Gulf Oil Spill

[Giant Communist Robot]

Oil spill is becoming hard to find. Emulsified and anaerobic oil will hang around for a long time. BP maybe not.

[Shapley]

Presidential Panel: Dollars Did Not Trump Safety In Gulf Oil Spill

"Bartlit also challenged a narrative that has dominated the headlines and Democratic probes in Congress since the April 20 incident killed 11 and unleashed more than 200 million gallons of crude into the Gulf of Mexico: that BP made perilous choices to save money.

"To date we have not seen a single instance where a human being made a conscious decision to favor dollars over safety," Bartlit said."

[Giant Communist Robot]

Here's a quote from Time For Kids, a weekly paper distributed to schools here:

The oil upset many aspects of the Gulf's ecosystem, but birds were hardest hit. As of August 30, 2,034 oil-covered birds had been collected alive, and 2,145 had been found dead. Sea turtles also suffered. Thousands of workers have pitched in to clean the oily areas. "It could have been a lot, lot worse," said Mike Carloss, a Louisiana Department of Wildlife and fisheries biologist who has been doing rescue work.

The human impact of the spill is harder to measure. In Mobile, Alabama, 80% of the seafood packing plants have closed since the spill. With so many people out of work, more than 30% of residents claim that they need help. BP set up a fund to help, but no amount of money can make up for the stress on these coastal communities.

The turtles were covered in a different article. Volunteers moved turtle eggs from the Gulf coast of Florida to the Atlantic coast to avoid the oil.

[Giant Communist Robot]

I wanted to show that we did indeed lose a few thousand birds. Many people endured financial hardships, too. Stress isn't quantifiable, but money can help with financial hardships. The "no amount of money" claim should take this into account.

[Shapley]

I don't deny that it was a terrible tragedy. I was merely showing that all the earlier claims that it was brought about by BP's 'cutting corners' has been dismissed by the President's panel appointed to study the circumstances surrounding it.

[Giant Communist Robot]

The real tragedy was the 11 lives lost. A couple thousand birds and some temporarily oily beaches aren't likely to have lasting impact. Some money to those financially hurt is a good idea. Not taking those eleven into account (and the media rarely did) this was minor as a catastrophe.

[Haggis@wk]

TRANSPARENCY: IG report shows Obama WH rewrote Gulf spill report to support moratorium. Well, you can see right through these guys. . . .

Plus this: “This is no mere academic exercise. Thousands of people lost their jobs because of this supposed instance of sloppy editing, and the delay it created in safe exploration and drilling may impact the region for years, as well as America’s energy independence.”

I lost a contract job that would have extended until next May. I was taking application for the Transportstion Workers Identification Credentials (TWIC). This ID is mandatory for all American workers on offshore oil platforms but with the moratorium, hiring of U.S. only workers dried up and now those non-American oil field servicing companies (like BP) are hiring South American workers who, ironically, don't have to have a TWIC card. My contract called for approximately 100 hours a month at $55 an hour plus expenses so the effect of the moratorium is/was very real to me.

in 2008/9 south Texas and Louisiana led the namtion in energy employment positions from junior high school educated rough necks to "rocket scientist" engineering positions. Our local papers in Dallas were full of energy field jobs trying to lure workers to the Gulf Coast, now nothing. I haven't seen any big ads since at least July 2010.

[analog]

Frontline's documentary was interesting.


http://video.pbs.org/video/1625293496/

it would appear there was some corporate recklessness, ie too many money decisions made by folks with no practical understanding of the machinery.
You just shouldn't let a big dangerous machine turn into a jalopy.

of course i'm biased, being a retired maintenance man..

a.

[Haggis@wk]

The Obama administration will reverse its policy on offshore drilling announced last March and bar further new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts. The new ban will last seven years, and that will deliver a body blow to American exploration and energy independence:

I'm predicting that gas will get close to or exceed $4.00 a gal. next year.

[Shapley]

The on-again-off-again nature of Mr. Obama's policy (if you can call it a policy) is one of the hurdles to recovery. The guy can't make up his mind, and business does not know how, or if, to invest.

We need stability, and we ain't findin' it here.

[Haggis@wk]

Last week’s reversal on offshore oil drilling by Barack Obama didn’t go over well with likely US voters, according to a new Rasmussen survey. Sixty percent support offshore drilling in principle, and 48% oppose the ban directly, with only 35% supporting Obama’s reversal. A majority expect economic damage and higher fuel prices as a result.

[Haggis@wk]

When the oilrigs leave the GoM, the jobs leave, along with the entire associated economic stimulus to other related American businesses. Well, that didn’t take long.

Jan 27 (Reuters) – Some of the 30-plus deepwater rigs that were in the Gulf of Mexico have moved to other markets, first because of a U.S. halt called last May after BP Plc’s (BP.L: Quote) well blowout, and then because of the lack of permits once the moratorium was lifted.

A few of the heavy hitters include:

· Diamond Offshore Drilling – The Ocean Endeavor to Egypt and the Ocean Confidence to the Congo.

· Transocean, the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor – The Marianas rig to Nigeria and Discoverer Americas to Egypt.

· Pride International Inc – Deep Ocean Ascension heading to the Mediterranean Sea

· Noble Corp – The Clyde Boudreaux moving to Brazil and they expected more to follow

It is worth noting that some of these rigs are listed as being “currently scheduled to return to the gulf,” but that’s not going to happen unless they have permits in hand before they pull up stakes and move again. And that remains in the capable hands of the government.

For each rig there is a crew of roughly 200 people out of work, but with the associated on shore support industries, suppliers and contractors, it translates into thousands of jobs for each one of these drill ships. They are filing out of the GOM for other waters where they can actually perform their function. And they are taking all those jobs with them, including my own part time contract job.

[jamiebk]

For each rig there is a crew of roughly 200 people out of work, but with the associated on shore support industries, suppliers and contractors, it translates into thousands of jobs for each one of these drill ships. They are filing out of the GOM for other waters where they can actually perform their function. And they are taking all those jobs with them, including my own part time contract job.

If they keep keep the oil out of the water they shoudl be fired.

[Haggis@wk]

House Report: Obama’s Gulf Oil Slowdown Costing 230,000 Jobs.

“The oil lease regulatory process is holding back oil exploration and production activity in the Gulf of Mexico. This delay is and this is holding economic benefits that spread past the gulf states, to the entire country if the gulf oil activity were allowed to match industry capacity. That was one of the important findings, Restarting “the Engine”–Securing American Jobs, Investment, and Energy Security, a study done by IHS CERA and IHS Global Insight which was released by the House Oversight Committee today.”

Well, it cost me a job so I guess I’m one of the 230,000. The booming jobs market along the Gulf coast in south Texas and Louisiana has died

[Trumpetmaster]

Big Oil: To create jobs, let us drill more

http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/07/news/ec ... hpt=hp_bn4

ARGH............

What happened to investigating "alternative" fuel sources ????

Liars... they are all liars.... IMHO...........

[Trumpetmaster]

Fresh Tar Boulders Washed In From TS Lee

http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-668283?hpt=hp_bn1

what do they have to say for themselves now?
Drill more... I say NO

see my previous post....... below.....