Real cost of US’s ‘worst disaster’ since 9-11

The catastrophic BP oil spill was set at a cost of US$23 billion to the Gulf Coast region but there are other price tags surrounding what President Obama has called the US’s worst disaster since 9-11.
 

Beyond the immediate cost to the three most affected states, there’s also the price tag for coastal tourism overall, the US economy and even the fate of oil giant BP itself.
 

"Travel is a perception business, and the impact of disasters like the BP oil spill on the industry is actually predictable," said Roger Dow, president of US Travel.
 

He added:
 

"We know from this research that the oil spill will have long-term effects on businesses and jobs in the Gulf Coast region unless we counteract the usual course of events with an unprecedented response."
 

The report was based on an Oxford study of 25 recent natural and man-made disasters, including other oil spills, hurricanes, pandemics, the Asian tsunami and acts of terrorism. Of those categories, only hurricanes have a similarly long window of impact on tourism as oil spills.
 

States impacted by the spill already are facing significant losses. A study of online-travel sites showed that traveler interest in the region was down by half in July.
 

To combat the impact, US Travel also released a 10-point "Roadmap to Recovery," a plan it wants the federal government to implement (largely with BP’s money) that includes an online portal for up-to-the-minute information about which areas are safe; tax deductions to give travelers incentive to travel to and do business in the area; and increased access to capital, as well as low interest loans to allow businesses to remain open and retain employees.
 

What about the impact on other tourist dependent beachside areas? Tampa Bay’s beaches are oil-free but the American Advertising Federation is moving towards informing visitors that the region built upon the water is safe to visit.
 

“People I talked to thought that all the Gulf beaches were black with oil,” said Mike Weber, a St. Petersburg ad man organizing the campaign.
 

Meanwhile, President Obama in a stark and striking comparison said the impact of the BP disaster on the national psyche “echoes 9-11.”
 

The endlessly spewing oil rig off the Gulf Coast – like the terror attacks of 2001 – will influence the nation’s future long after the crisis passes, the President said in a provocative Oval Office interview with Politico.
 

Since the oil spill did not lead to a massive loss of lives, critics of Obama complained that his statement was an exaggeration.
 

Moody’s also reported that while the oil spill had a profound impact on the Gulf States, it’s overall impact on the national economy was minor, at least in the short term.
 

But there could be other long-term impacts.
 

"It’s difficult to marshal resources to do a thorough job of charting what the impacts are," Jeffrey Short, an environmental chemist who worked on the effects of the Exxon Valdez spill, told Nature magazine. "It’s especially difficult when weird things happen to catch the scientific community by surprise. That’s clearly the case here."
 

As for BP itself, the incident has already cost the oil giant $100 billion, according to the Montreal Gazette. Several news accounts raise questions about the survival of the company.
 

By David Wilkening