Offshore drilling

[airdvr 210]

My cynical side questions the timing of this eco-disaster. Still, I say we should do more of it.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[billvon 2,994]

None of the above. We should:

1) implement additional safeguards to help prevent such issues in the future

2) ramp down our usage of oil

3) continue to drill new wells, but not at a rate that will compensate 100% for oil lost as older wells stop producing. This will, with time, reduce the total number of rigs (and thus the risk of disasters/spills) while still producing some oil to run our industries.

>My cynical side questions the timing of this eco-disaster.

That's an odd statement. So you think this was deliberate? Some tea partyers trying to derail Obama's offshore drilling plans or something?

[kelpdiver 2]

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My cynical side questions the timing of this eco-disaster.

As a former BP investor, nothing fishy about the timing. They were overdue for their latest fuckup.

[airdvr 210]

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None of the above. We should:

1) implement additional safeguards to help prevent such issues in the future

2) ramp down our usage of oil

3) continue to drill new wells, but not at a rate that will compensate 100% for oil lost as older wells stop producing. This will, with time, reduce the total number of rigs (and thus the risk of disasters/spills) while still producing some oil to run our industries.

>My cynical side questions the timing of this eco-disaster.

That's an odd statement. So you think this was deliberate? Some tea partyers trying to derail Obama's offshore drilling plans or something?

I never take anything at face value anymore. Is it possible? Anything is possible. Likely? Not really. Tea party? Try Sierra Club or Greenpeace.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[jgoose71 0]

I voted more. The problem is with all the limitations put on current off shore drilling the only place they could drill is in 5000 feet of water. Working at that depth compounds any problems.

If this had happened in 100' of water, the problem would be fixed already.

"There is an art, it says, or, rather, a knack to flying. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss."
Life, the Universe, and Everything

[idrankwhat 0]

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I never take anything at face value anymore. Is it possible? Anything is possible. Likely? Not really. Tea party? Try Sierra Club or Greenpeace.

Nah, it was that mystery ship that was secretly sailing the seas carrying Saddam's WMD's.

[Southern_Man 0]

Offshore drilling=nailing some chick on my boat!

"What if there were no hypothetical questions?"

[wmw999 2,447]

Well, in the western gulf, where this happened, there isn't a lot of oil at 100 feet depth. So yeah, it'd be really easy to cap that.

Mostly they drill in really deep water because that's where the oil is.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Darius11 12]

Stop all of it.


Simply not worth the risk, if we have another spill like this just one more in the next 100 years its still not worth it IMO.

We need to get off oil simple as that, it will runout anyways so lets find another way.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[airdvr 210]

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I never take anything at face value anymore. Is it possible? Anything is possible. Likely? Not really. Tea party? Try Sierra Club or Greenpeace.

Nah, it was that mystery ship that was secretly sailing the seas carrying Saddam's WMD's.

Wel maybe, but Obama seems to think SWAT teams should be looking at the rigs.

http://www.infowars.com/obama-sends-swat-teams-to-gulf-oil-rigs/

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[billvon 2,994]

>Wel maybe, but Obama seems to think SWAT teams should be looking at
>the rigs.

Sounds like he agrees with you, then.

[idrankwhat 0]

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Wel maybe, but Obama seems to think SWAT teams should be looking at the rigs.

http://www.infowars.com/obama-sends-swat-teams-to-gulf-oil-rigs/

Sabotage of the platform? Yea....kooks in boats is a possibility. Kooks in submersibles one mile below the surface is another story. I'm still wondering why there was no redundancy in the preventer...other than expense.

[airdvr 210]

According to this chart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills this spill isn't even close to some of the worst in history.

Another media darling? Last year at this time the world was coming to an end because of H1N1.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[billvon 2,994]

>According to this chart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills this
>spill isn't even close to some of the worst in history.

So we can expect far worse than this spill if we keep drilling. Good thing to keep in mind.

[airdvr 210]

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>According to this chart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills this
>spill isn't even close to some of the worst in history.

So we can expect far worse than this spill if we keep drilling. Good thing to keep in mind.

\

Well actually it appears that pumping crude into ships is far more hazardous than the actuall drilling activity.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[billvon 2,994]

>Well actually it appears that pumping crude into ships is far more
>hazardous than the actuall drilling activity.

Let's see -

Largest oil spill in history occurred as a result of the Gulf War. Second largest was an offshore drilling rig that had a blowout. Third was a tanker, and the fourth was a tanker running into a drilling platform.

Sounds like if we avoid wars, offshore drilling and large-scale use of oil tankers the problem could be greatly alleviated.

[likearock 2]

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According to this chart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills this spill isn't even close to some of the worst in history.

Tell that to anyone who lives on the Gulf.

Also, it isn't over yet. Let's check that list in 6 months.

[airdvr 210]

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According to this chart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills this spill isn't even close to some of the worst in history.

Tell that to anyone who lives on the Gulf.

Also, it isn't over yet. Let's check that list in 6 months.

I'm not saying it's not bad....just perhaps not as bad as the media would like you to believe it is.

Please don't dent the planet.

Destinations by Roxanne

[Darius11 12]

the exon spill is still effecting the area, how many years is that.

This is relly bad and i am afraid the effects will last a long time.

I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not." - Kurt Cobain

[likearock 2]

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the exon spill is still effecting the area, how many years is that.

This is relly bad and i am afraid the effects will last a long time.

The scariest part of this spill is we have know idea if we even can stop it. Has anything like this (containing an uncontrolled oil emission one mile under the sea) ever been done before? Tanker or land based spills don't really compare.

[GeorgiaDon 362]

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The scariest part of this spill is we have know idea if we even can stop it. Has anything like this (containing an uncontrolled oil emission one mile under the sea) ever been done before?

In 1979 the Ixtoc I well blew at a depth of 2 miles off the Mexican coast. It was capped 9 months later, after spilling 140 million gallons (35 million barrels) of oil. Eventually 3 million gallons fouled 162 miles of the Texas coast. It was the second worst spill in history. While we don't know what went wrong with the Deepwater Horizon, the parallels with Ixtoc I seem very suggestive.

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[GeorgiaDon 362]

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According to this chart http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oil_spills this spill isn't even close to some of the worst in history.

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I'm not saying it's not bad....just perhaps not as bad as the media would like you to believe it is.

So why don't you tell us just how bad it is (or isn't), oh clairvoyant one. You must have pretty good eyes to be able to see what's going on all the way from Illinois, better than the people in flights over the spill can. Maybe NASA is doctoring all those ominous looking satellite pictures. An oil spill the size of Rhode Island, drifting towards the most productive shrimp and oyster beds in the country, what could possibly go wrong?

If you think it's not that bad, why don't you offer to cover some of the bills for a few shrimp fishermen who now have no income?

Don

_____________________________________
Tolerance is the cost we must pay for our adventure in liberty. (Dworkin, 1996)
“Education is not filling a bucket, but lighting a fire.” (Yeats)

[yourmomma 0]

If there was ever a case for deregulation. This is it.

[rwieder 0]

If you guys wish to continue to import 2/3 of our daily usage of oil, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it. We need to be energy independent and stop making the middle eastern countries rich(er)

-Richard-
"You're Holding The Rope And I'm Taking The Fall"

[likearock 2]

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The scariest part of this spill is we have know idea if we even can stop it. Has anything like this (containing an uncontrolled oil emission one mile under the sea) ever been done before?

In 1979 the Ixtoc I well blew at a depth of 2 miles off the Mexican coast. It was capped 9 months later, after spilling 140 million gallons (35 million barrels) of oil. Eventually 3 million gallons fouled 162 miles of the Texas coast. It was the second worst spill in history. While we don't know what went wrong with the Deepwater Horizon, the parallels with Ixtoc I seem very suggestive.

Nine months? There's something to look forward to. How do they even know they stopped it rather than it just ran out of oil?