Oil has been called ‘Texas tea” since the opening song of television’s The Beverly Hillbillies in the 1960s. Betsy Langert’s “BP; Texas Tea or Gulf Coast Coffee” was published on AlterNet on June 14, 2010. Langert was referring to BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
It’s uncertain if “coffee” will become another popular nickname for oil.
     
 
Wikipedia: Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred to as the BP oil spill, the Gulf of Mexico oil spill or the Macondo blowout) is a massive ongoing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, now considered the largest offshore spill in U.S. history. Some estimates placed it by late May or early June, 2010, as among the largest oil spills in the world with tens of millions of gallons spilled to date. The spill stems from a sea floor oil gusher (MC252) that resulted from the April 20, 2010 Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explosion. The explosion killed 11 platform workers and injured 17 others.
 
The gusher, now estimated by the quasi-official Flow Rate Technical Group to be flowing at 20,000 to 40,000 barrels (840,000 to 1,700,000 US gallons; 3,200 to 6,400 cubic metres) of crude oil per day, originates from a deepwater wellhead 5,000 feet (1,500 m) below the ocean surface. The exact spill flow rate is uncertain due the difficulty of installing measurement devices at that depth and is a matter of ongoing debate. The resulting oil slick covers a surface area of at least 2,500 square miles (6,500 km2), with the exact size and location of the slick fluctuating from day to day depending on weather conditions. Scientists have also reported immense underwater plumes of oil not visible at the surface.
 
Experts fear that the spill will result in an environmental disaster, with extensive impact already on marine and wildlife habitats. The spill has also damaged the Gulf of Mexico fishing and tourism industries. There have been a variety of ongoing efforts to stem the flow of oil at the wellhead. Crews have been working to protect hundreds of miles of beaches, wetlands and estuaries along the northern Gulf coast, using skimmer ships, floating containment booms, anchored barriers, and sand-filled barricades along shorelines. The U.S. Government has named BP as the responsible party in the incident, and officials have said the company will be held accountable for all cleanup costs resulting from the oil spill.
 
AlterNet
Posted by betsylangert at 11:04 am
June 14, 2010
BP; Texas Tea or Gulf Coast Coffee
BP Spills Coffee (Comedy skit involving a coffee spill at BP headquarters—ed.)
copyright © 2010 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org
For more than a century, in unison, the planets’ population proclaimed, thankfully petroleum flows. Oil powers our machines. The refined product has helped us manufacture massive quantities of clothing, aluminum sheet, and photovoltaic (PV) solar cells. “Plastics.” As was professed in a popular film decades ago, “There’s a great future in plastics.” Presently, and in the past, BP understood this and much more. The company’s Executives knew petroleum could and would provide endless profits, power, and a perpetual presence.
 
Mother Earth’s Coffee was BPs Cream
One need only consider the pretty penny made ($9 Billion) on the sale of Innovene, or the big bucks BPs SPORT Polymer Cracking technology is expected to yield. Black Gold, Texas Teas, and Gulf Coast Coffee, arguably, have fostered the good life for Americans. Nothing has changed that truth; yet, recent events have tweaked perceptions.