Newsy: BP Begins 'Top Kill' Effort to Stop Gulf Spill

BP is attempting an almost last-ditch effort to stop its oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, while others are calling for the military to take over.

“BP has started the unprecedented top kill procedure, in essence they’re gonna try to fill the hole with mud and cement and cap it off, but it has never been tried at this depth, 5,000 feet.” (Fox News)

37 days after an oil rig exploded and after millions of gallons have been spilled in the Gulf of Mexico, BP is implementing what it calls their best chance yet to stop the spill: a ‘top-kill.’

If this procedure doesn’t work, BP has said it could take months to stop the flow of oil, a flow that has already covered hundreds of square miles.

Dylan Ratigan of MSNBC put the spill into geographic perspective: “Their effort to contain the enormous slick on the surface that now not only covers the equivalent of our nation's capital, but would touch all five states that border it. Pick your metaphor, this slick is massive.”

President Obama is planning to visit the Gulf region on Friday, one day after BP says it will know whether the top kill procedure will work. Democratic senator Bill Nelson of Florida told Ratigan the military should take over all cleanup operations if this move fails: “Well, if this plugging doesn't work today, I would have the president completely take charge. I'd do it with the military. ...Now, you've got to keep BP in the loop because they have the instruments in order to do this, but you've got to take it over. ...If all of this doesn't work, we're looking at two to three months of this thing continuing to gush, and that's going to cover up the Gulf of Mexico.”

Talking with Gen. Russell Honore, who oversaw military operations in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina, CNN’s Rick Sanchez wanted to know why the military hasn’t been leading the cleanup already: "Why are we now 37 days into this without the U.S. military taking an active role? I know they're there. I know there are parts of the military being used. I know the Coast Guard is being used, but I'm talking something that's even more prevalent."

Whether the move succeeds, Jim Iuorio of CNBC says all the cleanup efforts seem a little ridiculous: “Well, I think the backlash against BP is going to last a long time, and not just the punitive one, the public backlash as well, and deservedly so. I mean it's been five weeks. Nothing seems to be happening, and their high-tech solution today is to rub some dirt in it. It seems almost comical really.”

So what do you think? Will this latest effort by BP to stop the oil work?

Writer: Mike Bushnell

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