No relief coming from BP's mounting failures

Because of the fact that virtually nothing BP has tried or said has worked or proven to be truthful, I wonder if some government agency is making worst-case contingency plans to stop the oil? Who is to say that relief wells, the alleged ultimate fix scheduled for later this summer, will solve the problem in the Gulf of Mexico?

Here is something to ponder. If approximately 32 percent of the Gulf of Mexico has already been closed to fishing in just under two months, wouldn't that mean that after six months the gulf will be more or less destroyed by the crude oil? Logic tells me that the oil will begin to work its way into the Caribbean and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean. In a year, most of the eastern waterways, including fresh-water rivers, bays and inlets, will have been contaminated by BP's spill.

There is enough oil in Deepwater Horizon well to flow for decades

Extend the doomsday scenario out to the end of, oh, say 2012, and most of the planet will have been impacted by this gusher. Clean water will become a rare commodity. Economies will collapse, particularly in small countries like the Dominican Republic, which rely heavily on tourism. Many animals will go extinct and human beings will get sick or die from exposure to the oil. It's not too far-fetched to believe that wars will ignite in the quest for clean water, something that has been suggested even before this latest environmental disaster.

Is it too far-fetched to believe in a snow-balling effect that will lead us to the brink? What evidence is there to lead anyone to think that this gusher will be capped this summer or even this year? If the technology existed to stop it, wouldn't it have been sealed by now?

The relief well (there are actually two being drilled, one as a backup) is just another theory of how to stop the flow. But it's never been proven at this depth. It's not a guaranteed end, despite what BP claims.

Our government seems to be placing too much faith in BP.

Our founding fathers warned of the dangers of corporations having too much power within our democracy. They saw large corporations as potential threats to our country, and many of the causes of our economic woes are certainly proof that the founders were correct. I bet, however, they never envisioned a corporation having the power to destroy the planet as we know it.

Check out this website for more oil spill news from CNN's Anderson Cooper.

Speaking out for their friends

It's nice to see celebrities putting their fame to good use by doing videos like this. The Cove is a 2010 Oscar-winning film (Best Documentary Feature) that I've written about before in this blog. It documents the horrendous slaughter of dolphins in Japan. Dolphins are highly intelligent marine mammals that are also dying in the Gulf of Mexico because of the ongoing BP oil spill.

Click here to learn more about what you can do to help dolphins.

The dirty truth about iPads

I was messing around with an iPad in a crowded Apple store the other day when it dawned on me that this might not be a great idea.

A recent story in the New York Daily News confirmed my suspicions. Reporters swabbed some iPads in Manhattan stores and had the samples analyzed. Two of them had Staphylococcus aureus, the germ associated with staph infections, and Candida parapsilosis, a yeast, and rash-causing Corynebacterium minutissimum.

Nice, huh? I don't want to go all Howard Hughes on you, but this is enough for me to stay away from store-display iPads forever.

Nonetheless, it's a neat device. Not something I need at this moment in my life, but still a fairly appealing gadget if you can block out the nasty little critters that live on its vivid touch screen.

Strasburg ready to take the mound for Nationals

Stephen Strasburg will make his major league debut with the Washington Nationals tomorrow night.

After blowing through the minor leagues in just two months, the No. 1 draft pick will get to face the Pittsburgh Pirates at Nationals Park at 8 p.m.

Normally, high draft choices in baseball don't receive the same hype as they do in football, but in Strasburg's case the hype seems to be somewhat warranted. The talented young pitcher appears to have all the tools to become a major star. However, it is important to keep in mind that talent alone doesn't always translate into results in sports or anything else.

I recently heard a commentator say that Strasburg might become the best player ever, which, of course, is s ridiculous statement. Strasburg will have to prove he has the mental and emotional skills to go along with his blazing fastball if he's going to become a longtime star.