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![Hero or Villain?]()
In the 100 days since an April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drill rig unleashed a seemingly unstoppable torrent of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the eyes of the world have been focused on the disaster. Some people have stepped up to the challenge, modern day heroes we can all be thankful for. Others we'd have been better with out. Where does everyone stand? Hero or villain?![Tropical Storm Bonnie]()
VILLAIN Tropical Storm Bonnie stalled oil clean-up efforts causing officials to order the removal of personnel and vessels back to shore. Though Bonnie has yet to turn into a hurricane, experts are concerned that the storm could worsen the oil spill’s environment damage.![Thad_Allen_pic]()
HERO Captain: Retired Admiral Thad Allen was named the Incident Commander over the BP Oil Spill earlier this year. Allen hasn’t been shy about what’s going on with the crisis. In May, he admitted that the spill would be worse than expected.![Local Communities]()
HERO Communities like Magnolia Springs, Ala. and the Florida panhandle didn’t wait for the government to tell them if it’s ok to put barges or boom systems in their waters. One Florida officials said those in the area were tired of getting the “bureaucratic process.”![BP's Photoshop Guy]()
VILLAIN A photo showing video feeds of what is happening at the busted oil line in the Gulf was posted on the Crisis Command Center’s website. The problem: the picture was altered. Someone copied and pasted three images of video feeds onto screens that were not running feeds at the time of the picture. BP told The Washington Post that the photographer was responsible.![Fishermen]()
HERO The oil spill hurt their livelihood and many of them applied to the Vessels of Opportunity program to use their charter boats in the disaster clean up.![Fake Fishermen]()
VILLAIN Florida has seen a rise in applications for saltwater fishing license. Is it a coincidence? There have been reports of recreational fisherman trying to get licenses -- something needed to apply for the Vessels of Opportunity program, where BP hires boats and gives captains a check for their work. It’s causing BP time to sort through the claims and ensure the hiring of fishermen who are out of work.![Mystery Plumber]()
HERO BP won kudos for finally doing something right by applying the Top Hat 10 cap. But interestingly, the design is similar to a concept by an anonymous plumber’s drawing sent to a professor at the University of California, according to a report from The Christian Science Monitor. The professor liked the idea so much that he sent it to the U.S. Coast Guard. Hmm…![Carl_Henric_Svanberg]()
VILLAIN Following on close on the heels of BP CEO Tony Hayward’s embarrassing statements, the native Swede referred to the fishermen, businesses and communities hurt by company's oil spill as "small people."![Volunteers]()
HERO Hundreds in oil-affected areas have volunteered -- reports of respiratory problems -- to clean up tarballs and other help restore the beaches and waterways along the U.S. coast.![Transocean]()
VILLAIN Employees were reportedly afraid to report problems involving safety conditions aboard the Deepwater Horizon oil rig for fear of reprisal from the rig operator Transocean. Recently, a rig worker testified that the Deepwater Horizon’s fire alarm was partially disabled.![SkyTruth]()
HERO Skytruth, which specializes in remote and digital mapping, kept BP in check when the oil company reported the spill’s size to be smaller than what is was.![The National Guard]()
HERO Among the many things the National Guard has done to aid recovery, guardsmen have helped owners and employees in Gulf Shores, Ala. fill out claims detailing their loss of business because of the oil spill.![Minerals Management Service]()
VILLAIN The Minerals Management Service – now renamed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement -- was supposed to be overseeing offshore oil drilling. But these federal regulators may have been a little distracted. According to an Interior Department report, staff accepted gifts from oil companies, including tickets to sports events, and admitted to taking meth and used government computers to view pornography.![Kevin Costner]()
HERO Although Kevin Costner’s machine to separate oil for water remains untested, the actor threw in a whopping $25 million of his own money for the project and personally raised the profile of the spill at a time when the nation’s attention was focused on other things. Also, Costner‘s company sent an oil-skimming vessel to the tainted oil spill areas this month.![The Jones Act]()
VILLAIN Foreign companies with some of the most advanced oil skimming ships said they were left out of oil spill clean-up efforts because of the Jones Act – a protectionist law that requires vessels working in U.S. waters to be built in the country and crewed by U.S. workers. Eventually, officials welcomed foreign vessels into the Gulf.![Tony Hayward]()
VILLAIN BP CEO Tony Hayward’s gushing gaffes earned him the distinction as one of the most hated man in America. Early on he insisted the impact of the spill was "very, very modest," and that the “Gulf of Mexico is a very big ocean” when criticized about his companies toxic dispersants. He whined that he would “love my life back," but with the oil still spewing, he found time to take part in a sail boat race.![Grand Isle Mayor David Camardelle]()
HERO David Camardelle, mayor of Grand Isle, La., an area hit hard by the oil spill, made an emotional plea for help. Camardelle said, “The shrimp dock is a ghost town. I gave my credit card before. I fed some families. I make $513 dollars week as mayor and I’ve got my own family to raise.”100 Days of Oil: Heroes Vs. Villains
After 100 days in which millions of gallons of oil have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico, we need heroes to save us -- and defeat some very clear villains. Here's your who's who guide.
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- 100 Days of Oil: Heroes Vs. Villains
