Drill, baby, drill!!

[anitram]

This may be the single largest ecological disaster in U.S. history. Unprecedented and absolutely disastrous.

But with the oil making landfall in Louisiana — and set to reach the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coasts by Monday — the impact is already being felt. Louisiana fishermen in Venice docked their boats this afternoon, knowing waters could be closed for a long, long time. Lawsuits have already been filed by seafood companies against BP and Transocean, the rig's operator. Analysts estimate that the Louisiana fishing industry could sustain $2.5 billion in losses, while Florida could lose $3 billion in tourism income.

BP CEO Tony Hayward said in an interview with Reuters that the company would compensate those affected by the spill, but the cost could be $8 billion or more — and the company's stock price has already dipped 12%. And the cost to the Gulf's ecosystems could be unimaginable. "Our thirst for fossil fuel means we've been playing Russian roulette with our environment," said Ken Rosenberg, director of conservation science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "The gun just went off."

In response, President Barack Obama put a freeze on new offshore-drilling leases until a review of the accident could be carried out. But he declined to back away from the pursuit of offshore drilling. "I continue to believe that domestic oil production is an important part of our overall strategy for energy security," Obama said on Friday. He went on to remind reporters that BP was ultimately responsible for paying for the cleanup but that "we are fully prepared to meet our responsibilities to any and all affected communities." As the accident goes from a spill to something far worse, it may be BP paying the check, but ultimately the buck will stop in the White House, and Obama will be judged.

The rest is here.

Offshore drilling is not and has never been a viable solution for anything.

Maybe Bill Maher put it best when he said:

"Every asshole who ever chanted 'Drill Baby Drill' should have to report to the Gulf Coast today for cleanup duty."

 

[corianderstem]

This whole thing makes my stomach hurt even thinking about it.

 

[Irvine511]

"Every asshole who ever chanted 'Drill Baby Drill' should have to report to the Gulf Coast today for cleanup duty."

 

[kellyahern]

^ As someone who lives near the gulf coast of Florida, I second your

Summer at the beach should be great this year

 

[INDY500]

Having just gone fishing off the coast of Louisiana last summer and given that several lives were lost, yes, this is a terrible thing. But I hope everyone will keep it in perspective.
1) This is the first accident of any significance in 40 years.
2) Offshore oil will get drilled. If not by us then by another, less safety conscience country. Would we rather those jobs go to foreign workers, the profits go to a treasury other than ours?
3) Wind turbines aren't exactly bird friendly.
4) We overreacted badly after 3 Mile island. We've paid dearly for that mistake so let's not repeat that.

 

[the iron horse]

Having just gone fishing off the coast of Louisiana last summer and given that several lives were lost, yes, this is a terrible thing. But I hope everyone will keep it in perspective.
1) This is the first accident of any significance in 40 years.
2) Offshore oil will get drilled. If not by us then by another, less safety conscience country. Would we rather those jobs go to foreign workers, the profits go to a treasury other than ours?
3) Wind turbines aren't exactly bird friendly.
4) We overreacted badly after 3 Mile island. We've paid dearly for that mistake so let's not repeat that.

I agree.


Oil is organic. It comes from the earth.

 

[coolian2]

Oil is organic. It comes from the earth.

i'm lost for words.

 

[PhilsFan]

Oil is organic. It comes from the earth.

Can I ask what that has to do with ... anything?

 

[INDY500]

Can I ask what that has to do with ... anything?

For one, the ocean floor naturally seeps oil. Rarely in one shot like this but it does. And the Icelandic volcano is a reminder that nature still messes with the ecology far more than man.

Drilling for oil here is still safer for our shoreline than drilling somewhere else and shipping it here.

 

[the iron horse]

i'm lost for words.

Here are some words I hope will help:


–adjective
1.
noting or pertaining to a class of chemical compounds that formerly comprised only those existing in or derived from plants or animals, but that now includes all other compounds of carbon.
2.
characteristic of, pertaining to, or derived from living organisms: organic remains found in rocks.
3.
of or pertaining to an organ or the organs of an animal, plant, or fungus.
4.
of, pertaining to, or affecting living tissue: organic pathology.
5.
Psychology. caused by neurochemical, neuroendocrinologic, structural, or other physical impairment or change: organic disorder. Compare functional (def. 5).
6.
Philosophy. having an organization similar in its complexity to that of living things.
7.
characterized by the systematic arrangement of parts; organized; systematic: elements fitting together into a unified, organic whole.
8.
of or pertaining to the basic constitution or structure of a thing; constitutional; structural: The flaws in your writing are too organic to be easily remedied.
9.
developing in a manner analogous to the natural growth and evolution characteristic of living organisms; arising as a natural outgrowth.
10.
viewing or explaining something as having a growth and development analogous to that of living organisms: an organic theory of history.
11.
pertaining to, involving, or grown with fertilizers or pesticides of animal or vegetable origin, as distinguished from manufactured chemicals: organic farming; organic fruits.
12.
Law. of or pertaining to the constitutional or essential law or laws of organizing the government of a state.
13.
Architecture. noting or pertaining to any work of architecture regarded as analogous to plant or animal forms in having a structure and a plan that fulfill perfectly the functional requirements for the building and that form in themselves an intellectually lucid, integrated whole.
14.
Fine Arts. of or pertaining to the shapes or forms in a work of art that are of irregular contour and seem to resemble or suggest forms found in nature.

 

[A_Wanderer]

For one, the ocean floor naturally seeps oil. Rarely in one shot like this but it does. And the Icelandic volcano is a reminder that nature still messes with the ecology far more than man.

Drilling for oil here is still safer for our shoreline than drilling somewhere else and shipping it here.

I question the impact of the icelandic volcano on the environment compared to a crude oil spill.

 

[kramwest1]

3) Wind turbines aren't exactly bird friendly.

This is such bullshit.

Shiny skyscraper windows cause more birds to fly into them than wind turbines.

Anyone know the tally of bird eggs harmed by mercury from burning coal?

I'll take wind turbines. Please skip the coal industry talking points.

 

[kramwest1]

Drilling for oil here is still safer for our shoreline than drilling somewhere else and shipping it here.

This I agree with. But, just because it's there doesn't mean we have to drill for it.

Leave it in the ground, increase natural gas use and let's transition to a hydrogen economy where wind and solar are dominant.

The crap about how difficult constructing a hydrogen infrastructure will be could have been used about the automotive/oil industry from the 1930s through the 1950's.

 

[PhilsFan]

For one, the ocean floor naturally seeps oil. Rarely in one shot like this but it does. And the Icelandic volcano is a reminder that nature still messes with the ecology far more than man.

Drilling for oil here is still safer for our shoreline than drilling somewhere else and shipping it here.

I just mean the whole "it comes from the earth" comment. I don't understand what that has to do with this discussion.

 

[Irvine511]

I just mean the whole "it comes from the earth" comment. I don't understand what that has to do with this discussion.

Jesus put it there so Americans could drive their SUVs to Outback.

 

[kellyahern]

Jesus put it there so Americans could drive their SUVs to Outback.

Where shrimp on the barbie will now be $50 - per shrimp.

 

[kramwest1]

Oil is natural. If you take 2 acres of farmland, spray a barrel of crude oil on one and a barrel of salt water on the other, the oil one will be fertilized and grow, the salt water one will kill the crops and possibly prevent future crops from growing.

But just because it's natural doesn't mean it's natural to pump the shit out of the ground and set fire to it.

FFS uranium, radon and cancer are naturally occurring things, too, doesn't mean I want anything to do with them. What if Great White Shark semen could power your car and regrow hair? Great, but I don't want anything to do with it, and I don't want to get involved in producing it.

We are smarter than oil at this point in our history, let's act like it. It's dirty, the politics of it suck, and it's running out. Let's move on.

 

[AliEnvy]

Mother of all gushers could kill Earth's oceans

First, the BP platform was drilling for what they call deep oil. They go out where the ocean is about 5,000 feet deep and drill another 30,000 feet into the crust of the earth. This it right on the edge of what human technology can do. Well, this time they hit a pocket of oil at such high pressure that it burst all of their safety valves all the way up to the drilling rig and then caused the rig to explode and sink. Take a moment to grasp the import of that. The pressure behind this oil is so high that it destroyed the maximum effort of human science to contain it.

When the rig sank it flipped over and landed on top of the drill hole some 5,000 feet under the ocean.

Now they've got a hole in the ocean floor, 5,000 feet down with a wrecked oil drilling rig sitting on top of is spewing 200,000 barrels of oil a day into the ocean. Take a moment and consider that, will you!

First they have to get the oil rig off the hole to get at it in order to try to cap it. Do you know the level of effort it will take to move that wrecked oil rig, sitting under 5,000 feet of water? That operation alone would take years and hundreds of millions to accomplish. Then, how do you cap that hole in the muddy ocean floor? There just is no way. No way.

The only piece of human technology that might address this is a nuclear bomb. I'm not kidding. If they put a nuke down there in the right spot it might seal up the hole. Nothing short of that will work. [See Paul Noel's ideas above.]

If we can't cap that hole that oil is going to destroy the oceans of the world. It only takes one quart of motor oil to make 250,000 gallons of ocean water toxic to wildlife. Are you starting to get the magnitude of this?

We're so used to our politicians creating false crises to forward their criminal agendas that we aren't recognizing that we're staring straight into possibly the greatest disaster mankind will ever see. Imagine what happens if that oil keeps flowing until it destroys all life in the oceans of this planet. Who knows how big of a reservoir of oil is down there.

Not to mention that the oceans are critical to maintaining the proper oxygen level in the atmosphere for human life.

We're humped. Unless God steps in and fixes this. No human can. You can be sure of that.

 

[BVS]

Oil is organic and trees grow back, well that falls under the "no shit Sherlock" category doesn't it?

It's the how you use it that makes a difference.

Everything else is simpleton "science".

 

[LemonMelon]

Oil is organic.

No wonder prices are so high.

 

[bono_212]

No wonder prices are so high.

ZlNG!

 

[Tiger Edge]

1) This is the first accident of any significance in 40 years.

You're right. 9/11 was the first large-scale terrorist attack on US soil. I'm so glad we didn't overreact to that. We dealt with those responsible and moved on.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

From NY Times

4:53 p.m. |Another Alaskan Writes

A reader named Danny Carpenter, a commercial fisherman from Cordova, Alaska writes:

If Sarah Palin had had any personal experience or consequence with the Exxon Valdez spill she would never glibly trotted out “Drill, baby, drill.” Our spill ended up employing over 10,000 people and was an economic boon provided you weren’t trying to make a living commercial fishing or involved in tourism activities.

I feel for the folks along the Gulf Coast because after over 20 years we still have lots of subsurface oil in Prince William Sound and after a hard fought court battle the plaintiffs received 5 cents on the dollar of the jury award. For those working on the Gulf spill be aware this stuff is toxic to you as well. I’d be willing to bet that most folks are not trained and will not be wearing respirators similar to the working conditions of our spill and the health toll will guarantee there are lots of high paying jobs due to the turnover.

The fact is that as long as we tie ourselves to fossil fuels we will continue to have these tragedies. Oil is toxic whether it’s a tanker spill, a platform spill, or the everyday oil leak from one of the millions of vehicles we drive that finds it’s way into the ocean, the local lake or the aquifer system we take our drinking water from. The folks pushing energy development with fossil fuels are in it for the money and no amount of money is going to fix an oil spill of any magnitude. I’m sorry some folks on another coast are going to lose a special place they truly love for the sake of some easy money for corporations and shareholders.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

Limbaugh suggests oil rig explosion an inside job; says cleanup unnecessary | New Orleans News, Local News, Breaking News, Weather | wwltv.com | Gulf Oil Spill





Limbaugh suggests oil rig explosion an inside job; says cleanup unnecessary

by Chad Bower / Eyewitness News

wwltv.com

Posted on May 2, 2010 at 11:48 AM

Updated yesterday at 12:13 PM

Welcome to a special edition of New Orleans in the News blog focused on the oil spill and the recovery efforts, and what others in the world are saying about the catastrophe. Earlier this week the LA Times released a controversial story saying New Orleanians are "shrugging" at the oil spill, but now radio host Rush Limbaugh has jumped into the foray with comments that are sure to spark some debate.

First, Limbaugh on Thursday alluded to the oil rig explosion being an inside job:

"I want to get back to the timing of the blowing up, the explosion out there in the Gulf of Mexico of this oil rig. Since they're sending SWAT teams down there now this changes the whole perspective of this. Now, lest we forget, ladies and gentlemen, the carbon tax bill, cap and trade that was scheduled to be announced on Earth Day. I remember that. And then it was postponed for a couple of days later after Earth Day, and then of course immigration has now moved in front of it.

But this bill, the cap-and-trade bill, was strongly criticized by hardcore environmentalist wackos because it supposedly allowed more offshore drilling and nuclear plants, nuclear plant investment. So, since they're sending SWAT teams down there, folks, since they're sending SWAT teams to inspect the other rigs, what better way to head off more oil drilling, nuclear plants, than by blowing up a rig? I'm just noting the timing here."

"You do survive these things. I'm not advocating don't care about it hitting the shore or coast and whatever you can do to keep it out of there is fine and dandy, but the ocean will take care of this on its own if it was left alone and was left out there," Limbaugh said. "It's natural. It's as natural as the ocean water is.

"Well, the turtles may take a hit for a while, but so what? So do we!" Limbaugh said. "Just give it a pain pill! Why not? That's what they had for us, and we don't even launch ourselves into the windshields of fire trucks."

Limbaugh followed up those comments on Friday by saying this is "Obama's Katrina." To be fair, he's said this before during last year's swine flu craze.

 

[Tiger Edge]

That is quite possibly the saddest photo ever.

"Well, the turtles may take a hit for a while, but so what? So do we!" Limbaugh said. "Just give it a pain pill! Why not? That's what they had for us, and we don't even launch ourselves into the windshields of fire trucks."

This whole quote is full of non-sequiturs. What exactly is launching itself into the windshield of a fire truck?? The turtles? The pain pills?

No surprise he's advocating pain pills either.

 

[MrsSpringsteen]

 

[corianderstem]

Rush becomes more and more of a douchebag every day, doesn't he?

 

[bono_212]

That is quite possibly the saddest photo ever.

This whole quote is full of non-sequiturs. What exactly is launching itself into the windshield of a fire truck?? The turtles? The pain pills?

No surprise he's advocating pain pills either.

Damn flying turtles got what was coming to them.

 

[Irvine511]

oh. my. god.

as one who's absolute, hands-down, favorite part of SCUBA is interacting with these amazing, inspiring creatures, this photo nearly moves me to tears.

 

[BVS]

Rush becomes more and more of a douchebag every day, doesn't he?

What scares me more is that his supporters continue to turn a blind eye or remain oblivious to his racsim, sexism, and all around doucehebaggery...

He's getting worse, they continue to love him. Says a lot about that demographic...