Oil Spill

[DuncanONeil]

One blow out in over 30,000 wells dug in the gulf?

And that means the industry is out of control??

Yesterday even the President admitted that this was an exceedingly rare event. Does that not lay more responsibility on the people in charge of inspections.
The Administration also admitted that this may have resulted from a level of complacency. We have done so well for so long that we obviously know what we are doing. In other words we got it right.

The Government is already in "control" of the clean up efforts. BP is not just left alone to do whatever it feels like, however, they do have the equipment, experience, manpower and responsibility to get this job done, supposedly, and as such they are the "face" of those attempting to respond to this disaster.

One thing to keep in mind, this experimental well is over a mile under the surface of the water, no one has any experience dealing with the complications involved at this site. Since no one really knows exactly what to do, then all of it is conjecture, guesses, and theories.

Of course ... it is politics as usual so one side wants to look like they are taking action and the other wants to cry conspiracy! There will be the regulation / deregulation argument and congress will pass some law or another to pacify us once more. So business as usual can resume with us all feeling that the government is making us safer.

Boycotting BP? What about Haliburton or TransOcean? ... yeah good luck with that. With everyone pointing fingers at each other, the only obvious truths here are; the environment is the largest loser in this tragedy and that we are simply reaping what we have sowed as the temporary custodians of this planet.

Respectfully,
Tantric

[VaAugusta]

One blow out in over 30,000 wells dug in the gulf?

And that means the industry is out of control??

Yesterday even the President admitted that this was an exceedingly rare event. Does that not lay more responsibility on the people in charge of inspections.
The Administration also admitted that this may have resulted from a level of complacency. We have done so well for so long that we obviously know what we are doing. In other words we got it right.

And consider: If our Sun were to go out, what is the harm? Does that really mean the universe is out of control? Hardly. It's just one of billions of other stars! Having 1 explode hardly seems any cause for concern.

Perhaps when we take a step back from statistical analysis, and instead examine the actual importance of the event, then we can see that some things matter.

[DuncanONeil]

And consider: If our Sun were to go out, what is the harm? Does that really mean the universe is out of control? Hardly. It's just one of billions of other stars! Having 1 explode hardly seems any cause for concern.

Perhaps when we take a step back from statistical analysis, and instead examine the actual importance of the event, then we can see that some things matter.

Yes, some things matter! BUT, to constantly hear that "the industry" is out of control, that "the industry" deliberately flouts "the rules". While at the same time telling us "the industry" does not have any "rules"

Yes this is a problem. But to use this accident as a justification to; demonize an industry and perhaps to some slight extent push a specific agenda that does not include oil.

Well that is nothing more than grandstanding!!

Then there is the issue of taking the people that are trying to solve the problem away from the problem to defend themselves from "criminal charges"!

Just to get it on record statistics are not a bad thing. They show the trend for various and sundry issues. The one that you seem to think is of no import shows the track record of the industry that many wish is at 100% responsible for the explosion itself.

[IAN 2411]

I can understand the idea of this discussion, but what I cannot work out is the aim. The arguments seem to revolve around the why and how, when in fact the discussions should be about the environment that is well and truly contaminated?

The why, is because BP messed up big time, the how is because they never followed protocol? The result, an explosion killing innocent people, and an oil spill causing an environmental disaster. Which I would like to point out only got into the top twenty oil spill disasters two weeks ago, and it has still not entered the top fifteen. Having said that, I hope to hell that it doesn’t get past the top nineteen that is if it is not already there?

What will happen to BP, let’s see, they will have to pay for the clean-up which will run into a few Billion but they can afford that and more. The American government will fine them, but not too hard because they pay a lot of tax to the American Gov. It will be substantial so as to appease the American people but it will never be enough, because there is no price that can be placed on the after effects.

Executive blame, yes there will be that but BP is multi-national so pick one from thousands, there will be one person handed the American Government that is willing to fall on his sword. Don’t think for one minute that this will never take place on the American coast line again because that is just wishful thinking. All the laws and legislations will not stop this kind of disaster happening again, what happens in international waters is out of our control. Until another fuel is found to fly aircraft, drive our cars and run our ships, this kind of disaster is only one idiot away.

I saw the news clip of Obama looking at the American coast line at the oil, yea well it was very good propaganda for the few but that was all it was. He said nothing more and could do no more than the people in the State that the coastline it belonged to. It was a show of solidarity to the nation that I have seen in the UK with our leaders on many occasion. He is seen afterwards bleating, throwing blame, and how he would do this and do that to stop the flow, but if the truth was known he has probably only read what the rest of us has read about oil spillage and clean up. The only people that know anything about oil is the oil people themselves, and he has no choice but to let them deal with it because he cannot perform miracles.

I live on the south coast of England and have done for 59 years, and I have seen some horrendous oil spills from sinking tanker in the English Channel. Live with oil on your beaches for that amount of time, because oil tankers that were carrying a flag of convenience decided to wash its tanks out four miles out at sea. Children were taken to the beaches and went back covered in oil, but that was life. However because of satellite this doesn’t happen so much now but it still happens. Our coast line has been clean of oil for a number of years now and the sea life is thriving once again. It might take an age for the American coastline to be clean and free of oil, but nature evolves to fight back and it will be clean once more.

Just a little footnote, if you think this is a disaster think of all that nuclear waste around the world stock piled. If that ever started to leak the oil spill would look like a blip.

AS for boycotting BP in which country are you talking about?

[DuncanONeil]

Bit cynical aren't we?
"BP messed up big time, the how is because they never followed protocol?"
If that is the case how do you account for the thousands of wells drilled with no accident?
"(T)he environment that is well and truly contaminated". I have heard that the beaches in Prince William Sound that were not cleaned up after that spill are doing much better than those that were.

Nuclear material? How does a solid leak?

I can understand the idea of this discussion, but what I cannot work out is the aim. The arguments seem to revolve around the why and how, when in fact the discussions should be about the environment that is well and truly contaminated?

The why, is because BP messed up big time, the how is because they never followed protocol? The result, an explosion killing innocent people, and an oil spill causing an environmental disaster. Which I would like to point out only got into the top twenty oil spill disasters two weeks ago, and it has still not entered the top fifteen. Having said that, I hope to hell that it doesn’t get past the top nineteen that is if it is not already there?

What will happen to BP, let’s see, they will have to pay for the clean-up which will run into a few Billion but they can afford that and more. The American government will fine them, but not too hard because they pay a lot of tax to the American Gov. It will be substantial so as to appease the American people but it will never be enough, because there is no price that can be placed on the after effects.

Executive blame, yes there will be that but BP is multi-national so pick one from thousands, there will be one person handed the American Government that is willing to fall on his sword. Don’t think for one minute that this will never take place on the American coast line again because that is just wishful thinking. All the laws and legislations will not stop this kind of disaster happening again, what happens in international waters is out of our control. Until another fuel is found to fly aircraft, drive our cars and run our ships, this kind of disaster is only one idiot away.

I saw the news clip of Obama looking at the American coast line at the oil, yea well it was very good propaganda for the few but that was all it was. He said nothing more and could do no more than the people in the State that the coastline it belonged to. It was a show of solidarity to the nation that I have seen in the UK with our leaders on many occasion. He is seen afterwards bleating, throwing blame, and how he would do this and do that to stop the flow, but if the truth was known he has probably only read what the rest of us has read about oil spillage and clean up. The only people that know anything about oil is the oil people themselves, and he has no choice but to let them deal with it because he cannot perform miracles.

I live on the south coast of England and have done for 59 years, and I have seen some horrendous oil spills from sinking tanker in the English Channel. Live with oil on your beaches for that amount of time, because oil tankers that were carrying a flag of convenience decided to wash its tanks out four miles out at sea. Children were taken to the beaches and went back covered in oil, but that was life. However because of satellite this doesn’t happen so much now but it still happens. Our coast line has been clean of oil for a number of years now and the sea life is thriving once again. It might take an age for the American coastline to be clean and free of oil, but nature evolves to fight back and it will be clean once more.

Just a little footnote, if you think this is a disaster think of all that nuclear waste around the world stock piled. If that ever started to leak the oil spill would look like a blip.

AS for boycotting BP in which country are you talking about?

[IAN 2411]

Bit cynical aren't we?
"BP messed up big time, the how is because they never followed protocol?"
If that is the case how do you account for the thousands of wells drilled with no accident?
"(T)he environment that is well and truly contaminated". I have heard that the beaches in Prince William Sound that were not cleaned up after that spill are doing much better than those that were.

Nuclear material? How does a solid leak?

Duncan with all due respects you would not like a lump of nuclear waste under your ass that is leaking radiation, and for your information it might be encased in lead, steel and concreet, but lead perrishes and deteriates, steel rusts and returns to its origanal state, and concreet has an even less chance of survival. But hay who the fuck cares it's not our generation that will have the problem of neutralising it, we'll be long dead. As i said in my last post this oil spill as bad as it is will just be a blip.

Regards ian 2411

[mkemse]

Duncan with all due respects you would not like a lump of nuclear waste under your ass that is leaking radiation, and for your information it might be encased in lead, steel and concreet, but lead perrishes and deteriates, steel rusts and returns to its origanal state, and concreet has an even less chance of survival. But hay who the fuck cares it's not our generation that will have the problem of neutralising it, we'll be long dead. As i said in my last post this oil spill as bad as it is will just be a blip.

Regards ian 2411

Keep in mind with all these suggestion the Oil is 500 feet under the suface of the water, alots of these idea are not going to happen how do you setlle concrete in 500 feet of water ect with that pressure and deep water issue. 500 feet under limits your ability for commmon surface solutions

[Lion]

One blow out in over 30,000 wells dug in the gulf?

And that means the industry is out of control??

If one nuclear bomb was stolen/lost, out of the thousands that exist in the world today, that would represent a failure in the system in my opinion.

For something that has this much affect, there should be absolutely safeguards to prevent anything like this from ever happening. Statistics is irrelevant.

Would it be an acceptable reason for a president to respond after a major 9/11 terrorist act to say "hey, we stopped the thousands or so others"? Or would the response be an overhaul the establishment that allowed the terrorists to commit whatever atrocious act they conceived of?

[DuncanONeil]

You may consider it a failure of the system but it is not a failure of the nuclear bomb system or the military but of security. Do you punish the entire military system for the failure of a technician or guard?

In things made by humans nothing is absolute! Statistics are never irrelevant, it is the manner of use.

9/11 is a horse of a different color. This was an act of war! Does not even come close to an OSHA violation. Even setting that aside this was a catastrophic event that destroyed the rig and consequently any safety protocols as well.

If one nuclear bomb was stolen/lost, out of the thousands that exist in the world today, that would represent a failure in the system in my opinion.

For something that has this much affect, there should be absolutely safeguards to prevent anything like this from ever happening. Statistics is irrelevant.

Would it be an acceptable reason for a president to respond after a major 9/11 terrorist act to say "hey, we stopped the thousands or so others"? Or would the response be an overhaul the establishment that allowed the terrorists to commit whatever atrocious act they conceived of?