Ask the Expert: Daniel J. Weiss on the BP Disaster

What should the federal government's role be in the BP oil disaster?

The federal government should be overseeing BP's efforts to stop oil flooding from the bottom of the ocean. But the federal government cannot replace BP as the ones who actually shut down the oil flood. BP has the technology and the know-how to do it. The federal government should be in charge of cleaning up the coastline and making sure that BP pays all the claims for the damages that are caused by the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. The United States government should make sure that BP puts its first-quarter profits of about $5 million into escrow to make sure that cleanup costs and claims for damages against BP are paid properly.

Should the military be involved in the cleanup of the BP oil disaster?

The U.S. military should be mobilized to take control of the cleanup of the horrific BP oil disaster. In addition, they need to begin planning exercises to prepare for a worst-case scenario. A tropical storm could lift oil off the surface of the ocean and drop it behind the coastline and on land, where it would harm businesses, homes, farms, and really threaten public health. The military needs to begin planning exercises now to prepare for such an event. This is supposed to be a very heavy season for tropical storms, and one tropical storm could devastate not only the coast of Louisiana, but also inland.

How can we prevent a BP oil disaster from happening again?

We need to adopt short-term protections to make sure that we don't have another BP oil disaster. The Secretary of the Interior has already made recommendations to President Obama about tightening up safety standards on rigs and on the ocean floor. Let's implement those right away. Let's require additional technologies like the acoustic blowout preventer that's required for offshore oil rigs in Norway and Brazil. This $500,000 piece of equipment might have prevented the huge disaster occurring right now in the Gulf. In addition, let's lift the cap on liability. Right now, big oil companies are only liable for the first $75 million worth of damages. We know the BP Gulf oil disaster is going to lead to billions of dollars worth of damages. Let's lift that liability cap. The only long-term solution to reduce the risk of future BP oil disasters is to dramatically limit our use of oil. Let's establish an oil-reduction goal and empower the president to meet it. Let's make our cars go much, much further on a gallon of gas. Let's invest in clean, alternative fuels, like electricity for cars and natural gas for heavy trucks. Let's invest in public transportation so people have an alternative to driving. It's only through these long term investments that we're going to reduce our oil use, improve our national security, and dramatically reduce the risk of another BP oil disaster.