British oil giant BP, responsible for the well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, has issued its internal report in one of the worst ecological disasters ever seen. While the report was fairly honest, the multinational stopped short of issuing an apology and also decided to spread the blame on everyone.

The disaster was described as being “an accident which arose from a complex and interlinked series of mechanical failures, human judgments, engineering design and team interfaces”. In other words, to the layman, it was a cock-up from beginning to end.

BP has already tried to shift blame onto the owners of the rig – Transocean – as well as a cement company that was contracted to carry out some of the work. It is clear that the whole operation was flawed. While the whole instance might be described as an accident, this newspaper believes that it was an accident waiting to happen. When we are talking of failing machinery, human error, engineering problems and ‘team interfaces’, we are toughly talking about failure in the infrastructure of the operation, as well as the management and operation of it.

Luckily for BP, it managed to shift a lot of ill-feeling by the results it obtained in breaking down the oil as it spewed day-after-day and week-after-week from the ruptured vein. The company released dispersant chemicals about a kilometre under the surface and it achieved results way beyond anyone’s expectations.

The dispersant broke the oil down into tiny droplets and this allowed bacteria to eat the oil up as it was small enough to do so. The amount of dispersal (although by guesswork) was also ideal, in the sense that it did not create dead zones in the ocean by deoxygenation.

But, as we have mentioned, BP has not done enough. In legal terms, it is guarding its patch. While it acknowledges that the ‘accident’ was caused by a number of related failings, it stops short of taking the blame for the spill. If it were to admit to this serious charge before heading into court to fight off multi-billion law suits, it would be shooting itself in the foot.

What is certain is that the world needs to learn the harsh lesson. Drilling bits kilometres deep into the earth is no easy feat. Managing a high-pressure well head is also not easy, as was shown in the cleanup operation. Doing something 10 metres underwater is just as difficult as doing it in outer space. Another issue which needs to be dealt with is monitoring the set-up and operation of these rigs. Much like we have shipping inspectors, there needs to be proper monitoring in order to ensure that the failings of BP are never repeated again. Suffice to say that if such a well had blown in the Mediterranean Sea, coastlines all around the basin would have ended up covered in oil.

While it is amazing to see that the earth has amazing powers to heal herself, we really are teetering on the edge with the frenzied addiction we have to oil. We burn oil and we pollute the atmosphere. We dig for oil and we pollute our seas and coastlines. We live to burn oil and something has to be done about it. If this disaster was not the biggest wakeup call in history in terms of looking after and preserving our environment, then there is not much hope for us at all. It is time to recall former UN President Guido de Marco’s notion to protect the resources of the sea and the seabed. While it was hailed as a landmark notion within the UN, this disaster certainly raises the question… why are we not applying it?