Pensacola lowering boom on BP?

With the BP oil spill almost certain to reach the beaches of Pensacola within days, Pensacola area officials are bracing for the worst.

County commissioners have already declared a state of emergency. Pensacola Beach is already probably out of luck, but officials want to protect Pensacola Bay by using 6 miles of boom to build a barrier to block the oil.

Outrageously, however, this plan must first be approved by BP.

Why??? It's not even on BP property!

Um, you know what, BP? After you pollute the gulf with one of the worst oil spills in history, you shouldn't get to decide what a city is allowed to do to protect itself from the spill. The Gulf of Mexico doesn't become BP property just because BP's oil coats so much of it.

If I was Pensacola's county commission, I'd put up the 6-mile boom whether BP liked it or not. In an emergency, you act now and deal with BP's cries later.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports that a law enacted by the elder Bush limits oil companies' liability for spills to only $75,000,000 - even though damages from the BP spill have to be in the billions by now.

(Source: http://www.wtsp.com/news/state/story.aspx?storyid=131091)