TBD

TBD on Ning

With the burning of the oil in the gulf, I have a few concerns.
I know and knew some people who were greatly affected by the Exxon Valdez oil spill. It seems like so long ago. 1989. The Supreme court finally ruled and people devastated by the negligence of this coroperation finally recieved their "compensation" 23 years later. The "compensation" after the courts got done was about ten cents on the dollar.

So here we are twenty four years later and I see it happening it again. It saddens me. I see the government hasn't done some of the things that were learned. They are supposed to have an environmental assessment team on site immediately. Yet it seem all they are worried about is what happens if the oil reaches shore and not the damage to the wildlife in the ocean. If you like shrimp I would be eating it sooner than later.

While I realize burning is the best way to handle the oil slick and it is better to keep it off shore, it's just the idea that this is nothing more than the cost of doing business. Just as with the Massey mine calamity.

I was wondering after the supreme court ruling, where corporations have the rights of an individual shouldn't they now have the same responsibility. If you spill oil in the water from a fishing boat you can lose your boat. I just think it is time that the people incharge of these corporations be held responsible. If the corporation is neglectful then the officers and board members should be charged.

I am more or less just venting here but would like to here what everyone thinks.


Tags: Oil, spill

Views: 91

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Is heavy crude the same as the oil leaking in the gulf?
Pretty much just the raw stuff out of the ground though there are different grades. Like West Texas Sweet.
Could some one please explain to me what this judge is doing lifting the moratorium?

http://thinkprogress.org/2010/06/22/judge-moratorium-energy-portfolio/

Judge who ruled against offshore drilling moratorium invests in oil industry.

Today, Judge Martin Feldman, a U.S. District Court Judge for the Eastern District of Louisiana, sided with a drilling company which had argued that the Obama administration’s blanket, 6-month moratorium on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico was illegal. The drilling company, Hornbeck Offshore Services of Covington, LA, claimed financial distress from the imposition of the moratorium. In the ruling handed down this afternoon, Judge Feldman agreed, writing that the administration made an “arbitrary and capricious” decision that would have an “immeasurable effect on the plaintiffs, the local economy, the Gulf region, and the critical present-day aspect of the availability of domestic energy in this country.” Like many judges presiding in the Gulf region, Feldman owns lots of energy stocks, including Transocean, Halliburton, and two of BP’s largest U.S. private shareholders — BlackRock (7.1%) and JP Morgan Chase (28.3%). Here’s a list of Feldman’s income in 2008 (amounts listed unless under $1,000):

BlackRock ($12000- $36000)
Ocean Energy ($1000 – $2500)
NGP Capital Resources ($1000 – $2500)
Quicksilver Resources ($5000 – $15000)
Hercules Offshore ($6000 – $17500)
Provident Energy
Peabody Energy
PenGrowth Energy
RPC Inc
Atlas Energy Resources
Parker Drilling
TXCO Resources
EV Energy Partners
Rowan Companies
BPZ Resources
El Paso Corp
KBR Inc
Chesapeake Energy
ATP Oil & Gas

In his opinion today, Feldman wrote, “Oil and gas production is quite simply elemental to Gulf communities.” Indeed, it is so elemental that the justice system is invested in the oil and gas industry. As TP’s Ian Millhiser has written, “Industry ties among federal judges are so widespread that they are beginning to endanger the courts’ ability to conduct routine business. Last month, so many members of the right-wing Fifth Circuit were forced to recuse themselves from an appeal against various energy and chemical companies that there weren’t enough untainted judges left to allow the court to hear the case.
</</body>
I think this article pretty well sums what is going on in this country. It hasn't changed much in the past 100 years. It is only because electronic media has advanced so dramatically that the public now gets this type of information.
I just became aware of this.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37841204

WASHINGTON - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Tuesday he will issue a new order imposing a moratorium on deepwater drilling after a federal judge struck down the existing one.

Salazar said in a statement that the new order will contain additional information making clear why the six-month drilling pause was necessary in the wake of the Gulf oil spill. The judge in New Orleans who struck down the moratorium earlier in the day complained there wasn't enough justification for it.

Salazar pointed to indications of inadequate industry safety precautions on deepwater wells. "Based on this ever-growing evidence, I will issue a new order in the coming days that eliminates any doubt that a moratorium is needed, appropriate, and within our authorities."


Then then should ask for this judges resignation, or he should be disbarred. There must be an ethics law to cover this.
The radio reported that the farther up the court chain the case would go, the more likely it would get overturned because of issues of safety. By the way the moratorium only affects 33 sites and is for drilling that tries to go over 500 feet below water surface level. Seems reasonable to me, given the fact that BP's rig had so many infractions and enforcement of the safety measures seems to be lax and have not been enforced by the government.
Totally agree, I guess my main concern was this judge should have recused himself. I realize there aren't many without this kind of conflict but I am sure there are some. Or at least to a lesser degree.
Yup, Bull, I know!! I was just augmenting- certainly not disagreeing! Just heard Bill McKibben on our local NPR station. What a sensible guy. I think the podcast is available, here somehow.

There are two interesting presentations related to our topic here:

Bill McKibben on global warming
Environmental activist Bill McKibben warned of the dangers of global warming 20 years ago. His latest book takes an angrier edge as he urges a change in our lifestyles or risk living in an inhospitable world.10:06 a.m

and

* Louisiana coastScience of cleaning oil from ocean marshes
Booms, manmade sand banks and flushing fresh water into the Gulf are some of the options for attempting to restore the coastal environment after the oil has seeped in. Scientists are debating the best ways to clean without doing more damage.9:06 a.m.
Guests
David Fahrenthold: Environmental reporter for the Washington Post.
Paul Kemp: Vice president of the Louisiana Coastal Initiative for the Audubon Society. He has an extensive background in coastal restoration and policy, and plays a key role in Audubon's larger conservation initiative along the Mississippi River.
Carl Safina: Ecologist and marine conservationist and president of Blue Ocean Institute.
He's just protecting his oil stock portfolio. Why let justice or safety get in the way of his retirement nest egg?
A Regan appointee, I'm sure it's trickle down.
When I started this thread this is the kind of thing I wanted everyone to understand. This is the outcome of this event. It is about a way of life and not just jobs.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/sto...
Stressed boat captain commits suicide

12:00 AM CDT on Thursday, June 24, 2010

Los Angeles Times

GULF SHORES, Ala. – A charter captain despondent over the gulf oil spill apparently committed suicide Wednesday, a grim reminder of the mental health toll that may haunt the region for years as industries are damaged and estuaries despoiled by the spill.

U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Thad Allen said in a media briefing Wednesday that the apparent suicide of William Allen "Rookie" Kruse and the separate swimming accident death of another cleanup worker were not directly related to their cleanup duties.

SPILL STRESS: But friends of Kruse, 55, said they suspect that the oil spill weighed heavily on him.

"How can you deal with watching the oil kill every damn thing you ever lived for in your whole life?" said Ty Fleming, a land-bound charter captain who spoke Wednesday afternoon at the Undertow bar in Orange Beach, Ala.

Another friend, charter Capt. Johnny Greene, said Kruse appeared "very upbeat" in early May, "hoping BP would get it shut off in the early part of May ... so we could salvage some of our summer."

A CLEANUP WORKER: It didn't happen. Kruse, like many gulf fisherman, hired on with BP; his 50-foot custom sport boat became part of BP's cleanup and containment flotilla. He was found on his boat Wednesday morning with a gunshot wound to his head, a pistol nearby. Officials said investigators do not suspect foul play

This has happened before.

http://www.themudflats.net/2010/06/24/dying-over-oil/
On Thursday, May 20th 1993, Bob Van Brocklin left a suicide letter.

“The stress from Exxon which brought about my financial stress, was too much to deal with alone. The end should be good and maybe my spirit will live. I have a lot of fear right now, but faith is all that is left. I wish I could have done more good for others but I guess my time is up.”

He was the former mayor of Cordova, Alaska. He shot himself.

He sat in Cordova High School on the 28th of March 1989, four days after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. Don Cornett had been sent by Exxon to talk to local fishermen and families.

Mr. Cornett lied to Mayor Van Brocklin and everyone else that day.

“I am here to tell you what we are going to do about [the oil spill]”.

“I’m going to show you what we are doing about it. And we are doing the best job that has ever been done on an oil spill. And watch, just watch.. You have had some good luck, and you don’t realize it. YOU HAVE EXXON. AND WE DO BUSINESS STRAIGHT.”

“We will consider whatever it takes, to keep you whole. You have my word on that – Don Cornett. I told you that.”

Sadly, Bob Van Brocklin wasn’t the only suicide over the Exxon Spill. Many Alaskans, desperate for their lost identities, took their own lives.

Lets just keep all the people in the gulf region in our prayers or thoughts.

With no end in site to the BP Hemorrhage in the Gulf of Mexico, recent news of a fisherman taking his own life was hardly a surprise.


Lets just keep all the people in the gulf region in our prayers or thoughts.
This is a little long, but well worthwhile. Kind of gives one some insight what is going on as far as BP's efforts as far as cleaning goes, and the way they treat the people.

RSS

Badge

Loading…

© 2024   Created by Aggie.   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service