The spill, though at last contained, has done serious damage to two linchpins of the south-eastern Louisiana economy: oil and fishing.
But it is not the first difficulty Mr Chávez has faced in organising political backing for a revolution whose linchpins are his own personality, the army and oil money.
Already some liberal members of parliament are calling for a revision of the restrictive press and electoral laws, both of which were linchpins of King Hussein's system of limited democracy.
One, being conducted by Dr Stahl's colleagues at Alexion Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology firm based in New Haven, Connecticut, is testing an antibody to C5 one of the molecular linchpins of the complement system in 2,000 heart-attack patients who are about to have their blood flow restored.
The linchpins of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic are not Ukrainian separatists but Russian citizens who are, or were, members of the intelligence services.
The black stuff pouring through Newcastle's port is one of Australia's economic linchpins, making it the world's biggest coal-exporter.
The threat the startups pose is not that they will topple banks as linchpins of the economy.
After the Taliban's collapse large parts of the country came under the control of unsavoury warlords, often linchpins of the booming opium trade.
And selling nuclear-energy technology abroad Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries all produce reactors is one of the linchpins of Mr Kan's growth strategy.Second, electricity rationing may keep output depressed for longer than originally anticipated.
They tell the stories of Sheikhas operating as peacemakers and dynastic linchpins, women who became pioneers in education and business, and also poets ("When you say Shakespeare, we would say Ousha Bint Khalifa", says Dr Ghubash).
Because of the presence of mineral resources such as nickel, lead, and zinc in Macedonia, ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy have long been linchpins of the country's manufacturing sector.
