Don’t Drill, Baby, Don’t Drill

US News • Views: 5,998

Today, Obama adviser David Axelrod said on “Good Morning America” that new offshore oil drilling will be put on hold until officials learn what caused the massive explosion on the oil rig Deepwater Horizon.

Meanwhile, this oil spill is being described as possibly worse than the Exxon-Valdez disaster.

Don’t drill, baby.

Jump to bottom

88 comments
1 brookly red  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:08:40am

sounds like an ex of mine...

2 The Curmudgeon  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:09:04am

The only sensible solution is to go back to using whale oil.

3 Stanghazi  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:09:28am

Bill Maher tweeted: "Every asshole who ever chanted 'Drill baby drill' should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty"

4 jamesfirecat  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:09:36am

/Still on the upside, just think of how many shovel (brush) ready projects this created for the unemployed, someone is going to have to scrub all those animals clean of oil!

5 brookly red  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:11:38am

part of me is still not sure about nuclear power...

6 Wozza Matter?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:12:55am

catastrophic wind farm failure - three ducks and a herring brutalised.........

7 Wozza Matter?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:13:49am

re: #5 brookly red

part of me is still not sure about nukular power...


fify

8 freetoken  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:15:45am
Don’t drill, baby.

Ahh, but as I posted downstairs, that oracle Denninger proudly proclaims:

Drill Baby, Drill!

No amount of environmental disaster will stop drilling for ever. Slow it down? Yes. Pause for a moment? Yes.

But stop it for ever?

No.

9 Unions = Innovation slash slash  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:15:52am

re: #3 Stanley Sea

Bill Maher tweeted: "Every asshole who ever chanted 'Drill baby drill' should have to report to the Gulf coast today for cleanup duty"

If Bill Maher drives a car he should report as well.

10 Cannadian Club Akbar  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:15:57am

Article on China drilling...
[Link: www.tampabay.com...]

11 lawhawk  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:17:04am

Actually, I'm more interested in what went wrong with the supposed shut-off systems that are designed to prevent oil leaks following such problems on the surface.

There are plenty of things that can go wrong on an oil rig causing explosions, but there were various safety systems in place (or could be in place) to shut the flow from the well. Those systems - the blowout-preventer - apparently failed - possibly because of the explosion or other reasons.

Several foreign countries have a remote system (an acoustic based system) to shut down the wellhead but the US doesn't require that type of system and the oil companies have said that that system is unproven.

12 Wozza Matter?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:17:09am

re: #9 rwdflynavy

If Bill Maher drives a car he should report as well.

a refined sense of justice..........

13 Cannadian Club Akbar  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:17:13am

re: #9 rwdflynavy

If Bill Maher drives a car he should report as well.

He smokes weed and I'm sure it doesn't get here by donkey.

15 jamesfirecat  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:18:27am

re: #14 Killgore Trout

Gingrich’s ‘Drill Here, Drill Now’ campaign continues as oil rig disaster grows.

Fail.

Welcome to mixed message city, population, YOU!

16 Wozza Matter?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:18:47am

re: #11 lawhawk

Actually, I'm more interested in what went wrong with the supposed shut-off systems that are designed to prevent oil leaks following such problems on the surface.

There are plenty of things that can go wrong on an oil rig causing explosions, but there were various safety systems in place (or could be in place) to shut the flow from the well. Those systems - the blowout-preventer - apparently failed - possibly because of the explosion or other reasons.

Several foreign countries have a remote system (an acoustic based system) to shut down the wellhead but the US doesn't require that type of system and the oil companies have said that that system is unproven.

nothing remotely this bad in terms of oil spill has happened in European oil fields - there have been accidents and pretty severe storms, but no massive slicks.

17 Radical Rafe  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:18:52am

Why not drill?

And stop calling me baby! /

18 Ming  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:20:02am

Looks like spill baby spill.

I wish Obama would increase the federal gas tax a bit, to discourage the use of oil. Hard to believe that the gas tax hasn't gone up since Clinton raised it from 13.4 cents / gallon to today's 18.4 cents / gallon.

It may be that nuclear energy is less harmful than other forms, and should be encouraged more. I think China is building 155 new nuclear plants, and we're scheduled to maybe start on 2.

Of course, more solar and wind energy would be great.

I believe last year's stimulus had quite a bit of money to update the country's energy-delivery grid, but I don't know what progress has been made on that.

19 Unions = Innovation slash slash  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:21:34am

re: #13 Cannadian Club Akbar

He smokes weed and I'm sure it doesn't get here by donkey.

Enough with the horse puns!!
//

20 Wozza Matter?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:21:47am

bbl.

21 blueraven  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:21:49am

This just breaks my heart. I used to live in New Orleans as well as some small towns outside of NO. As often as possible my husband and I would take off for the weekend and head south. We would camp down at Grand Isle or Fourchon. The fishing was incredible. Speckle trout and redfish, during the day, at night flounder in the bay. In the early morning it was not unusual to go out and pick up shrimp right off the beach as the tide was going out. I can't imagine the devastation this will bring to the LA coast.

22 brookly red  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:22:18am

re: #18 Ming

Looks like spill baby spill.

I wish Obama would increase the federal gas tax a bit, to discourage the use of oil. Hard to believe that the gas tax hasn't gone up since Clinton raised it from 13.4 cents / gallon to today's 18.4 cents / gallon.

it would not discourage use just drive up the price of everything... but don't worry I am sure he will.

23 badger1970  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:22:39am

re: #18 Ming

How many miles a day do you have to drive (work, kids to school, errands)?

24 dugmartsch  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:22:40am

re: #6 wozzablog

catastrophic wind farm failure - three ducks and a herring brutalised...

OMG!!!!! MY VISTA!!!!!

25 lawhawk  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:25:23am

re: #24 dugmartsch

In the Cape Wind project, there's a Native American tribe opposing it because it would affect their tribal area (and the view, which they hold sacred).

But the big reason that alt-energy projects, nuke plants, and even new transmission lines don't get done is *drumroll* NIMBY.

It's fine to say you want wind power, but don't put in my backyard.
It's fine to say you are for nuclear power - just nowhere near where I'd be downwind if there's a radiation leak.
It's fine to say you want to improve the nation's power grid, just don't put new transmission lines through my backyard.
Etc.

26 dugmartsch  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:26:14am

re: #11 lawhawk

Actually, I'm more interested in what went wrong with the supposed shut-off systems that are designed to prevent oil leaks following such problems on the surface.

There are plenty of things that can go wrong on an oil rig causing explosions, but there were various safety systems in place (or could be in place) to shut the flow from the well. Those systems - the blowout-preventer - apparently failed - possibly because of the explosion or other reasons.

Several foreign countries have a remote system (an acoustic based system) to shut down the wellhead but the US doesn't require that type of system and the oil companies have said that that system is unproven.

They didn't have a remote sonic shut off switch of last resort, which is de facto mandated on european rigs. 500k to install was deemed too expensive.

It's never actually been employed on any of those rigs but at least they've got it. Now we've got a month of 5000 barrels of oil a day spilled directly into the gulf. Well that 500k should basically cover the clean up costs, right?

27 badger1970  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:27:37am

The State of Florida just issued a State of Emergency.

[Link: www.wtsp.com...]

28 lawhawk  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:27:37am

re: #23 badger1970

It's not just your personal consumption, but the cost of transit and movement of goods nationally - food costs, transit costs, and pretty much everything else will increase, and the costs will be passed on to the end user.

29 freetoken  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:27:39am

re: #14 Killgore Trout

On the most fundamental level, DBD/DHDN are just slogans to be repeated as mantras, by Americans who fear the loss of their lifestyle and want to pretend everything will be ok. They want it to be "morning in America" again, which is why they worship RWR, who told them it always could be so.

Beyond that, the real problem with DBD is that it ignores the actual data from the drilling! The current disaster is not the only deep water dissappointment.

Thunder Horse was delayed due to the 2005 hurricanes, demonstrating one of the key problems with this type of work in the Gulf.

Even more profoundly, Thunder Horse's production has turned out to be well below what was expected. It's beginning to look like Exxon seriously over estimated what they could produce. Thus, this very expensive project needs to have oil prices much higher than originally projected to make a profit.

This problem of over estimating oil is one of the slickest of the oil-industry's PR.

It's also what feeds the likes of Limbaugh, who so willing re-sells these distortions (like with Bakken in ND, or the deep water finds in Brazil) to a ready audience which is so willing to be deceived that they will pay for the privilege.

30 lawhawk  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:29:50am

re: #26 dugmartsch

500k multiplied by the number of wells - which is in the hundreds. I agree that it was penny wise, pound foolish. But BP is saying that it will bear the full cost of cleanup (which it should because it should be morally, and ethically obligated to fix the mess).

31 Cannadian Club Akbar  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:30:01am

re: #27 badger1970

The State of Florida just issued a State of Emergency.

[Link: www.wtsp.com...]

Crist being proactive. Good for him.

32 brookly red  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:30:10am

seems that they feds are going to use C-130 against the oil slick (no details yet) what can they do? drop dish washing liquid on it?

33 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:30:56am

re: #21 blueraven

This just breaks my heart. I used to live in New Orleans as well as some small towns outside of NO. As often as possible my husband and I would take off for the weekend and head south. We would camp down at Grand Isle or Fourchon. The fishing was incredible. Speckle trout and redfish, during the day, at night flounder in the bay. In the early morning it was not unusual to go out and pick up shrimp right off the beach as the tide was going out. I can't imagine the devastation this will bring to the LA coast.

The fishermen are going to have a bad time of it.

34 sngnsgt  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:32:04am

With all of the supposed "safeguards" in place to prevent disasters like this, why is the efficiency to clean a spill like this up is better than the efficiency to prevent a disaster like this in the first place?

35 Aceofwhat?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:32:53am

re: #5 brookly red

part of me is still not sure about nuclear power...


walter - stop hacking into brookly's account. it's not cool/

36 Aceofwhat?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:33:48am

re: #25 lawhawk

In the Cape Wind project, there's a Native American tribe opposing it because it would affect their tribal area (and the view, which they hold sacred).

But the big reason that alt-energy projects, nuke plants, and even new transmission lines don't get done is *drumroll* NIMBY.

It's fine to say you want wind power, but don't put in my backyard.
It's fine to say you are for nuclear power - just nowhere near where I'd be downwind if there's a radiation leak.
It's fine to say you want to improve the nation's power grid, just don't put new transmission lines through my backyard.
Etc.

i'll say it once per day for as long as i live. you can put a pebble-bed reactor in my backyard, any day!

37 Unions = Innovation slash slash  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:34:44am

re: #36 Aceofwhat?

i'll say it once per day for as long as i live. you can put a pebble-bed reactor in my backyard, any day!


Nuke Baby Nuke!

38 dugmartsch  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:34:51am

re: #25 lawhawk

In the Cape Wind project, there's a Native American tribe opposing it because it would affect their tribal area (and the view, which they hold sacred).

But the big reason that alt-energy projects, nuke plants, and even new transmission lines don't get done is *drumroll* NIMBY.

It's fine to say you want wind power, but don't put in my backyard.
It's fine to say you are for nuclear power - just nowhere near where I'd be downwind if there's a radiation leak.
It's fine to say you want to improve the nation's power grid, just don't put new transmission lines through my backyard.
Etc.

I know its ridiculous. Frankly put all of that stuff directly in my back yard, lower transmission costs and increase transmission efficiency. I actually got really, really mad at my girlfriend when she said she could understand the point of view of not wanting to see some windmills 11 miles away from your private beach. It's exactly the kind of environmentalism that I hate to the core. A reactionary protection of some nebulous indefinite thing (a romanticized view) which is in direct opposition of humanity's race against our own extinction.

No, one wind farm won't save the planet, but 10,000 wind farms might be a start.

39 NJDhockeyfan  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:34:56am

re: #32 brookly red

seems that they feds are going to use C-130 against the oil slick (no details yet) what can they do? drop dish washing liquid on it?

Kitty litter!

Gotta go to work...bye all.

40 garhighway  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:35:14am

re: #26 dugmartsch

They didn't have a remote sonic shut off switch of last resort, which is de facto mandated on european rigs. 500k to install was deemed too expensive.

It's never actually been employed on any of those rigs but at least they've got it. Now we've got a month of 5000 barrels of oil a day spilled directly into the gulf. Well that 500k should basically cover the clean up costs, right?

I heard that the hydraulics on the BOP were damaged by the debris, so that it physically could not close all the way. So it wasn't about triggering the BOP, it was about the fact that the motive force required to close the valve is no longer there.

41 blueraven  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:35:43am

re: #33 SanFranciscoZionist

The fishermen are going to have a bad time of it.

No doubt. Also the tourism. I read this morning over at the daily dish, one reader wrote that the air in NO is getting really bad. Said he went to walk the dog and his nose was burning. Advisory to stay inside and use AC. This will get worse as it heats up.

42 A Man for all Seasons  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:35:47am

re: #36 Aceofwhat?

i'll say it once per day for as long as i live. you can put a pebble-bed reactor in my backyard, any day!

Plus you can put a cell phone tower next to it.. You don't mind getting filthy rich do you?

43 SanFranciscoZionist  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:36:35am

re: #32 brookly red

seems that they feds are going to use C-130 against the oil slick (no details yet) what can they do? drop dish washing liquid on it?

Basically, it's a sophisticated version of that. They spray dispersive chemicals to try to break the gunk up.

44 dugmartsch  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:36:35am

re: #32 brookly red

seems that they feds are going to use C-130 against the oil slick (no details yet) what can they do? drop dish washing liquid on it?

Kinda, actually. Solvents that speed up the oil's decomposition.

45 filetandrelease  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:37:17am

I have always been an avid supporter of drilling off the coast of my state FL. But we need to find out what went wrong, (re:Lawhawks' prior post)

Kudos to Obama on this one.

46 webevintage  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:37:17am

I bet Palin and McCain are rushing to LA as we speak so they can be on the front lines of rescuing oil covered birds.
right?

47 Aceofwhat?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:37:28am

re: #31 Cannadian Club Akbar

Crist being proactive. Good for him.

Seriously. Heaven forbid we elect a politician with a great track record and proven effectiveness!

48 brookly red  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:38:23am

re: #43 SanFranciscoZionist

re: #44 dugmartsch

you can't fool me that's Dawn...

49 jamesfirecat  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:38:39am

re: #46 webevintage

I bet Palin and McCain are rushing to LA as we speak so they can be on the front lines of rescuing oil covered birds.
right?

Yeah I hear Palin has a place on her mantle all lined up for them....

50 Aceofwhat?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:39:02am

re: #9 rwdflynavy

If Bill Maher drives a car he should report as well.

he should report because he's such an enormous asshole that his methane emissions rival the cattle industry...

oops, that came out a little harsh. ah, well.

51 freetoken  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:39:07am

re: #44 dugmartsch

I've been under the impression that the ideal would be just the opposite - to try to get the oil to clump into tar balls, and not be dissolved in water.

The hundreds of chemicals (mostly organic) that compose "oil" are pretty toxic, and simply dissolving them would mean they would be ingested by various organisms, and be especially bad for shell animals like oysters, no?

52 bratwurst  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:40:11am

re: #45 filetandrelease

Kudos to Obama on this one.

Now you've done it!

Image: Hell-Freezes-Over.jpg

53 filetandrelease  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:40:17am

re: #47 Aceofwhat?

Seriously. Heaven forbid we elect a politician with a great track record and proven effectiveness!

You must not be from around here.

54 Aceofwhat?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:41:04am

re: #18 Ming

Looks like spill baby spill.

I wish Obama would increase the federal gas tax a bit, to discourage the use of oil. Hard to believe that the gas tax hasn't gone up since Clinton raised it from 13.4 cents / gallon to today's 18.4 cents / gallon.

It may be is without a doubt the case that nuclear energy is less harmful than other forms, and should be encouraged more. I think China is building 155 new nuclear plants, and we're scheduled to maybe start on 2.

Of course, more solar and wind energy would be great.

I believe last year's stimulus had quite a bit of money to update the country's energy-delivery grid, but I don't know what progress has been made on that.

i polished that sentence up for you;)

55 Cannadian Club Akbar  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:41:12am

re: #51 freetoken

I ate oysters once that had evidently been hit by red tide. Next day I felt like I was breathing gas. (no pun, that was the actual feeling)

56 Stanghazi  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:41:14am

For good up to date info go to NOLA

re: #48 brookly red

re: #44 dugmartsch

you can't fool me that's Dawn...

I saw a commercial for Dawn on TV last night that actually showed it cleaning up birds covered in oil. As a selling point.

What timing.

57 filetandrelease  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:41:26am

re: #52 bratwurst

LOL

I have an open mind. But am conservative to the core.

58 webevintage  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:42:49am

re: #47 Aceofwhat?

Seriously. Heaven forbid we elect a politician with a great track record and proven effectiveness!


OMG!!111!!!
But He touched Obama...he HUGGED him like a gay man like hug of doom then said thanks for all the money Mr. President and then he went and spent that money!!!!1111!!!!
RINO.
/

Is to Scozzafava a moderate Republican now in the lexicon of political fail?

59 brookly red  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:43:43am

re: #56 Stanley Sea

For good up to date info go to NOLA

I saw a commercial for Dawn on TV last night that actually showed it cleaning up birds covered in oil. As a selling point.

What timing.

I don't think it was a coincidence, do you?

60 bratwurst  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:44:19am

re: #57 filetandrelease

LOL

I have an open mind. But am conservative to the core.

I have observed this about you, but kudos for being able to give credit where credit is due...although this was admittedly a bit of a "no-brainer" on the part of the pres.

61 Aceofwhat?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:44:46am

re: #42 HoosierHoops

Plus you can put a cell phone tower next to it.. You don't mind getting filthy rich do you?

i have no moral qualms about it, no. i like where your head's at-

62 Stanghazi  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:44:47am

re: #59 brookly red

I don't think it was a coincidence, do you?

I don't know. I guess not.

63 Stanghazi  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:45:59am

re: #59 brookly red

I don't think it was a coincidence, do you?

Imagine the ad exec. Woo! We have a spill, bring out that bird commercial now!

64 Aceofwhat?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:46:11am

re: #53 filetandrelease

You must not be from around here.

Jacksonville, baby! But i admit to the occasional bout with naïveté...

65 allegro  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:47:34am

The rig explosion and subsequent leaks are due to sabotage of the environmentalists and it's just like 911!... according to Freepers.

You damn right this is probably sabotage and if the entire crew of this rig were back ground checked some where I smell a muslim of the same quality as 911 pilots.

That would be awful if the slick reached New Orleans...
and then the levies broke again...
and then they set the slick on fire...
Awful!...

66 Unions = Innovation slash slash  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:47:42am

re: #58 webevintage

OMG!!111!!!
But He touched Obama...he HUGGED him like a gay man like hug of doom then said thanks for all the money Mr. President and then he went and spent that money!!!1111!!!
RINO.
/

Is to Scozzafava a moderate Republican now in the lexicon of political fail?


You need to keep up with current events. Crist is an Independent doncha know.

67 Unions = Innovation slash slash  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:48:17am

re: #64 Aceofwhat?

Jacksonville, baby! But i admit to the occasional bout with naïveté...

That's not Florida, it's South Georgia! (just left Jville...)

68 Aceofwhat?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:48:44am

re: #58 webevintage

OMG!!111!!!
But He touched Obama...he HUGGED him like a gay man like hug of doom then said thanks for all the money Mr. President and then he went and spent that money!!!1111!!!
RINO.
/

Is to Scozzafava a moderate Republican now in the lexicon of political fail?

the sad part is that what you say in sarcasm is, i'm sure, circulating as actual opinion in some parts of this state.

and i dislike it sooo intensely. i only remain in the party because i firmly believe that the RINO is in fact the person who believes that crap...

69 allegro  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:49:12am

re: #63 Stanley Sea

Imagine the ad exec. Woo! We have a spill, bring out that bird commercial now!

That ad has been playing here in Texas for a couple of years probably. It's a painful subject to us.

70 Unions = Innovation slash slash  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:49:15am

re: #59 brookly red

I don't think it was a coincidence, do you?

OMG, Dawn blew up the rig to sell more dishwashing soap! It's so simple!!
//

71 jamesfirecat  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:50:08am

re: #65 allegro

The rig explosion and subsequent leaks are due to sabotage of the environmentalists and it's just like 911!... according to Freepers.

This farm would be doing fine if Snowball's supporters weren't constantly stealing our grain!

72 webevintage  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:51:33am

re: #66 rwdflynavy

You need to keep up with current events. Crist is an Independent doncha know.

He's an Independent now because he was deemed a RINO for daring to hug the President and thank him.
He has been Scozzafavaed.
And I'm sure we all remember what ended up happening in the NY-23 election.

73 Stanghazi  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:51:55am

re: #69 allegro

That ad has been playing here in Texas for a couple of years probably. It's a painful subject to us.

I'm kinda glad to hear that. (that it wasn't just used to capitalize on the current tragedy)

74 Aceofwhat?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:54:11am

re: #67 rwdflynavy

That's not Florida, it's South Georgia! (just left Jville...)

Heresy! Talking to a south georgian requires bilingual abilities. We Jacksonville types are mostly transplants, and speak proper Yankee English, thankyouverymuch-

75 Aceofwhat?  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:55:14am

re: #70 rwdflynavy

OMG, Dawn blew up the rig to sell more dishwashing soap! It's so simple!!
//

Dawn is run by muslims11!!1?? Dammit!

76 jayzee  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:58:40am

re: #72 webevintage

He's an Independent now because he was deemed a RINO for daring to hug the President and thank him.
He has been Scozzafavaed.
And I'm sure we all remember what ended up happening in the NY-23 election.

I don't think that's the only issue. He actually pissed off a lot of the GOP (Giuliani for example) for various political slights. Scozzafava actually had the GOPs backing until the tea partiers took over. There is a difference-although the results may be the same.

77 cineaste  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 10:29:45am

Drill Baby, Drill

then:

Sink Baby, Sink

then:

Leak Baby, Leak

then:

Burn Baby, Burn

78 Cato the Elder  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 10:34:38am

Right.

We should just drill in other places and let them have the inevitable ecological consequences and possible disasters. Keep our coasts pure for the Prius drivers!

I'm sorry, but not "drilling here" is the biggest form of NIMBYism I know of.

79 filetandrelease  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 10:52:53am

re: #72 webevintage

He's an Independent now because he was deemed a RINO for daring to hug the President and thank him.
He has been Scozzafavaed.
And I'm sure we all remember what ended up happening in the NY-23 election.


HONK! Wrong. He dissed Guliani, he supported the bail out, he is open border, he is pro union, he appointed Appellate Justice Jorge LaBarga to the Florida Supreme Court, he represents the establishment cronizm of the Republican Party, ..... he wasn't deemed a Rino, he is a Rino.

80 Bob Levin  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 12:33:09pm

I think everyone agrees that we need new forms of energy--but the most you can do is encourage innovation, you can't make a law to discover something tomorrow.

There is no responsible reason that the development of new energy, which paradoxically means using the older energy more quickly (I don't make the rules of history), couldn't have been a national goal like the Space Program was in the sixties.

81 Bob Levin  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 12:34:15pm

And it could have been a national goal for about 30 years.

82 bricko  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 1:01:36pm

OK. lets see...
Have oil spill 21 years ago - ok
Have another oil spill today - ok
now what to do.
repair bad Blow Out Preventer (BOP) valve
Now clean it up just like the last one that did no lasting damage.
restart drill bit
sit down.
shut up
move on.
P*** off Robert Kennedy jr. hopefully

83 Bob Levin  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 2:55:02pm

I'll bet this second rig tipping is related to the last big earthquake.

84 CDRealist  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 4:53:50pm

I always thought the conservative position should be to conserve our oil in the ground for now. We should use up foreigners' oil, so we have some when it's scarce. In 50 years, there won't be much left, and we will be very happy if we are one of the few countries that still have some in the ground.

85 Nekama  Fri, Apr 30, 2010 9:14:25pm

Time to get fully behind electric vehicles and the Israeli company BetterPlace model. We've got to get off oil based motor vehicle fuels.

Modern nuclear power plants should be fast tracked with a goal of 50 new plants over the next decade. If France can get most of their electricity from nukes then we should be able to as well.

Encourage - through greater incentives - more solar power. Solar doesn't require stringing up new power lines like wind power does. Solar electricity is generated where it is consumed.

Drilling is a sucker's game. No matter how much we drill here the Arabs and Russians are always going to be able to sell for less. The Arabs oil literally flows out of the sand, and the Russians don't give a toot about environmental protections.

We've got to make oil obsolete as a motor vehicle fuel. Clean our environment and bankrupt our enemies at the same time.

A textbook win-win situation.

86 Idle Drifter  Sat, May 1, 2010 12:32:52am

After working on a few oil rigs in North Dakota and throughout the Rockies there's always the inherent risk of bad shit happening to good people, equipment, and the environment. Sulfur Dioxide busting out of the ground into a poisonous plume, a stack of 90' sections of 6" drill string being blow loose by high winds, or the rig exploding because a pocket of gas turned out to be super compressed methane and it was too much for even the most experienced oilman to handle.
I'm more interested in the investigators discovering the source of the problem and working on solutions to safeguard the equipment and more importantly the environment and the people out in the oilfield those around them. I could care less about the mantras, political rhetoric, and the talking heads because people would be hard pressed to point out a product not effected by petroleum products. Until there is a better alternative to petroleum products that can replicate their functions, versatility, and variety there will still be a need for the crude.

87 Sacred Plants  Sun, May 2, 2010 8:50:18am

re: #8 freetoken

No amount of environmental disaster will stop drilling for ever. Slow it down? Yes. Pause for a moment? Yes.

But stop it for ever?

No.

Of course you can bang your head against a wall as long as you like to, but at some point you might understand that it hurts, and stop.

It is only a matter of time until the United Nations involve themselves. Since the consequences of the pollution do not only hurt the nation who was affected by the failure but many more, there is a public interest to stop it as soon as possible. Which makes this case a precedent to test the waters of national sovereignty - if the same thing were to happen to some other nation, what are the limits of international intervention? Should oilfields be subject to the same kind of preemptive monitoring as nuclear facilities, by upgrading the United Nations atomic agency´s mandate into a fossile resources agency? How can the industry be convinced that transparency for international inspections is more important than the capability to pretend peak oil shadow budgets? How will governments be convinced not to hand out insurance breaks to them to procrastinate bankruptcies and leave the cost to the future? How will the contemporaries understand that the creation of a mere possibility to stop drilling by the stroke of a pen will make it more secure yet before it is being used?

88 washsox  Sun, May 2, 2010 10:27:12am

It's now more like 'pray, baby, pray'...


This article has been archived.
Comments are closed.

Jump to top

Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT
LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds

Help support Little Green Footballs!

Subscribe now for ad-free access!Register and sign in to a free LGF account before subscribing, and your ad-free access will be automatically enabled.

Donate with
PayPal
Cash.app
Recent PagesClick to refresh