Unfortunately the President seemed to miss the point - capping BP's huge gusher off the Gulf. Coincidentally, I read today that BP now stands for BIG PROBLEM and not British Petroleum.
Surfing around the web today I read comments like, "if we could put a man on the moon 40 years ago and 238,857 miles away, how is it that we can't cap a well that's 40 miles off the US coastline in deep water?" I, myself, am asking the same question.
I believe that the President missed the boat on this one. He has not focused the entire might of the United States on getting this problem fixed. As they say, he was a day late, and in this case, billions of dollars short.
Loading ...It seemed outrageous to me that we had local governments wanting to get to work on clean-up and conservation, but were having to wait for permits from the Army Corps of Engineers and other Federal agencies to start making decisions. The reality is, the Federal government is huge and has no idea what the left hand is doing in regards to the right-hand.
There appears, even now, to be very little coordination. Which means that no one is going to accept responsibility and finger-pointing is going to go into high gear.
So far, BP has agreed to put up $20 billion. Are you kidding me? That's not going to clean up the marshes and restore people's livelihoods. Yes, I know a great many people in the Gulf rely on the oil industry for their livelihood, but oil can be drilled in many other places whereas the Gulf has been basically destroyed for years and years and years to come. In fact, it may never be restored to its former vitality.
I'm sure you can tell the frustration in this post and I know many of you have voiced your opinion on our Tuesday poll, but I would like to hear what you have to say about this national disaster, how the President is dealing with this crisis, and how that is going to affect the economy and our way of life.
All the best,
Adam
All the comments, pro and con, about Obama are pretty enlightening. People these days (yeah, I'm a geezer) seem to think that the President both can and should solve all problems, as if he is a monarch with a magic wand. Obama himself encourages this with comments about kicking ass, making them pay, etc., none of which are within the Constitutional powers of the President (I'm a lawyer, too). So when he doesn't fix it....something almost entirely outside his purview to begin with....people start blaming him. What a shock!
BP has more than enough money to pay for the cleanup, and will, and on the extreme off-chance they didn't do so voluntarily, that's what the courts are for. I spent 30 years doing major environmental litigation; trust me, our courts have no problem forcing anyone, even if only remotely responsible for an environmental disaster, to pay their share, fair or unfair. BP knows this, has enough money to do it themselves, and is very unlikely to balk.
The real surprise is not that this spill happened; but that it doesn't happen more often. As long as we tie the oil companies' hands at the onshore end of it, there will be offshore drilling. Miscellaneous: This country is awash in natural gas. To the extent our President has any power in this area, he should be using it with that fact in mind, not all the nonsense about electric cars, windmills and other unbearably expensive technologies.
This Oil spill is right up the alley for Obama.He hates America and is a known Communist..Palin has more brains in her foot than Obama and Biden has in their heads..Obama loves this oil spill, because he wants to destroy the Oil Industry.
Dude: Chill out. You're filled with much to much hatred. The sun will come up in the moringing.
might be a good idea if you were to go back in history and find the most recent decent President and use the same method that got him into the Office to get the next one in. Seems the requirements for President last century were rich, well connected, philandering actors with a nose ring like a stud bull.
I grew up on a farm in western North Dakota some 50 years ago. This was before the EPA and we used to pour used motor oil around the buildings to kill the grass. It worked for the first year but the second year the grass would grow back greener and taller than it was before we tried to kill it with the used oil. The crazy stuff acted like fertilizer after it had been in the the ground for a couple of years so we stopped using it.
Clean up the mess and give it some time and I bet you will find the Gulf Coast is even better than it was before the accident. Nature has a way of cleaning up for itself after man does something stupid. Remember Mt. St. Helens and all the ash it produced. We lived through that and we will live through this too.
Alternative energy! that is the key word. Why did we not learn from the oil crisis few decades back? Why did we not promote for alternative energy like wind, solar and electric back then, and we might not have been in this situation. I personally do not think it is fair to blame the president. Our dependence on oil is so grave that we had to drill 2 miles below the surface in the gulf. The underlying problem is that we have to end our dependency on oil, foreign or domestic. Next time you'all buy a car,get a hybrid or one which does not run on petrol. Go green.
Mel
I must say, Adam you have stimulated some great dialogue.
Good point Dave on why other countries were not allowed to help us when they volunteered their expertise. Union pilots only our ships. More politics. Down and down we go. Sickening!!!
Ron
Boy, you certainly stirred up the hornets nest on this Blog. By the way I am signing this one Ron C, as there seems to be another Ron writing posts and I really don't want to be involved with him from what I have read of his Commie crap.
Mine was first posted at 20:31:45, about number 18 or 19, and started with the NASA Space disasters versus BP. Reading all these posts reminds of postings on message boards for individual stocks on Yahoo.
I will never forget all the negative message board posts on a stock I bought at $6 when it was around $15: "no cash, can't succeed, way over priced" and on and on. Well, I was bought out at $52 a share. In case you wondered the stock was Webex.
When everything boils down to politics or religion we are in big trouble. Conclusion: We are in big trouble!!!
Why was there never a requirement to have a proven solution to quickly resolve an oil leak such has happen before the government ever issued a permit for off shore drilling? Oil companies should not be allowed to drill off shore unless they can show they have a proven solution to resolve a leak within a few days not a few months. Maybe we should be holding hearings on the politicians that have allowed permits to be issued without even asking the questions. Oh ya this hearing can be held on election day!
The President has shown he is enable to lead.
He makes a big show but gets nothing done. It is true he personally knows nothing about what to do to "fix" the oil problem nor is he expected to know everything BUT he has shown he does not know how to organize the resources he has at his command.
Whom has he put in charge of setting up an organization to work with the experts to 1. stop the flow of oil?
2. get the prototypes and useful ways of cleaning the oil out of the water to the gulf and working on enlarging the better prospects. They are out there!!!
3. stopping with dikes the flow of water into the marshes ect where practical
The list could go on but you get the idea. Nothing constructive is getting done.
Looking over many of the above comments I hear indignation about how the oil companies are making sooo much money. Its true they make billions each year but when one looks at the percentage of net income these companies make it is very small, around 3.5 %. Yet most of same people think nothing of paying 30 to 50% to companies for their ipods and i phones. Yes those item made form OIL.
This country has prospered over the years because it was able to move vast quantities of goods over long distances cheaply. Yes cheap oil. When the cost of energy goes up we all suffer. Shutting down the oil extraction off our coasts is not an option, doing every thing we can to eliminate spills is!!
At this point in time, we do not have an alternative way of moving material across America and until we do, we need oil. We need to use our oil and coal during the transition to a new form if energy. I ask, can we as a nation stop burning coal to produce energy, stop oil exploration used for fuel, plastics, clothes, chemicals for medicine, and so many other items and still have an economy to put the unemployed back to work, keep the house over our head and the clothes on our families?
Putting a man on the moon was a government project (how selectively forgetful we are)
and if BP or GM had been in charge of landing a man on the moon we'd still be cooling our heels waiting for the historic event.
Norway has been drilling deep for years without a problem. It's a shame that B.P. tried to cut corners on expenses, and now we end up with this disaster and upcoming much higher oil prices.
Part of the problem is that nuclear power was vetoed years ago. Drilling on a postage size stamp of ANWAR was also prevented.
We know coal is dirty and puts miners at risk. Why not use our extensive natural gas resources to power transportation as opposed to
inconsistent windpower which is in the flight path of and kills birds, and toxic batteries that have to be manufactured for electric cars and, at great expense, replaced later.
Also, why hasn't the President put a temporary repeal of the Jones Act (Merchant Marine Act of 1920)so more than 15 other volunteering countries can help clean up the spill? I know union protection is important to this administration, but this is an emergency.
-Dave
The prez is always playing politics as is most of the government. That is why nothing of much value gets accomplished. You can liken this tradegy to the upcoming tradedy when the government attempts to control health care. A TOTAL FUBARIAN situation.
The possible solution to this problem would have been that within the first 48 hours the prez did the following:
Contacted BP and actually speaks to the BP president.
Contacted and actually speaks to several other Gulf/offshore producers to get feedback and control/kleanup suggestions.
Takls to several foreign entities that have experience in cleaning up oil spills.
Within another 48 hours has a definite plan of action, based on availibility of cleanup/control systems, machines and other solutions.
Continues to monitor the situation and progress as well as explores several more possible containment solutions.
Continues to actually talk to the top personal within BP and other cleanup/control companies.
Stays totally focused until several actions are occuring and everyone is one the same page.
Actaully informs the people of the US of his plans, what he is actually doing and the solutions he is implementing. And not 50 some odds days after the fact.
Treats this as a national emergency, after all lives were lost and damage is occuring on a grand scale. In other words, he doesn't play golf, go on vacation or play parchessi with the wife until this situation is under some sort of control.
Then tells the government and all the silly permitting departments and eco-nutbrains to get the heck out of the way. Just get 'er done and keep on top of the complete situation.
At least pretend to act presidential...even though it is extremely difficult for a socialist to do so.
Sorry, but I wouldn't trust this prez to run my lemonade stand.
Anyone rallying behind the Democratic Party or Republican party for the answers to our problems are idiots! The oil spill is nothing compared to where we're headed. Take your blinders off and wake up!! One party is just as bad as the other. Our good paying jobs are headed out of the country for cheaper labor elsewhere and neither party can/will stop it. No denying the inevitable... WAKE UP FOLKS!! Plus we're allowing people accross the globe to multiply as they choose. So much for the rest of us. Hello food, water & energy shortages, survial wars and massive unemployment. No one will ever get elected telling the people how many kids they can shell out. So we are destined to fail accross the globe no way around it. Keep it up everyone & enjoy the ride to our demise, or you take the blinders off and try to do right what is right for those of us already here. Lay down your elephant & jackass party flags and vote the bums out for some common sense leadership!!!!!!
Although I'm sorry for human and wildlife that have been affected, I can remember many years ago when around the the UK (where I am) many very large oil tankers coming to grief and not a single penny was paid to anyone whose living was affected.It does seem that if you shout loud and keep shouting someone will eventually pay attention, it seems that is the American way.
Just have a look at the share ownership of BP, there does seem to be a large proportion of American investors.
My point is this, BP is considered a wholly British company, Not true.
Let's be reasonable about this, someone on the rig goofed, it cost lives and resulted in a great catastrophe, so lets work together to sort it out, let the ligation wait.
The president has shown that he is totally lacking in leadership experience.
However, this could not have come along at a more appropriate time for Obama. He is looking to nationalize the energy sector and before this is all over he will use it as a stepping stone to do just that.
Why were the local and state authorities having to wait on environmental impact studies and permits in order to proceed?
When there is a disaster it is time to act not to start studying. The environment was sure to impacted without action.
The envoironmental groups didn't want the burning to take place.The smioke in the atmosphere would surely have not been as big a disaster as this crude getting onto land and into the marshes,etc.
Whether you like it or not, oil drives this world and it will for years to come. We should be allowed to drill in Anwar where it is a frozen desert. Then there would be no need for deep sea drilling.
Why did the president turn away the help of the Saudis when it was offered? They are experts in oil cleanup!
The biggest problem we face as a nation and in the world is a lack of good old fashioned COMMON SENSE!!
Turn to nature to clean up a man-made mess. The oil can be cleaned up fast and efficiently with straw and hay that will soak it up and the water will be crystal clear. No, it won't stop the leak but it would certainly clean the mess and destruction caused by man.
Why can't they just implode the dam thing?Is it because they want to save (or capture the oil)@ the environments "our" expense or save what they allready have in place?
We "our navy" also has topedos.Why not bloe it up?
Our air force has bunker bombs.If they can penetrate 50 feet of concrete it should penetrate 25 feet of rock!!Would that stop the leak.
We could also design something to explode and seal up the leak.
Was the safety device used tested to work under one mile of water.Can not wait to hear the comment on this one.
What about the idiodts that let this happen in the first place?Will they be punished.Gee whiz,my daughter just got fined $130 for driving without a seatbelt!!!
lets see a million gallons of water per day for 60 days.wow
It's not about Obama -- for decades, laws and regulations supposedly controlling big oil have been written by congresses that are owned by the oil lobby. Obama inherited a broken economy, and now he's inherited an ecological disaster, but he didn't cause any of it.
There is no precedent to this oil spill, and no existing knowledge base references to use to put a stop to it. Previous administrations and congresses weren't interested in planning to deal with the worst case situation, so from here on out it's a brand new learning process.
For the gov't to throw 100'S of $billions at it without knowing what will work is just wasting money that we don't have. Big oil has profited immensely by being able to tap the resources at will with little concern for the potential destruction they can cause -- Now it's time for them, all of them not just BP, to pay the piper.
Admittedly, the president is doing not a very great job, but you need to remember this, he is nothing but just a figure head, now let me ask you this, where are all the presidential advisers? where are all the enviromental experts, where are all the cabinets who surround him and supposedly advising him, only him and I mean only him cannot take all this action by himself and be succesful. Remember he is not an oil expert, so therefore I do not expect him to be very succesful at this, when the BP is even lying about the amount of oil escaping into the Gulf themselves.
BO's actions are not dependent on his knowledge of anything, we all know that he has no knowledge of anything. But his position of President is responsible for "leading" the nation in "national" matters. His advisers are useless because they are all focused on election campaigns and orchestrating the kickbacks and the graft of every "special interest" law that they can pass. The Cabinet used to be a source of knowledgeable people but that to has succumbed to be just another graveyard of political payoffs for campaign support.
I can't believe the 17% that think Obama is doing an acceptable job!! On day one the USN should have been called up to set up a defense and police action in the Gulf.(to protect against any terrorist action from any foreign vessels allowed in to "help" and secondly to play traffic cop for all vessels in the Gulf.) Day two he should have appointed a "special master" to set with the top person of BP to review "all" options of BP and any outside offers from legitimate and non-legitimate sources. It is just plain insane to expect the person that created the disaster to be able to fix it. It is obvious that there were flaws in BP's operations and those same flaws will continue with the added dis-incentive of legal action to find fault.
The first and foremost, the responsibility falls on BP. They should have fixed this long time ago. They should have asked for help asap. They should have apologized as soon as possible. They should have volunteered the funds without our President or the government having to ask them.
However, the interesting thing that I have noticed. I have not seen Republicans saying anything about this. And now that the Democrats are doing something about this, it is either too late, big government, etc..
Let's just say, the long term goal is to move away from this kind of energy and focus on solar, wind, etc. that will help the environment ( we are too concerned about the environment, right?).
We dont ever need the oil.Why arent all vehicles being converted to cheap natural gas.We have enough natural gas locally to fuel America without going offshore.Lots of other countries run on natural gas so why not us.Its an easy conversion with the use of technology that has been proven and used for years.Wake up America and buy local gas.
Next thing you know BP Pet will be asking for a 100 Billion bail out Hah
The oil exploration would never be this deep if off shore drilling in shallow waters were allowed. A worse spill occurred in Mexican gulf waters in the seventies, and there appears to be no trace of it now. The effects are going to be short term. I have read most of the comments and agree with bits of each. I do not agree with those of you who think Obama is a good leader. Obama is moving this country to a facist state and his supporters do not see it coming. It is never good to have the House, Senate, and the White House all from the same party. If they fight over issues, and nothing gets done they are doing little damage.
Obama however should not be blamed for the cozy relationship between the regulators and the oil industry. This something that happened over several administrations. I am sure outside pressures will clean up that part of Washingtons ineptness and corruption.
Adam, I think you asked the wrong question. As usual the Govt. is doing too much of the wrong thing at the wrong time, i.e. premature political posturing and finger pointing. Never one to miss a good photo op, BO took ownership of something that did not belong to him in the first place. Govt. has become an overgrown mammoth, led by an inept populist, that can’t get out of its own way. Instead of playing the blame game all efforts should initially be directed at capping the gusher. Enlist the very best to get the job done, they lurk somewhere in the oil services private sector, not the Govt. Once job one of capping the well is accomplished there will be plenty time to investigate this terrible accident, establish responsibilities, clean it up and establish rules, regulations and methods to minimize such events in the future. Unless consumers are willing to forego all the cheap amenities that crude oil provides this will not be the last such incident. Energy is a risky business and there are no perfect solutions, Three Mile Island and Chernobyl are stark reminders.
Hi Small people...We care about the small people..What the hell was that? That shows you how these elitist jack offs think. Of course most people had to know that. If not, there is your proof...Wake up America! I can't stand most public news, they lie lie lie, It truly has become pathetic...so much lying is done, they believe their own bullshit. Have you been counting on people like this to improve your lives ? Not going to happen... Hey Elitist, If it wasn't for the people you wouldn't be a Elitist...Your arrogant attitudes you acquired all by yourselves...Americans need to unite and get our real constitution back and get things in order, this dictatorship isn't going to work much longer...The disconnect between we the people and government has gone on long enough along with the separation of wealth. Yeah, my pay should be 1.1 billion also...
It seems to to an outsider that OB's failings as a LEADER are becoming very clear. All poor leaders shout and threaten when they don't know what to do. He has nothing constructive to suggest. The situation is truely awful and the only two priorities shoud be to "stop the flow" and provide immediate financial help to the people on the receiving end.
He should be puting all the resources of the country into fighting the mess and offering technical support and equipment. Worry about the money later. BP can then be billed appropriately to repay the tax payer. He is not showing positive signs as a leader in times of crisis.
If his only contribution is to shout about "kicking ass" then God help the USA in the future.
"Man/Woman or College Students On The Street" Survey -
Day 3 of the Gulf Oil Spill
Can these Americans off the Street make an Intelligent, strategic and timely contribution to
Help President Barak Obama, for determining the best Gulf Oil Prevention tools and can they perform as an effective "Strategic Street Council” ?
or is an American Treasure of the Delta, now a Catch 22?
The date is April 27, 2010, Day 3 after the Gulf Spill: President Barack Obama instructs his staff to Select 10 people off American City Streets; President shows this "Strategic Street Council”
a video of their house in the Delta Water Channels, in the path of wall of oil flowing down the Street, with probability of massive, Oil ouzz-ing into their house, into the entertainment room and the their Bedroom:
This Visual / Video, would motivate any one to get ready to take action to contain the oil that is spilling up to the Gulf Water Surface, right?
(let’s hope the President saw the White house in the Video! )
Obama then shows the "Strategic Street Council”, 12 oil clean-up services & products of companies from the USA and Globally. President Obama declares that funds are available to pay for good products to be deployed in the Gulf to prevent Oil contaminating the Delta and shores or the Gulf + Obama asks the
Street Council to Select the best 6 Strategies for cleaning up the Oil in the Gulf and saving the Delta Marshes+ Mississippi River Delta. Also, he asks for these 10 people to decide the timing of action to implement these Strategies: day 4 or day 57 or day 120?
Obama declares to the Street Council, that he is unsure of when he will actually implement a concentrated, preventative action to protect the Gulf Delta and shores, and that he prefers to wait for 2-8 weeks before deploying the six best Strategies, to make sure they are needed.
Oh yeas, Obama has priorities covering the next 8 weeks: two family scheduled vacations, 3 political fund raiser events for Senators like Barbara Boxer ( he cant attend the Horizon Oil Rigs workers funeral and must first attend 24= Dignitary meetings, golf outings, Concerts and award presentations, that he must first take time for. Plus, because he wants only American Union-Member workers to handle the Spill Clean Up and prevention. Oh yes, if he waits to take action the more severe Gulf spill will allow him to propose a new Energy Tax Bill passed in congress, called “Cap & Trade”, that would better "share the Wealth for all Americans, + Banning Oil Drilling.
None the less, Obama says the he needs the “American Street Council “ to help him pick the best Gulf Oil Spill Prevention-Strategies anyway and give an opinion for the Timing of Action, because a plan of action is needed
Top Ten Services & Products List
1. Giant Oil Skimmer Boats, offered by International Companies that Barak Obama, is planning on refusing help from, ie Dutch Oil Skimmer Boats can arrive within Day 7 American Company can deliver Skimmer Boats on Day 4. Catch 22 Obama does not want to allow any non- Vessels to be involved
2.American company offers 1 million feet of absorbent Boom material stored - ready to go to the Gulf. Obama does not want to call them back.
2.Dredge Sand barriers in between Oil and Delta islands/ marches, that Obama wants to delay so he doesn’t offend any environmentalist Supporters.
4.Oil absorbent grass-hay products produced by American company
5. Peat Moss Absorbent-Turns Oil into organic soil- grown in the marsh bogs of
Northern Minnesota, which is used in the shipping Harbor of the Great - Lake Superior
6. Plastic Polymer powder- absorbs oil and separates clean water
7. American Company offers a Giant Separator machines- separates Oil from sea water/ rate of
200,00 gallons per day
8. Oil absorbing Fabric, from used Carpet fibers, picks up Oil and leaves water out
9.Kevin Kostner’s Oil/ Water Separation machine 50,00 gallons per Day
10. Dry Vacuum machines- from Home Depot
11. Hire Giant Septic Trucks Tankers with Super Vacuum power
12. Human hair Absorbent Booms, manufactured in USA
What do you think? Would these 10 Americans off the city streets, have the intelligence and motivation to select 6 of the best products & service strategies to avoid –prevent Gulf Oil from Contaminating and Destroying the Delta marshes and Fisheries,
especially if they visualized the Oil sledge Ouzzing into their houses?
Do you realize that the Oil sludge will migrate all the way North up the Mississippi through the Lock & Dams and by shipping, the migratory Birds and insects and the River fish and aquatic life??
What do these 10 Americans, on the "Strategic Street Council” tell Pres. Barack Obama about his
“Catch 22” maneuvers for the delivery of Strategies and Timing of taking Action to protect the Gulf Delta, beaches, fisheries, tourism and American economies?
What can they do if the President Obama, chooses to shoot a “re-make” of the great 1970, Movie “Catch 22”, as his best Strategy for handling the Gulf Oil catastrophe? Has the new version of "Catch 22" been cast already for the United States of America?
Especially if no significant / organized prevention and clean up Strategies are to be implemented by the US Government, US Coast Guard or Military prior to day 58 June 17, 2010 ??
Is it time, now, for Full American Action, to salvage the Gulf
At this stage, is a Obama competent provide leadership as
“Commander In Chief"?
Will the American "Strategic Street Council”, be called on at Day 58, to implement our- Save the Gulf action plan?
Maybe there is still time to save Some of the Delta?
A divine Miracle I pray, sent God to save our Treasure of the Gulf and Mississippi Delta !
Rent the Movie “Catch 22” to comprehend the current American dilemma, Or maybe Jon Voight (character, Milo ) will direct the 2010 re-make of “Catch 22” with Gulf Oil spill antics inserted in the plot.
June 17, 2010
Champion-ing near the Mississippi headwaters- Minnesota,
Reuben P.
dear all, has every one forgot that transocean ran and operated the rig subcontracted from BP.I do not hear their name too often these days.
Any new well should be stopped in their tracks until a contingency plan for this kind of catastrophy leak is evident. if it has a plan and one that will work send them to the gulf. If it doesn't work stop their new drill. Send in the next company with their new drill plan contingency for a leak of this kind. In fact all existing companies should equally be responsible as Im sure their all just sitting back saying to themselves "phew .. I'm glad it was BT and not us" if thats the case then they obviously also have no workable plan. Perhaps the president hasn't really thought it through, neither have the green sceptics who will not support a larger effort into renewable energy. Its easier that way. On another note the spraying oil wont go forever !!!
Jennifer
Have you ever seen this flag, the flag of the East India company?:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_British_East_India_Company_(1801).svg
Is it similar to this one with stars?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States
Oh but America has the constitution right? Ahhh yes but “We the People” ONLY refers to the men who signed it. They were given the land grants for the states as long as they paid their debt to the king of England. And guess what? The men who signed DIDN’T pay their debts to the king, but passed on those debts to the citizens…very tricky.
Do your research. Yes it's sad that oil is spewing in the gulf...but how many more "free energy inventors' do we have to kill before we wake up?
Can all these guys be crazy:
http://www.free-energy-info.co.uk/
The world is getting ready to change in RADICAL ways. Sorry to say but the USA was bankrupt and sold a long time ago. But really most of the gold owed was stolen from native peoples a long time ago, especially from the Mayans/Aztecs...fascinating.
So am I nuts? Maybe. Have you ever thought to consider that the well in the gulf may have been done by Blackwater Security?
So what does this have to do with market trading. Well as traders we get paid big-time if we can see the TRUTH of the market...where it is going, where it is going up/down next. No different here...see the reality of what you have in front of you...right NOW.
The lie and Obama/Osama/Bush is child's play to see...
The good news is that we are in the process of birth...yet birth is ugly yes...blood and pain everywhere...but in the end its magical. Feel the magic...
All the best...Hong Kong John
Hire some dutch guys who can realy fix this problem in a matter of days... Smit Tak in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, is the specialist in dealing and fixing deepwater problems. The same company who rescued a Sovjet submarine boot some years ago... They are the worlds best company to fix this oil disaster!
So RINGGGG to ROTTERDAM and be fast!!!!!!
Look, there was some prof in wetlands/coastlands on the tube last night and he said the same thing. From the 2 paragraph plan submitted by the Louisiana govenor and others like it, the construction of what they wud make wud erode immediately, catch very little oil and longer term do much more damage. Why is it so difficult to accept plans need some real research before reactionary implementing.
Why is it so difficult well it may only be 40 miles out but its a mile deep and their is very little developed to date to manipulate at that lever.
Its Bush that allowed deep water drilling and a new agency like the FAA should have been established, setting up minimal standards.
Obama went to California to campaign for Barbara Boxer instead of concentrating on this disaster. This was very serious but he blew it off until now after millions and millions barrels of oil spilled onto the gulf and with BP not able to control this disaster. As usual like Katrina, the gulf is like a step child who no one cares about. This a bigger concern than Obama thought it would be as he fluff it off to go to California to waste time with Boxer. In a recession trying to recover more jobs will be lost and the gulf's tourist industry will suffer. He sacrificed the gulf for Boxer. His token visits are just to cover his inept ass to show that he is doing something...a little too late. My heart goes to the people in that region, first Katrina and now BP with both times the inept response from 2 different presidents. I am surprised that the people have not made a bigger stink about the government not doing something sooner.
yes the oil spill can be fix or repair use the same way that building bridge from one island to another island pour a exlarge concret columal ,inwhich hold up the bridge in the ocean.pour concre into the hole to cap the spill. step two build a round fiber glass oval tube large enouge to fit around the damage area ,if the pesusser do not bend or callapase ,civil enginner then can go down ,the fible glass tube with a camera first before any person giving all clear to travel deep below the ocean to repair the leak. my adive
It seems to me that many bloggers put the burden on our President to rectify the results of a catastrophe caused by BP's negligence. Was it their attempt to cut corners to make more profit that led to this? (That the government watchdogs were co-opted by oil industry's lobby pressures is reprehensible. But this was the well-entrenched way of doing business long before our presidnet came into office.)
Tanother reality operative here is a decade or more of de-regulation; namely, politicians and businesses promoting and supporting the so-called free market approach that says, "Let business alone. Get govenment off corporations' backs. Let big business have free reign and let the good times roll." (You can't support that thinking and then blame the president and government for not remedying the results of risky business decisons.)
The government/US citizens bailed out the big banks and insurance companies who engaged in risky financial practices. Yet, these same organizations lobby against regulation that would attempt to put the brakes on the very behavior that caused the financial meltdown.
then there is us. We like our cars, houses, recreation, entertainment, everything that consume enormous amounts of energy--and we want it cheap! Couple that with an almpost insatiable drive for profit (I like my investments to do well), and the world has the current nightmare.
If you think Pres. Obama is responsible for not stopping the oil gushing and not getting the oil cleaned up immediately, do you also think that he should work vigorously to put in place regulations and monitoring that will safegauard as much as humanly possible a similar diaster? And are we willing to live more modestly--not demanding such a lion's share of the earth's resouces?
Obama should have taken the Dutch offer of using their scimmers like the Saudis did a few years back.
I think he sounded like "Last summer, I poured cement in the drive way. Did you know how interesting that is." He is equal to Jimmy Carter and Bush 43 as far as dynamic speaking. He played as well as Boston against LA.
Adam, I wish you had been my speech teacher. I could have Aced your course, if you think he gave a good speech.
Thank goodness your video presentations and analysis is much more insightful and interesting.
I don't think anybody short of Jesus stands a chance after the Bush and Cheney decade. I read an article today about Japan's so called "lost decade" and it made me think: "What about the eight years."
I wonder what other time bombs that a decade of derelict management in Washington has in store for us.
You really need to get rid of your backward-looking criticism of the Bush years! It is dated, and unthinking. It was not true when it first surfaced as talking points of the Democrat clacque; it is demonstrably false and intentionally incendiary. And by the way, if you're as ignorant of Jesus as you seem to be in your other assertions; I'm relatively certain He would like to be left out of your low-class rants.
Your unreasoning implication is that this Administration does not have ANY responsibility for anything.
It is a tragedy. For the people who died,and their families. For the people whose source of income is affected, and for our environment.
However, it is not President Obama's fault, nor is he responsible for
the lack of oversight that allowed this accident to happen. The oil companies operating in our fragile oceans, whether close in, or out in deep water, should be required to employ secondary BOP systems, as is the law, and standard in Norway. For want of a $500K back up system we are faced with billions of dollars in costs, and an entire ecosystem that will never be the same.
First,as a Canadian let me say I am on the outside looking in on
this, but with great concern. It is fine to blame BP for this
mess, but was it not your government that approved drilling in
the ocean, and where were the regulators that should have ensured
that proper procedures were being followed. I live close to the
tarsands,and listen to a lot of people who want to boycot oil
from this area because of enviromental concerns. It is only last
a company was fined because a few ducks died in holding pond. That
was bad for the ducks, but did not effect anyone income or lifestyle.
With contineing improvments in technology I know where I would have
my oil come from. After all most of the tarsand oil companies are
American owned anyway. It just appears to me the US goverment is
as much responsable as BP, and I can't figure out why they are waiting so long to get the thing fixed. Thankyou and good luck
I'd like to know who's manipulating "The Manchurian President's" strings.
We all know there is a puppet master somewhere. but we will never know who it is. The PM is busy grooming the next puppet.
I think that President Obama is the best president we've had in my lifetime and I'm over 60 years old. I'm a retired business owner and investor and despite those handicaps I still say he is by far the best leader this country has had.
What few seem to appreciate is that most of our recent problems are not the fault of government but of greedy business people left unchecked. Isn't it true that BP drilled that well and decided how to handle safety? Isn't it true that the NY bankers were left to do business as they wanted which lead to the financial crisis?
Back in the '60's I thought that the conservative, Goldwater way was the right way for the country. I've seen what happens in the past 10-15 years when business gets to do business - outrageous pay for a few and financial crisis for the country.
I'm heartened that we elected Obama and even more heartened by the Tea party folks that, in their infantile wisdom will split the right wing voters, dividing the Republicans so that Democratic losses may be much smaller than many expect.
It amazes me how the Drill Baby Drill right blames the administration for the oil gusher when in reality BP seems to me to be the ones that decided to drill and have responsibility for the consequences of their actions. Obama's responsibility is to make them live up to their responsibilities. He's doing that.
Adam, I'm particularly disappointed that you want the locals to be able to do whatever they want to 'fix' things. Letting BP do what it wanted and the NY Banks do what they wanted was largely how we got where we are now. Letting some planners like the Army Corp and other 'bureaucrats' work their magical communications and plans will result in a solution that is well planned and effective. Letting locals do what they want will likely result in some good efforts and some that will be counter-productive. Now that we have this huge problem we need to let planners take a moment and figure out what is best, get organized and do it. This problem will likely be with us for decades based on how much oil has been allowed into the water. Taking a moment to plan a response seems to me to be the correct way to proceed.
Many said no health care legislation would pass, but it did. That is real change and for the best. The economy is on the mend despite the critics. Change is happening and change for the better. We should be praising this articulate, intelligent leader and getting behind him to move America forward.
Can you possibly be that stupid? BO is doing everything Hitler did in Germany. What scares me a lot more than BO is a population that would put him in power.
One of the best post I've read.
".....We should be praising this articulate, intelligent leader and getting behind him to move America forward."
Thanks Skipuppy.
Hey Skipuppy....get your head out of your ass. You and your liberal ilk are the armpit of America, the world in fact....You, obammy, and the rest of you America hating commie bastards should eat shit and die......Ron
I like Ron's comment. We don't need to be smart to know that Obama is not the government itself and in the government there are a lot of personal interest to take care first.
the 1st priority is to get the spill fixed
2nd properly look after the killed workers and their families
3rd minimise the damage from the sill
4th clean up
5th work out the bill
BP does not have 20 billion dollars to put in an Escrow account - there books show 7 billion
it is POINTLESS to bankrupt BP as 100's of 1000 nds of people and industries rely on them
get with the program people - no one wanted this to happen - it was an accident and now it needs to be fixed without killing the goose.
USA cannot afford to have any more people out of work.
I think Obama realized he made a mistake when he previously announced increased offshore exploration. When the well exploded and BP reported a small leak, he may have decided to use it as an excuse to backpedal and help revitalize his Cap and Tax legislation. However, as we now know, BP lied and animals died, along with all Obama tried to hide.
I feel its been turned into a political football instead of a national emergency, and I lay the blame on the goverment.
It seems to me that the people ohbama represents are so convinced they have enslaved us all with their "currency" they can do what ever they want.
Doesn't it seem like things government does get more blatantly stuipd?
Don't think for one moment these people are stupid they know exactly what they are doing.
The Internet has become a fly in the ointment to them, so blog away and post around expose the man behind the curtain where ever you can.
🙂
BO will ultimately prove to be the biggest con job ever pulled over on the American public.............knew it when he got in, know it more now...........add pelosi, reed, and frank into the recipe and God help us all.
Unfortunately, our government doesn't do a good job of policing the Big Money Corporations regarding laws, regulations, accepted engineering practices, safety, working conditions, unlawful residents, etc. Some of that is do to incompetence, ignorance or apathy. Some of that is do to what one Senator said regarding the lack of financial reform after the meltdown:
"And the banks -- hard to believe in a time when we're facing a banking crisis that many of the banks created -- are still the most powerful lobby on Capitol Hill. And they frankly own the place," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill., 4/29/09), i.e. Politics as Usual.
It will cost a lot of money to produce our remaining coal, oil & gas and use nuclear energy safely, without permanent damage to the environment or people, but our government isn't up to the task of seeing that the job gets done.
Pass me another Foster’s mate 😉
All these negative comments about Obama seem to me unfair. He has his faults, but so does everyone. It seems to me that the same persons who say that they want to shrink government are also complaining that the government should do something. The past 30 years have seen the slide in the technical ability of the US with US government labs being used as a political football. US industry no longer does much real R&D, it is mostly marketing. It is the next quarter numbers that dominate everything. It pains me to hear US number 1 when we are number 5 in one thing and number 24 in others. We are sliding downhill faster and faster with our politicians arguing about gay rights, abortion and union rights. We do not attack our real problems, we do not even discuss them.
Hey Adam,
How about giving that hornet's nest another what with the stick. LOL!
Good speech? I've never heard so much BS. He was talking completely out of his league and making promises and commitments that are impossible for him to keep. And LOADED with Polispeak that means nothing but sounds good for the camera.
BP better get real tight with some geologists. If they screw up the structural integrity of that well (which appears to be precarious), we could see a billion barrels unload out of that well all at once.
So far we have a walk on the beach and a speech. Oh yea, and Congress giving all BP's competitors a shot at them while Congress demands "an apology" on camera (with their hand out for a campaign contribution off camera).
While we had all the crooks (Congress and the Oil monkeys) in the same room, why didn't someboday throw a lock on the door.
Oh well, might as well enjoy the helium rally before the massive sell-off in July.
This is a very scary situation with the leak in The Gulf of Mexico. The government is hiding a lot of facts:
- the amount of leak is much, much higher than repeatedly increased estimations
- the pressure of the gushing oil is 20 - 70 thousand bps
- poisonous volatile gases are not officialy reported but tremendous air poisoning has started to take first victims
- peak oil looks like conspiracy theory as the leaking oil is described as new type of oil (abiotic oil) produced inside the earth and there is plenty of it. Russians are the experts in this type of oil as they had similar cases but in land and easier to contain
http://www.infowars.com/lindsey-williams-talks-with-alex-jones-about-deadly-gases-leaking-from-bp-spill/
Wish these information are just not true and there will be no need to mass evacuations of millions of people.
Conservatives who keep putting this on Obama are looking very bad. Conservatives who are supporting Big Oil (read Bachmann and Palin) are looking worse. Conservative politicians should just keep their mouths shut, but they cannot, since the only response they are capable of is knee-jerk. Anyone not pre-disposed to believe them at face value can only laugh at the thought that there was ever anything could be done so soon.
Adam, while I respect your opinions and have known them to be wise, I can tell which (fake)news show you are watching. Dick Morris is not respectable and Hannity is considered a joke outside of Foxville. Remember, your audience is on the internet, not cable.
The fact that Obama just got BP to pony up $20billion is more than any other pre-funded environmental award in history, and its openended. It does no good to criticize the next step - claim process - before we are even there. Conservative minded individuals should be happy about this, since small businesses will undoubtedly get the lions share, as a rightful reallocation of resources from the liable party to those injured. Instead, tonight even O'Reilly is crediting Morris for correctly pointing out that Obama has clearly been ineffective. Would GW have even bothered to ask for this money? Not! So by voicing the Blame-it-on-Obama line, you have only the possibility of losing trafic, or customers. Regardless of polls, 54% of the '08 voters did vote for the guy and aren't interested in blindly following the Tea Party.
The fact is in the end the true cost of this fund will likely be in the hundreds of billions by the time oil is seeping onto the East coast of Fla, or when a major hurricane in August pushes oil beyond the marshes of LA and far inland, causing unimaginable damage beyond the immediate coastline. Will anyone care then if Obama still hasn't stopped the unstoppable BP Volcano?
I would stop frequenting your website, but it is very good. My comments are meant to be instructive to someone who may be kowtowing to his "presumed" audience.
Colasurdo....You commie liberals that get your news from MSNBC and/or NPR are all the same...F U and all your "Hate America" crowd.....And Adam, good on ya for your conservative views......Ron
Hey Ron, I guess you're part of "apologizers to BP" as the solution to this mess. That makes you look favorably on this murderous act? I'll say a prayer for you this Sunday. At least us "commies" listen to both sides and not just believe "Fair and Balanced" bullSh!t from moronic blonds on tv. Its people like you that voted in the last prez and got us here in the first place. Hows that Eye-rackee war thingee workin' fer ya'? Do you know any real fightin' soldiers? I do and most of 'em voted for Obama because they see up close what the GOP-teabaggers have in store for us.
And as far as "HateAmerica crowd" comment, its your judgement that you are always right and the other side is anti-America that makes you act against your own interest. Don't forget that the chicken-hawk Cheney would've tortured you or tap your phone as well as mine, if he felt the need. You are voting for people who say they support the constitution, and then promote anti-freedom acts so they can ensure their way of life, not yours. Wake up and stop knee-jerkin! Will 'ya! You are so convinced you know it all that you don't realize the rest of us just laugh and shake our heads.
Talk about blindly following, are you really that stupid? The thing that worries me a lot more than the socialists in Washington is the population that would put them there. America had a chance at freedom and self government and I think we've blown it. As far as BO, you know he is lying when his lips move.
So Jac-azz, I guess you were real happy that Bush/Cheney/Coulter/Limbaugh made as much progress toward Christo-corporate fascism as they did. You know, tell people who can get married and who can't, spying on Americans, torturing people outside the laws, war for profit, government control by corporations, denying health care for profit. All good stuff for Hitler followers like yourself who don't give a damn about human lives, or preserving the planet we depend on, don't give a damn about what the world thinks, don't give a damn that our troops have fought AGAINST fascism in the past, and can't wait to solve problems with violence and profit like any typical playground bully stealing lunch money.
Go join the army so you can get your share of oil--then when its gone and there's no clean place to grow food, DON'T come crying to me with your hungry, uneducated skinhead kids.
Exactly what would you do given the situation? As the Admiral on location said, " The oil companies have the equipment and the expertise to do this, the Government does not."
I agree it is disgusting what is happening. But also disgusting is to hear all these folks who claim that Government involvment is the problem scream to high heavens that the Government is not there to save the day. Which is it? Do you want big government standing by to help, or do you want to trust the private sector to "do the right thing"? After twenty years of asking for less we got it and look what it is. We all share the blame for this fiasco, BP is just who every one sees.
I don't have a solution to this problem. I do not expect the President to know all their is to know about this problem. Governer Jindel showing up on National Television two weeks after the fact and one day before the oil is going to hit with some idea to build artificial islands is not necessarily a great plan. Nobody knows the impact on the flows and currents, or the waterways, wildlife and other beaches. Besides that it takes months to build these things not hours and they begin to erode with the first bucket of sand placed.
The Professors at the University of Texas who specialize in this kind of thing make it pretty plain that a NASA like attention to detail is required for operations at these depths and pressures. After thirty years as an equipment operator for the private sector I can state with full confidence that for profit companys don't have time for anything that they can avoid. I have never heard a manager say, "What would be the right thing to do". It is always "What are we required to do"?
Actually if you listen to NPR in the mornings they are always interviewing people involved in this for the Corp of Engineers, BP and other oil companys, folks who live there, various oils and chemical engineers from industry and academia.
Of course if you want to be entertained and pissed off you can get your "news" from the Major networks or cable. But it is like the cable news guys say when being interviewed. Cable news is about ratings, when you want real news get it from Jim Lehrer, his is the only news show left.
Jim Leher is a commie, just like you and your letter/comment...Fox News is the ONLY place to get your news!!!
You're right on.
I think mobilizing the Army Corps of Engineers...and for that matter, any other military personnel...to help clean up the Gulf and prevent further damage would be a no-brainer. To the extent Washington hasn't done all it could in that area, shame on them. But all the bluster about ass-kicking, we will make them pay, etc. is counterproductive and little more than pandering to voters. See the excellent article by Brett Arends, "What Obama Won't Tell You Tonight", at: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/what-obama-wont-tell-you-tonight-2010-06-15
The legacy of the Bush - Chaney administration was that the oil companies were on the hook for a limited amount, $75,000,000 I think, in case of an accident. Real peanuts but that was the deal. Just watch, after things settle down the lawyers will get BP out of this mess. The clean-up should be paid by a gasoline tax.
It was not Bush that came up with the policy to limit liability to $75M - this was done by Clinton in the aftermath of Exxon's screw up. If you're going to point fingers please point them in the right direction.
Well, since the law came in in 1990, that would make the law unconstitutional, since Clinton must have signed it AT LEAST TWO YEARS BEFORE BECOMING PRESIDENT.
WHO needs to get their facts straight?
I hope that BP gets swallowed up in a hostile take over by BHP...sweet ( crude) irony! But PLEASE, not bankruptcy or no responsibility will get placed on them to clean up after themselves.
Yes, we can put a man on the moon, but NASA, which I consider more technically talented than oil companies can also blow up two space craft which also caused loss of life. Since when is the government knowledgeable about the oil busines or drilling? The blame game goes on. I don't care for almost any of Obama's policies, however, in this case he is at the mercy of someone who knows more about it than anyone in the US government.
I do, however, wonder why countries like the Netherlands weren't allowed in to help contain the oil. They did volunteer, as did many other countries and to my knowledge they were all rejected.
BP definitely was inept and careless and whatever you want to call it. However, this deep well drilling is still an art not a science. You go to where you can find the oil -- not on the close in coasts of course as they are off limits, so you go out deeper and deeper.
So, the only answer at the present time is to park the car in the garage and take the bus or train. Stop using all plastics including the keyboard I am typing on, and so many other everyday items that I can't even begin to list them. Of course that is out of the question so we just wring our hands and point fingers which of course doesn't cure the problem.
Ron,
I agree with most of what your saying, but here`s the thing; He is the President of the United States. The most powerful man in the world. It doesn`t matter that maybe there isn`t a solution right now, but the RESPONSIBILITY of being the President is making the impossible happen when the need arises. He enjoys the benefits of being the commander in chief but it`s past time to get down and dirty and solve this problem at any cost. Will anybody dispute that the need has arrisen? My drill instructor taught me many years ago that a leader can delagate the authority but not the responsibility.
Another thing that occured to me; remember when he was bowing and scraping to the saudi king? Almost kind of makes a guy wonder who is one of the possible beneficiaries of this whole fiasco.
I remember seeing a photograph of Bush holding the Saudi's hand like two little girls.
Ron, thank you fo your comment, it makes perfect sense. As for the rest of the comments as always Amricans always want to shift their personal short commings and irresponsibility on someone else typical!
They are paying the price for it and will be paying for it for a long long time. The solution starts with the man in the mirror.
How do you know obama is protecting his rear end? His lips are moving
I notice the same thing every time Paline talks.
I dont think Obama really knows what to think or do about the oil spill. come to think of it, when has he ever known the right thing to do in any scenario thus far. our country is in a state of depression and not much of the right things are being done to correct our deflationary pressure, or mainly pick up economic activity. why should his lack of effort and or knowledge governing the oil spill clean up be any different or come as a surprise?
Of course he doesn't know what to do about oil spill. He is a layer not a chemical engineer. It is interesting when all is well, everyone wants governament to keep off. When tragedy strikes, it is Presiden't fault and he better have all the answers. It took many peoples and long time to create mess we are in, how can anyone expect for one man to fix it all and at once, Is he God?
Thank God McCane and Palin didn't win.
Americans need to take some responsibility for the problem.If they had reduced their insatiable need for oil in ever increasing amounts it probably would not have been economical for BP and the other oil vultures to get it from these dangerous locations. Drive a smaller car for a start! improve public transport! decentralise. Make it uneconomical for these companies to undertake these dangerous enterprises. Don't complain when it doesn't quite go to plan. If the addicts have the demand, don't complain when the scum suckers supply it. We are all responsible. Just hope it isn't too late.
THANK YOU, Russell! Yes!...we are all responsible. I am responsible. I have no inclination to place blame. Accusation, blame and criticism is the foundation of self-centered human nature consciousness. If we are to survive ourselves (grin) we must endeavor to be other-centered.
I will add that no leader of any organization can succeed on his or her own. Let us think about contributing our own thinking on our situation, and find a way to send supportive ideas and encouragement anywhere we can.
My father drilled it into me that "I am the master of my own fate." My later mentor: "I am the creator of my own experience; I am responsible."
It seems that Russell and others think that the only thing we use oil for is powering our cars and cooling our houses. That if we simply curtailed our use of gas then our dependence on oil would be reduced in the same proportion. But that's a pipe-dream. Look around you...do you realize how many things that we can't live without have a petrolieum component? 80% of the parts in your laptop which you used to write your comment are oil based. Packaging for your food, your clothes, things that keep you safe(at least make you feel safe) all have an oil component somewhere. So just how do we reduce our dependency on oil that will make a difference? And finally if we weren't pushed to drill in deep water by the environmentalists we would have much greater capability to stop a leak. Does anyone remember that the Americans were the ones called on to snuff out all of the surface wells that Saddam blew up in the '91 conflict? We can do it...but not 5000 feet underwater! Get real!
$20 billion or $200 billion, no one will never be able to clean up the marshes. That will be like trying to get wads and wads of chewing gum out of someone's hair without being able to cut it. Truly a nightmare!
i think it's symbolic for a kind of recklessness with many corporations who have no concern for anything but their bottom line. that is what some call being pro business and free market, but it isn't, it is just foolishness. they had fail safe switches and operations but they didnt care and rushed it through. the fact that dubious corporations like haliburton might have been involved is also interesting. i've heard that goldman sachs was also involved and sold off their investments right before it happened. who knows. i believe we live in an extremely corrupt age.
That's why its up to you to fight organized crime, re-elect NO ONE.I don't care what party. Vote them all out.
BO is making Jimmy Carter look like a champion.
We're just lucking McCain and Palin didn't win we'd all be screwed.
I agree McCain wouldn't be much better than BO but he certainly would not be worse. However Palin was the only qualified candidate on the 2008 ballot.
I think your're out to lunch
Don,
We are presently screwed without the help of Palin and McCain!
My sense is the greater problem is Congress. And who occupies the place? Lawyers. We need managers; let's dump the lawyers. For the most part they have no sense at all.
Let's get the fraudulent #*!/#**'s out of there!
BK
Sorry, I forgot to add this to the prior post. If you want to know the real Obama agenda, read Imprimis, May/June 2010, The New New Deal by Charles R. Kesler.
I'm sick of Obama's anti-American policies. One rogue outfit who cheated and is now paying a big price. But what about opening up Utah, Colorado, Wyoming to offset the oceans? He will cram his vision of America down our throats no matter what. Wake up America!
Add my vote to this opinion
He`s a dirty communist. I don`t see too many Obama bumper stickers around anymore. The people wanted `change`. Well here ya go!!.Adam, thank you for the oportunity to express my opinion.
If ole Bush had been doing what he was suppose to we wouldn't have the problems we're having in the last 18 months. The Bush administration was in big oil's Back Pocket all along. We still need a lot more change.
I can't believe the thickness!
When , in your opinion , do you hold the Obama policies responsible for what is happening?? I guess as long as you can make Bush the escape goat for everything that happens, you can give Mr. Obama a pass- right??
I understand your frustration but let's be fair. You wonder why if we could put a man on the moon 40 years ago, why can't cap that well. For starters don't it took almost a decade to put a man on the moon and there were disasters before (Apollo 1) and after (Apollo 13)the first landing. In fact it is generally claimed that the disaster of Apollo 1 forced NASA to get their act together. And don't forget the Challenger and Columbia disasters afterwards. To think that the U.S. government can find a quick solution to a rather difficult problem is wishful thinking. Maybe it as lack of foresight that the authorities didn't anticipate such a serious problem; on the other hand if BP was using state of the art technology, why were they so reckless? And what does this say about the entire oil industry? Is BP the exception or the rule?
True, we put a man on the moon. But, it took ten years. Ten years of scrambling and mobilizing all sorts of companies across the country, from boot makers to boeing, and they all got government contracts, through a massive new (or expansion of, I'm not sure) government agency. Obama couldn't even get a contract to replace the grass in front of the White House, past the Republicans last year. Think people want a new agency?
Also, this was back when kids grew up with good schools and teachers and cared about learning science and math. Now, what's important is what the latest combat video game is. Can't really solve the oil spill with violence--if this crisis involved hand to hand combat instead of scrubbing pelicans with soap, we'd probably see a lot more volunteers!
The moon was a KNOWLEDGE quest. Now the only quest most Americans care about is PROFIT. Which is why the first flag on Mars will be the CHINESE flag.
And unless someone stands to make a BUNCH of profit stopping the leak, or prevent the next one, it will keep leaking and there will be more leaks in the future. Perhaps at the EVEN DEEPER new offshore well that Shell is bragging about this week.
And spill mitigation/cleanup technology has hardly advanced in 30 years--after all, where's the money in it?
Same with all our other problems--illegal immigration, drugs, health care coverage, foreign oil dependence. They will NOT be close to solved until there is big profit in it, not just cost. In this last case, there is WAY too much money to be made BEING oil dependent, to ever get OFF oil before it is simply all gone.
And don't expect any conservative politicians to learn the key lesson from this, that public corporations CAN NEVER BE TRUSTED to put the public interest before profit, without reasonable, enforced regulation. Why won't they learn? Because they are being paid VERY WELL by corporations and their lobbyists NOT to learn that lesson. Again, a profit motive.
As for BP's name, I think BP should be required to change it's legal name to Black Pelican. Sort of a nice reminder, and a reference to "black swan events", don't you think?
We all have oil on our hands. Why is nobody mentioning...there are three times as many Americans working for BP than Brits...BP pays over three times the amount of tax in America than they do in the UK...BP USA Inc (run by Americans) was in charge of the Gulf operation (the US unions are so tight, Brits have got more chance of becoming the American president than being allowed to work in the Gulf). Here's a fact...we are all to blame, yes some more than others, for instance, it might help if 5% of the worlds population could learn to live with using less than 20% of the worlds oil supply! Again...we are all to blame...we all have oil on our hands.
I have a lot less oil on my hands than most people--I GAVE UP MY CAR IN 2003. I commute by bike. I drive about 15 miles a month. I travel by air about 1/4 as much, or less, as most people in my socioeconomic layer.
You're right on. Thats the first comment I have heard or read in all of our 24/7 newsday.