I think you hit the nail right on the head--- a lot of people haven't a clue as to what's going on and some of those seem to be the heads at BP and too, our own Gov. is caught with it's pants down as usual and hasn't a clue as to what to do, when or how--so yes, you're completely right.
I would think that at 1 mile below the surface of the water it would indeed be hard to do a lot of complicated work with robot like devices but surely there should have and could have been some planning toward the day when something like this just might happen , especially when you're drilling this far under water.
And too, I think B.P. should have to reveal exactly what happened and as usual when a catastrophe like this does occur, it can be traced back somewhere along the trail to someone, somewhere not doing their job properly. This should be fully investigated and the person or persons responsible made public.
As to harming the environment, there's little doubt that this will harm the fishing, wildlife and etc. for years to come. How can a slimy scum of oil not affect the environment? As to making it's way to Fla., I'm surprised it's not already there. Once it gets into the currents that will eventually carry it through the keys and into the gulf stream, there's no telling where all it will end up. Better hope we don't have a hurricane in the Gulf this summer--if so, there'll be people several states away from the gulf with oily residue on their homes, cars, etc.
This mess can't but help injure the environment.