Hoping BP succeeds

Some people are expressing anger about the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico by refusing to buy BP gasoline.

It's the wrong approach on several levels. Most of the economic pain would be felt by the independent station owners, not the giant oil company.

But the goal to financially punish the company is also misguided. BP is paying for the cleanup. If the company runs out of money, taxpayers would have to cover all the costs.

The total damages from the oil spewing from the Deepwater Horizon site are impossible to estimate, but countless coastal residents are keeping track of losses so they can file for compensation.

BP has agreed to put $20 billion in escrow to help pay for damages. The company agreed to put in $5 billion a year for four years.

It looks as if costs easily could exceed $20 billion. If BP goes bankrupt, lots of injured people will also lose.

And even if you aren't directly affected, everyone is indirectly affected. BP is giving money directly to the states to help with their cleanup-related costs and to pay for public-relations campaigns, such as Florida's to encourage tourism.

Wherever you see oil on a beach, you'll probably also see a BP-paid crew there trying to clean it up.

Saturday on Pensacola Beach, demonstrators joined by Gov. Charlie Christ formed a long line to protest oil drilling in the Gulf. The cleanup workers took off their gloves and waited patiently under tents, where they spend much of their time during the hottest part of the day. In the high 90s, federal regulations require them to rest for up to 50 minutes an hour

The oil is very hard to get out of the sand, and crews are improvising. In some places heavy equipment can be used, but most of the work is being done by hand, with shovels and rakes. Some of the workers are using little plastic shovels and bait nets to gather tar balls and put them in plastic bags.

Contractors working for BP have hired 25,000 cleanup workers, drawn from across the South. Many were previously unemployed and are grateful for the pay - said to be $12 to $18 an hour - and plenty of overtime.

Some of them are staying in local motels, at the contractors' expense, and move along the coast wherever they're needed.

They're following the floating oil, carried by the winds and currents. One high tide can wash oil ashore, and the next can cover the oil with sand, making it hard to find.

Hundreds of private boats have also been chartered to scout for oil, skim oil from the surface, lay protective barriers and ferry supplies.

This past weekend, the water appeared clear and oil-free in Pensacola. Beach-goers had to watch their step amid scattered tar and caked oil, but reported no problems in the surf.

Farther west, skimming boats worked off Orange Beach, Ala., where a strong scent of petroleum discouraged swimming and signs warned against it.

BP can be faulted for being unable to stop the oil closer to the source of the spill, more than 130 miles from Pensacola Beach, but it appears every effort is being made now to haul away the soiled sand.

With spill-related expenses now running $100 million a day and the well still uncapped, a healthy BP is the best chance for restoring the damaged Gulf shore.