Contract workers shovel oil from a beach impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in Gulf Shores, Ala., Wednesday.LEE CELANO
Twenty-billion dollars is more money than Ronnie Granier can conceive of, more than he could earn in 100,000 years of guiding sport fishermen through the twisted waterways that surround this southern Louisiana outpost.
But he feels certain that even a figure that high isn't enough to put back together the coast - or the living - he loves.
"I don't think that's going to be nowhere near enough," said Mr. Granier, who pioneered sport fishing here 30 years ago, but is now contemplating forced retirement. "Not for all the people that's lost their jobs, all the people that's going to lose their jobs between here and Alabama, Mississippi, Florida."
The spill has brought to light the myriad of businesses, livelihoods and institutions sustained by the Gulf of Mexico. Nobody knows how much the cleanup and compensation will ultimately cost. But it is clear it will be difficult, even for a company of BP's scale, to make things right. One example: Alabama's schools plan to bill the company for losses to their trust fund, which derives most of its money from sales-tax revenues that are expected to diminish with the drop in tourism.
Many other questions remain. Will BP compensate coastal condo owners for a drop in property value? Can it cover the enormous series of financial holes opened by the spill?
Take Zeke's Landing, the Orange Beach, Ala., marina that hosts the largest offshore fishing fleet on the Gulf Coast. A single party boat there typically grosses nearly $300,000 (U.S.) a year. The marina's three restaurants have seen business plunge. Money has dried up at its retail shop.
And then there are the 40 charter operators, whose boats are worth up to $2-million, and typically make up to $2,800 a day. Though most are working on the spill, none can currently run fishing trips. Many expect they'll be forced to give up their vessels if they can't keep up payments.
Marina co-owner David Stewart has begun considering the possibility that his own business won't make it.
"It's a bad deal," he said.
Some Gulf area workers say BP's $20-billion commitment to save the Gulf Coast shows real support by the company.
The amount being set aside is "going to be just about right," said one Venice fishing guide, who asked for anonymity because he is now working for BP. "When somebody says $20-billion, that states to me that the company realizes the seriousness of the situation, so they're not trying to nickel and dime us."
Still, people on the coast are worried the money won't last as long as the hurt. What if, the fishermen ask, the spill wipes out a generation of fish - an impact that might not become obvious for years?
"What's it going to do to the plankton, which in turn will affect the baitfish, which in turn will affect the fish that we fish for?" asked Billy Wallbaum, a sport fishing guide who is now working on the spill.
And there's another, more difficult question: how can money, even tens of billions, bring back a way of life?
"I'm 59 years old, I've been running a yacht marina for 15 years. Now I'm running an oil field marina," said Mike Ballay, the Cypress Cove harbour master. "You have to change in life, but it's tough to change. And should somebody pay you when they make you change? That's a hard question to answer."