Development of the BPL Oil SpillThe eventual buildup of the BP oil spill began during the Bush administration. The Bush administration's demand for oil and its anti-government sensibilities have tainted the Minerals Management Service (MMS), the agency responsible for regulating offshore drilling. Vice President Dick Cheney had presided over the relaxation of regulations on drilling, including the exclusion of remote kill switches that could have prevented disaster. Soon, MMS is just a shell of its former shell filled with corruption and political influence. In a 2008 report, agency regulators were found to accept gifts and have sexual relations with employees of the companies they were supposed to monitor. Additionally, regulators allowed companies to fill out their own inspection forms, which were then written in pen by MMS employees. Additionally, reports also indicate that MMS allowed BP to drill in the Gulf of Mexico without first obtaining the required permits from the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) which assesses threats to endangered species and the impact that drilling was likely to have on the Gulf. Furthermore, the Obama administration's neglect to change the negative results of the Bush administration further increased and allowed disaster to occur. The Oil Spill The BP oil spill occurred off the coast of the United States in the Gulf of Mexico and is considered the largest accidental offshore oil spill in the history of the oil industry. After the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded and sank, it continued to leak oil for 87 days until it was plugged, resulting in an estimated leak of $4.9 million. barrels of oil in the ocean. The Deep Water Horizon was a semi...... middle of paper ...... Retrieved November 15, 2013. Dermansky, Julie (April 20, 2013). "Three years after the BP spill, tar balls and the scourge of oil on the Gulf Coast". The Atlantic. Retrieved November 18, 2013. Jamail, Dahr (March 9, 2011). "Gulf spill disease destroys lives". Al Jazeera. Retrieved November 17, 2013. Klien, Joe. “Who is to blame for the Gulf oil spill?.” TIME.com. TIME Magazine, May 27, 2010. Web. November 20, 2013. Malik, Stéphanie. “Practical ethics”. Practical ethics. University of Oxford, July 29, 2010. Web. November 18, 2013. National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling (January 2011). “Deep Water: The Gulf Oil Disaster and the Future of Offshore Drilling.” American government. Retrieved November 18 2013.