Hello:

What has the oil spill in the gulf done to your thinking about MORE drilling offshore?

excon

A lot .

I think if oil spills from holes a mile in the sea can't be controlled /capped in short order ,they shouldn't be drilled at all .

I don't understand why that would be a challenge ;but until it can be demonstrated as a manageble risk then no more drilling should occure in deep water. Sites in the Atlantic would be worse.

That being said ;do you think this will prevent other nations in the Gulf region from drilling ? Nope ;in fact, this is a drill site from BP ;arguably the most experienced company in deep water drilling... I can't imagine what will happen when LukOil starts drilling off Cuba.

I can't imagine what will happen when LukOil starts drilling off of Cuba.Hello tom:

Well, we COULD stop them from drilling. If you, like me, believes that an oil slick headed our way is an assault upon our nation just like airliners into buildings were. That, in my view, would be a proper use of our military.

excon

PS> I'm happy to see you adopt an environmentally correct solution. Is that the position of the right wing? Or, is collateral damage acceptable to them?

I do not know what other's think on this . I am still not opposed to off shore drilling . But there is more at stake than the energy source.
This incident has demonstrated a major flaw in the process that needs correcting before further drilling activity proceeds. That doesn't mean I will forever be opposed to drilling . Fix the flaw and drill baby drill!
One thing I learned from other major spills is that nature makes rapid corrections.

This has just reinforced my position that we should not be drilling. But Bush I mean Obama wants to keep on keepin' on.

This does expose a serious flaw in allowing more drilling, since it seems that the cutoff valves that have prevented this sort of thing in shallow waters are pressure activated and don't work in the deeps.

NPR Media Player (http://www.npr.org/templates/player/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=126312535&m=126312509)

Hello righty's:

My gawd, you guys sound positively LIBERAL.

excon

That would presume that you can't be a righty and an environmentalist... that is a fundamental flaw in your assumptions.

Hello righty's:

My gawd, you guys sound positively LIBERAL.

excon

Kind of blows the "righty" label, huh?

No, we don't sound any more liberal than usual. We've been entirely consistent in agreeing with you that throwing trash into the air (or sea) is not a good thing. And by the way, we are using our military to stop the assault (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2010/04/28/DI2010042804012.html).

Hello again, correcties:

Let's sing Coom By Ya.

excon

Hello again, correcties:

Let's sing Coom By Ya.

excon

Better yet, let's tell BP that fixing their blowoff preventer devices is the way to get us to buy their gas.

Hello again, Cats:

So, it's boycott BP. I LOVE it. (Still sounds kind of liberal, if you ask me)

excon

I am happy we all agree.
Are you serious about Boycotting BP? What else can be done?

I think Obama's decision to open up offshore drilling is a huge step backward. We should be encouraging conservation of our remaining fossil fuel reserves as well the development and growth of renewable energy technologies.

At current rates of consumption (including an annual 2.5% increase in energy consumption), we'll be out of coal in about 50 years. According to a researcher at Caltech, "we will have consumed half of the ultimate world oil, gas, and coal production by 2019 (http://www.its.caltech.edu/~rutledge/AGU%20abstract.pdf). This means that the current intense development of alternative sources of energy can be justified independently of climate considerations."

PS. By "ultimate" he means ALL of it, discovered yet or not. He's found a way to estimate total coal reserves. Projections tend to be super optimistic. (And the researcher is a Bush Republican, not a flaming liberal. :))

I won't boycott them. It's not like they intended to have this accident .
I do however boycott Citgo and Lucoil willingly and gladly .

Tom why do you boycott Citgo and Lucoil?

Citgo because it is solely owned by the Venezuela government .

Lukoil ;because it's a KGB conglomerate and a major benefactor of the Iraqi Oil for Food vouchers ;a program we now know was completely corrupt. Until recently ,under pressure from the US ,they were aiding Iran .

I buy Valero whenever possible .They use a majority domestic source and refine all their oil in the US. And in Canada

Good to know thanks Tom. I actually boycott the lucoil down the street from me but it is purely a nonsense personal boycott!

Do you think it was pure coincedence that the rig blew up on Earth Day?

You know Emland I was wondering if someone sabotaged the rig. I didn't realize it was Earth day but I was thinking more on the lines of an environmental group doing it because Obama expanding the offshore drilling. So they can say look how unsafe it is.

I was thinking of sabotage by another oil company. What a bunch of conspiracy theorists we are!

No, I've always been against drilling off shore in the ocean. Now I am more convinced it is wrong! I knew it was just a matter of time before something like this happened.

Except the blow out theory is plausible . It does happen; but it is in the containing them by a valve system installed at the head of a well that's working properly where disasters are prevented.

thisisit Ok lets say we don't drill for oil, natural gas is a risk too so that's out. Coal ?miners just died from that ;not an option . Dams for hydro; gone .Nuclear ? Forgettabout it.


But we are still left with the reality that the people of the world have ever increasing energy demands. How do you satisfy that immediately ?( I know about all the sciene fiction future possibilities. )

thisisit Ok lets say we don't drill for oil, natural gas is a risk too so that's out. Coal ?miners just died from that ;not an option . Dams for hydro; gone .Nuclear ? forgettabout it.


but we are still left with the reality that the people of the world have ever increasing energy demands. How do you satisfy that immediately ?( I know about all the sciene fiction future possibilities. )

Don't worry Tom some dills are using a laser to create fusion, they didn't call it cold fusion because the result is very hot, if they don't destroy the Earth all your problems will be solved. Out in space the sun burns without the benefit of a very volitile substanced called oxygen and yet these researchers will create the experiment in an oxygen rich environment, sort of like drilling oil wells in a pristine environment

thisisit Ok lets say we don't drill for oil, natural gas is a risk too so that's out. Coal ?miners just died from that ;not an option . Dams for hydro; gone .Nuclear ? forgettabout it.


but we are still left with the reality that the people of the world have ever increasing energy demands. How do you satisfy that immediately ?( I know about all the sciene fiction future possibilities. )

Geez, I don't know... you know, when gas prices went so high, I changed my driving habits by A LOT. I'd say I use less than a tank a month now compared to a tank a week. I also turned down my thermostat, and don't use air conditioning anymore. I recycle just about everything. What is wrong with nuclear power? I thought that was cleaner energy? I don't really like the windmills, but that might be the best. We can't keep using up things we are going to run out of anyway because we will eventually run out, if we don't ruin the planet first.

Glad you are open to nuclear. I happen to think it will be the bridge between now and the day when recycled trash fuels the planet.

But most people think it is much riskier than even the worse oil spill. They are wrong of course but can't be convinced otherwise. Long Island NY went so far as to build and contaminate a plant before they scrapped it... and in that case the protesters had a point .Long Island is the worlds longest parking lot and evacuation planning impossible.

I happen to think that the breeder reactors the French use make so much sense that I can't believe they aren't widely used.

But they aren't so drill drill drill .

I happen to think that the breeder reactors the French use make so much sense that I can't believe they aren't widely used.

.

The reason is they are french, it's the not made here syndrome

Now we learn ,according to the WSJ, there was no off site remote control acoustic switch shut off valve that is required by some other major producer nations .

Safe guards exist .But they weren't being used on this rig.
Leaking Oil Well Lacked Safeguard Device - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704423504575212031417936798.html)

Hello again, tom:

So, THAT doesn't convince you to boycott?

excon

Boycott whom ?

Hello again, tom:

7/Eleven. They sell gas, don't they?

excon

Proof will come out a Democrat ordered that platform sunk...

I'll boycott. Of course we don't have any BP, Citgo, Lucoil or 7-11's in our city so we're all in solidarity on that here. :D

I'll defer on boycotting any other entity until I find further information. If a remote valve is standard practice elsewhere then who is responsible for it not being standard here ? Was it oversight or was there a decision made by Congress and/or the regulators to ignore the safety provision.

Since I don't know yet the reason why it was not used in this case I can't affix blame.

Since I don't know yet the reason why it was not used in this case I can't affix blame.Hello again, tom:

I don't know. Ever hear the expression, "the buck stops here"? I don't know the REASON either, but I DO know that someone who was SUPPOSED to know the reason, didn't - and he worked for BP. That's enough to affix responsibility for me.

excon

You are probably right. It would be easy for me to say yeah I'll boycott them ;but I can't really recall the last time I pulled into a BP station.

I wonder if they are going to revamp their adds about being the green("beyond petroleum."
) energy company ?

Doesn't BP supply more than just BP stations? I was assuming it would be a trick to know where a lot of gas stations get their gas. For example, where does Costco gas come from? What about fuel oil used in oil-powered power plants or domestic heating oil?

Crude is a commodity... once it hits the refineries... who knows who's oil is mixed with whoes. THere is no effective way to keep any one companies oil completely segregated from the well to the pump.

Not in this country anyway.

Correct ,but my criteria is not where the oil comes per se. It is who owns the company in the case of Citgo and Lukoil.

Hello again,

Upon further consideration, BP will be boycotted, just because, WITHOUT any organized effort. That's the best kind of boycott anyway. Besides, the cost of this spill will probably put them out of business anyway.

excon

I heard some really scary forecasts that if credible are things I don't even want to contemplate.. . 6 months to completely seal the breach? Is that possible ?

Going to be a bigger hit for whoever insured that oil platform...

Yeah its still going to hit them really hard... but they ARE heavily insured as well. And the USA isn't their ONLY market.

Going to be an aweful mess no doubt.

Some people are saying the fire crews may have sunk it by putting so much water on it. Ask any Navy person who spent time aboard ship. That's a big risk when fighting a fire on a floating vessel.

Probably greedy management. I seemed to have read articles that it lacked two critical safety devices and the one it had either didn't work or wasn't activated. Also I hear that the platform wasn't owned by BP.

At least the Obama administration is suspending new wells until the cause of this is found.

I'm beginning to think it's a fight between ethics and greed. Greed usually wins not "the right thing to do".

Greenpeace...

I heard some really scary forecasts that if credible are things I don't even want to contemplate. ........6 months to completely seal the breach ?? Is that possible ?

Yes Tom it took three months to cap a much smaller problem off Western Australia recently after a rig fire and this rig went down no doubt taking infrastracture with it. It is very difficult to work at depth

I was reading about the Aussie rig yesterday . They are talking about drilling another hole at an angle to eventually intersect with the leaking well. And capping it from there .

The Aussie leak was in the East Timor Sea. What has been the environmental impact a year later ?

I just hope this is not used to further restrict drilling.

There are a LOT of working poor people who have no other way of getting to their jobs other than by driving. $5.00 per gallon gasoline would make it cheaper for them to stay at home and get public assistance than to work. In fact the only way some of them could buy the necessary fuel woud be to use credit cards to the limit. Then when they have to default, more problems.

The industry WILL find out why this happened, and they WILL correct the problem.

Think about it. There is NOTHING in this world warrented to be 100% effective or safe. If electricity were discovered under our present system, it would be prohibited as too dangerous.

Think how many people die each year in auto accidents. Should we ban cars?

Hospitals,
Doctors,
Falls from heights?

I was reading about the Aussie rig yesterday . They are talking about drilling another hole at an angle to eventually intersect with the leaking well. and capping it from there .

The Aussie leak was in the East Timor Sea. What has been the environmental impact a year later ?

The leak was relatively small 3000 barrels a day. It was not close to the coast. It is difficult to find detailed reports of the impacts however this link may give you what you ask
Montara Oil spill (http://www.environment.gov.au/coasts/oilspill.html)

At least the CEO at Bp says they're going to step up. I may have been premature about where I buy gas. Of course that means the pumps will be paying the claims, but "There ain't no free lunch."

Heckuva job, Tommy (http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalpunch/2010/05/while-oil-slick-spread-interior-department-chief-of-staff-rafted-with-wife-in-grand-canyon-.html). Three days after the Deepwater Horizon leaks were discover, Interior Department chief of staff Tom Strickland was in the Grand Canyon on a trip the White House called “work-focused,” which included a little white-water rafting with his wife. What if this had been Bush's guy?

Hello Steve:

You seem to think Brownie was scorned because he was a Bushy... Nahhh, he was scorned because he was incompetent and a dufus. Tommy, on the other hand, DID a heckofa job.

excon

The President will not allow his administration to become defined by the Gulf oil leak. He quickly used his Alinsky training to identify the villain .He and Congress will shortly go into full court press to demonize BP ,big oil (round up the ususal suspects ).I hear they found a way to connect Halliburton to this and will of course make the next leap to blame Bush .

Tommy did a heckuva job doing what, wielding his paddle?

Yep, 10 years after he left Halliburton it's Cheney's fault.

Tommy did a heckuva job doing what, wielding his paddle?Hello again, Steve:

And, what was he required to do? He's a bureaucrat. He makes POLICY. He doesn't work for FEMA.

What? You expect the entire federal government to stand at the waters edge and wait for the oil?? Dude!

excon

Yep, 10 years after he left Halliburton it's Cheney's fault.Hello again, Steve:

You guys are amazing... You seem to think that if somebody ain't around anymore, the POLICY they made when they WERE around, don't matter. And, of course, we better not make mention of it.

You guys are SILLY.

excon

PS> I looked up FEMA. Amazingly, at the top of its organization chart, I found the "Center for Faith Based and Community Initiatives". That's a BUSH thing. Am I now no longer allowed to complain about it because Bush ain't around?? You guys are silly.

I know we're amazing, thanks.

And by the way, it's Obama's regime now, Interior Department officials no longer report to Bush, Cheney is no longer CEO of Halliburton, Tommy is responsible for "Fish and Wildlife" which just happen to live in the area of the leak, and blame Jake Tapper for reporting this... I'm just spreading the news.