulf Coast and U.S. residents alike had been hoping and praying for the same. In particular, the 11 men whom died on BP’s rig, would probably rank highest in wanting their lives back. The animals and environment that BP has killed through the oil disaster would probably like their lives back also.
BP CEO’s Hayward’s boat "Bob" finished fourth in its group in the sailing competition—while the oil giant’s CEO finishes last with Americans, along with the BP reputation. Ronnie Kennier, a 49-year-old oysterman fisher from Empire, Louisiana, says Hayward's yachting day exemplifies just how out of touch BP oil executives are with the financial and emotional suffering and toll along the Gulf Coast.
Maybe it’s not that BP is so out-of-touch as the oil company simply doesn’t care: actions speak louder than words, and a day out—yachting—can’t be taken back or removed from the forefront of American minds. "He [BP CEO Hayward] wanted to get his life back," fisherman Kennier said. "I guess he got it."
President Obama and Vice President Biden aren’t exactly ranking top on America’s list either--though BP's Hayward falls far below. The White House pair have been enjoying rounds of golf on weekends—as they are this weekend—an activity the White House pair has enjoyed on other weekends since the BP Oil Spill disaster. Hayward’s yachting excursion to the UK has been compared to President Obama and Vice-President Biden's activities of leisure.
"Our [American] government, the executives at BP, it looks like they decide to worry about it later," said Captain Dwayne Price, a charter fisherman in Louisiana expressed to the media. Price is utilizing his days to shuttle media out to the oil-contaminated waters. "Things [rectification of the BP oil disaster] need to happen now. The longer this [BP Oil Spill] is strung out, the worse it's [effects of the oil spill] going to be."
The White House administration has failed to effectively counter national criticism—of how the Obama administration has handled the BP oil disaster, or failed to handle the spill. Associated Press-GfK says its poll reflects that 52 percent of Americans now disapprove of Obama's handling of the BP oil spill disaster. Many feel that President Obama failed in handling the BP oil spill effectively from the beginning--allowing the oil giant to oversee a diasaster it caused, without any overseeing contractor.
The BP oil giant was Britain's largest company before its oil rig exploded in the Gulf Coast—now suffering a rapid decline, BP’S lost about 45 percent of its stock value since the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion. That BP drop scares millions of British retirees whose pension funds literally depend on the BP stock value. The BP Oil company has now just announced cancellation of its quarterly dividend payout.
As would prove true for any company causing a disaster in a foreign nation, British media has shown much more sympathy to its native oil company than those on American soil. But even the Brits are astonished by what is conveyed as the oil company’s strategy—or lack of. "It is hard to recall a more catastrophically mishandled Public Relations response to a crisis than the one we are witnessing [by BP]," the Daily Telegraph's Jeremy Warner wrote.
BP’s latest tactic for handling its Gulf oil spill includes an expanded containment system by the oil company—located roughly 50 miles off the coastline—and which captures or burns more than 1 million gallons of crude oil per day. BP oil hopes to contain nearly 90 percent of the crude oil flow--from the broken pipe gushing oil into the ocean—by late June.
More than 120 million gallons of crude oil have leaked from the BP well that U.S. lawmakers claim BP built in a cost-cutting method. The U.S. has documents reflecting that BP’s own engineers suggested the single-piece design used by BP was utilized in order to cut the oil company’s bill by seven to 10 million dollars.
The U.S. accuses BP’s Hayward of refusing to cooperate fully in the Court Hearing that occurred this week—when it attempted to question the BP CEO as to why the oil company used a single piece, against the advice of its own engineers who insinuated the design was destined to fail, and against reports of other oil companies who stated they would have used multiple-piece designs versus a single piece.
American Federal daily flow rate estimates for the BP oil gusher caused by the Deepwater Horizon rig explosion estimates the crude oil has been washing up from states including Louisiana to Florida, while killing animals, birds and fish and covering the environmentally delicate marshes and wetlands and beaches with tar balls from the BP disaster. What is considered the best shot at permanently fixing at least the BP oil gusher that continues to flow--a pair of relief wells—won’t be completed before August, roughly a month and one-half to two months away.
In the meantime, the U.S. is supposed to just sit with the spill that has caused what is most likely irreversible damage in the two months it’s been gushing. In the meantime, and while many Gulf fisherman have been put to work for BP in what is sure to prove a hazardous clean-up effort in itself, many commercial fisherman still have no jobs. One fisherman says he applied for the BP “vessel of opportunity” program but still hasn’t been hired.
Raymond Canevari, age 59, of Pensacola, Florida, says he’s insulted by the fact that BP CEO Hayward is out enjoying a yacht race while the BP oil still flows. And that’s a view many Americans share. "I think everyone has the right to do what they want in their free time, but he [BP CEO Hawyard] doesn't have the right to have free time at all," voiced Canevari, who scouts the bayous, bays and Gulf area for found objects—to turn driftwood and debris into art. "Not until this [oil] crisis is resolved."
BP continues to waste billions on United States advertising--advertising efforts that seem to inspire more ire—even outrage—across American than being effective or positive. While BP tries to convey to the United States how dedicated the oil company is in rectifying its own mess, caused by the oil giant itself—the actions of BP’s CEO and spokespeople continue to undermine any PR effort the company could ever produce.