Sunday, July 22, 2007

BP Whiting Refinery

Being good stewards of our planet is very important. There are a lot of ways in which we can take care of our environment. I think it’s very important that not only individuals, but also companies strive to be good stewards also.

Recently, the Chicago Tribune ran an article about the BP plant in Whiting, Indiana. Understandably, anytime there is some kind of action that may seem like it will be harmful for our environment, people become very concerned. In this article, there were several facts that were misrepresented and that can cause quite a stir among people. I think stories like these can become so very confusing but there really are pros and cons and those need to be observed.

Even though there will be an increase in the ammonia released into Lake Michigan, it’s still well below what the federal regulations allow. Being allowed to do this means that BP can move forward with plans to modernize the Whiting Plant in order to process heavy crude oil from Canada. This move to modernize will be bringing more permanent jobs and will be giving us a secure and reliable source of crude oil.

I do agree that any amount of ammonia, sludge or any other toxin is not a good thing for Lake Michigan, but in this case, I can see that BP’s actions are somewhat justified and make sense.

Further reading:

Chicago Tribune Article

BP Whiting Refinery Fact Sheet


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