Gulf Coast Beaches Remain Empty

The Fourth of July always sees the gulf coast beaches packed with families. This year is different – they are quiet with a few people observed walking along the tar balls that busy workers are cleaning up. All of this is due to BP’s leaking oil well – Day 76 and everyone wonders if we are any closer to stopping it before the spill causes even more damage.

As the workers worked along the Pensacola Beach the oil spill has become the worst in U.S. history. Not only is the spill keeping the sunbathers away, it is also impacting the restaurants and other businesses, not to mention the devastation it is causing on wildlife. Another area, the beaches near Biloxi, are usually loaded with ‘tail-gate’ parties. The people would be cooking meat and drinking beer from the backs of their pick-up trucks. Today there is no odor filling the air indicating the parties are going on. Instead there are clean-up crews working on the nearly deserted beaches.

Meanwhile, it seems as though BP is trying to partner with a strategic investor in order to defend any attempts at a takeover. The British-based company is ripe for a fight after its shares have nearly halved. This has caused BP to take nearly $100 billion off its market value since the explosion on April 20 which killed 11 workers while unleashing the oil into the ocean.

BP ‘thinks’ the escaping oil well will be capped next month following the drilling of a relief well being completed. Until then, the containment efforts continue as the oil continues to spread.