Consequences of US oil leak

[vince]

what do you mean?

Sorry my fault. It's the title of the thread... duh.

Anyways. What is the problem with someone from Europe, the OP, referring to to it as the US oil leak? Everyone knows it is the BP well.

I don't see the point of the nationalism in the thread. Some members from the UK seem to want to defend BP. One said he was embarrassed, which I don't understand at all. Some in the US want to score on a foreign company. The corporate HQ of BP and other multinational oil companies doesn't have a bearing on their actions.

 

[1kmb1]

Sorry my fault. It's the title of the thread... duh.

Anyways. What is the problem with someone from Europe, the OP, referring to to it as the US oil leak? Everyone knows it is the BP well.

I don't see the point of the nationalism in the thread. Some members from the UK seem to want to defend BP. One said he was embarrassed, which I don't understand at all. Some in the US want to score on a foreign company. The corporate HQ of BP and other multinational oil companies doesn't have a bearing on their actions.

oh i was just joking like when a kid breaks something and the mother says "look what YOUR son did" lol

 

[sbat]

And, of course, if Obama said nothing and let the professionals do it people would be saying that he doesn't care enough about the issue.

That's only because he talks so damn much about anything and everything that he's expected to weigh in when ANYTHING happens.

 

[sbat]

To be fair, isn't EVERYTHING natural? Everything "synthetic" is simply a reorganization of pre-existing matter. We don't magically create matter that previously did not exist when we make Oxycodin. We just play around in a lab for a bit with some compounds that we find lying around Earth.:tongue::wink:

 

[B_talltpaguy]

What exactly did he say, via context thereof of just two words, and your supposition thereof... since you seem to be an expert on Limbaugh... or you just stroking the vehement liberal LPSG trolls and just enjoy the shake of the Obama pom-poms that are never set down in these parts? The messiah if you will....

Oil is as much a part of nature as air is. Oil is as much a part of nature as water is. … If we didn’t do anything, it would recover. It might take a lot of years, but it would recover.

It's a red herring. He's talking about how "nature" will recover, while skipping over the reality that the lives of thousands, perhaps millions of people will suffer while 'nature recovers'.

He's trolling for a reaction, and he got it... This is what his entire career is predicated upon; playing word games and fucking with his listeners' heads.

Audio link...
Limbaugh claims BP spill "not exceptional ... not unusual"

 

[B_VinylBoy]

That's only because he talks so damn much about anything and everything that he's expected to weigh in when ANYTHING happens.

No he doesn't "talk too much".
Presidents weigh in on things because the general public expects them to. This is basic human behavior that hasn't recently come into play just because Obama took office.

 

[FRE]

That's only because he talks so damn much about anything and everything that he's expected to weigh in when ANYTHING happens.

Whatever Obama does, he will be criticized and worse. If he speaks up, he will be criticized for it. If he remains silent, he will be criticized. I'm inclined to ignore the criticism.

I hope that I am mistaken, but I strongly suspect that if Obama were white and doing exactly the same things, that he would be less criticized. Although there are some areas on which I do not agree with him, I think that he is doing a very good job, especially considering the many very difficult situations with which he is dealing. It would be very difficult to find a better man for the job.

 

[dandelion]

how come when something goes wrong it "the US oil leak"?!

how about "the BRITISH petroleum leak"

Because the oil belongs to the Us, the leak is spilling onto the US, the US government is trying inadequately to fix it, the oil rig which caused the problem belonged to the US company Transocean, the US company Haliburton was responsible for faulty work on the sea bed. The US government which anticipated getting lots of money from selling the oil and the US people who anticipated putting it in their cars? The British company BP is to blame for hiring US companies to do the work which then mucked up? Would BP have been allowed to not hire US companies to do the work?

 

[vince]

^this is a very useless post. BP is the responsible party by law. They hired the contractors and are responsible for their work. That's the way subcontracting works.

BP is British. You are British. Get over it. Where the various companies or end users are from is a pointless discussion.

 

[FuzzyKen]

Though this may in fact be one of the largest disasters in United States history the one thing that it just might do is to make people realize that we need to get ourselves off of our own butts as a Nation and to begin a crash program to convert to alternate and renewable energy sources.

We have the technology right now to convert most diesel powered vehicles to biodiesel and the latest technology makes this fuel from a fast growing and renewable seaweed without endangering any food sources. The best part is we have a win/win on that one because the biofuels can be "brewed" to be as efficient with regards to consumption with a far lower quantity of pollution. This also means that we don't need as much old fry oil from fast food and donut shops any more.

I am sorry on this one. Though I have great sympathy for the lives lost and the families of the men working their rear ends off doing very rough work on an oil rig, I have no sympathy for the parent company because of the safety and other risk taking in the name of pure corporate greed.

IF BP completely is destroyed from this it will be a great marker and warning for others in that same industry that the world will not tolerate a total disregard for the environment.

This is not an issue which panders to any one party over another. Errors and bad judgment have taken place on both sides of that fence allowing this kind of high depth drilling and nobody made absolutely certain that they knew how to fix disasters before they did it. We now know that we have a bunch of "educated guesses" in the drivers seat.

As if the U.S. economy were not tough enough many people who earn their living with relation to the waters of the Gulf are going to lose what little income they have because of BP. In fact, the one issue I have not heard in any detail is the liability that BP will have for the economic losses related to their catastrophe.

A portion of the things on all of our tables originate in the waters of the Gulf. You can guarantee that the losses will not only pass on to the businesses but to the cost of what goes on your dinner table.

This is also not an issue of nations. This is an issue of pollution caused by a foreign owned company that just happened to be located in the Gulf of Mexico where it will make a mess of the United States and many related things here.

I would have exactly the SAME opinion if the offending companies owning that operation had been Mobil-Exxon, Chevron or Phillips Petroleum. They mess it up, they pay for it and that is it.

The one thing that we can all guarantee is that the Stockholders of BP better not be spending their dividend checks just yet.

This one will go down making the Exxon-Valdiz look like a minor clean up. The effects of this have potential to last over a decade.

 

[midlifebear]

This one will go down making the Exxon-Valdiz look like a minor clean up. The effects of this have potential to last over a decade.

Sorry, but the contamination will continue for a minimum of 50 years. Historically, Louisiana harvested (until this year) more seafood than the entire Atlantic coast. Once crude oil mixes in with wetland marsh, it kills off everything. The next year there is a sudden flush of new wetland plants and animals, but they are contaminated with petrochemicals. The wetlands and marshes will sort of boom flourish for two or three years, and then suddenly die back leaving nothing but polluted open water. This open water will take decades to recover to verdant marsh lands again. Even if the polar caps melt and world climate rises and increases the sea level, the marshes can cope, because they are evolved to recover from too much flooding followed by decades of drought. But they will still remain polluted when they come back in 50 years. It may, however, take more than fifty years, because the wetlands are the one major defense against hurricanes and the destruction they cause. During the "open water" period as the wetlands adjust and attempt to build new sediment, every hurricane that hits land, especially in Louisiana, will simply tear out any progress made by marshland plants.

This is a major world economic disaster. It's not a simple oil spill. As for BP's oil production, it's a small percentage of that pumped from the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana produces 40% of the worlds available crude. Only 20% of that oil is used by the USA. However, there is no question the talking head of BP is being somewhat cavalier in his dealing with the press. And BP has repeatedly turned USA journalists away and prevented them from taking photos of the disaster. Since when did Obama die and make the head of BP Queen?

Normally, I like to provide lots of links, but you'll have to simply watch the Internet feed of today's The Rachel Maddow Show where she lets the USA Forest Service and the Regional Environmental Protection Agency officer explain just how bad the situation is.

 

[B_talltpaguy]

^A better link to the video you want people to see...
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_ne...er-of-life-and-death-theyre-disappearing-fast

This is a major world economic disaster. It's not a simple oil spill. As for BP's oil production, it's a small percentage of that pumped from the Gulf of Mexico. Louisiana produces 40% of the worlds available crude. Only 20% of that oil is used by the USA.

I think you got your numbers screwed up or something...

Last year, Louisiana produced about 48 million barrels of oil for the entire YEAR. The world produces about 72 million barrels per DAY.

 

[midlifebear]

TPG: Thanks for the link. Yeah, most probably I did get numbers mixed up. I'd like to blame it on half listening to the TV while everyone around me chatters in a different language, but I won't. My mistake.

I'm just too overwhelmed and pissed off that such a major oil spill has occurred and is still going on, basically unchecked. The effects of the Cadiz Amoco oil spill off the coast of France umpteen years ago (1978) is still screwing up the local fisheries (the clams, oysters, and crabs are still not clean enough for human consumption). And the French tanker, Prestige, that sank off the coast of Galicia in 2002 is still leaking oil after 8 years, creating constant havoc with the northern Spanish coastline's eco system.

If the histories of these last three major oil spills (Exxon Valdez is the third) is any indication of the future of what will happen to the southern coast line of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida and up along the Eastern Seaboard, the USA is more than just screwed.

 

[deleted3782]

National Center for Atmospheric Research models show that oil could enter the Gulf's loop current, go around the tip of Florida and as far as North Carolina before heading off past Bermuda on its way to Europe. By the time it got to Europe, it could be fairly weathered. This scenario could see oil near East Coast beaches by early July.

 

[B_Nick4444]

:fest30::arms::beerchug2::dance::banana::headbang::laola::clap:

one great thing to come from the spill -- Obama (and the dems) fall even lower in the polls!

Poll Suggests Damage to Obama From Oil Spill

"...A new Democratic poll hints at possible damage to President Barack Obama from the Gulf Coast oil spill, as well as from continued voter anxiety over the economy and the deficit-ridden finances of the U.S. and other developed countries.

“With ample evidence in the survey that economic considerations color the public’s assessment of America’s standing in the world…it may well be that this month’s rise in worries about the economy play a role,” the memo says. “It is possible, although not tested in this survey, that the response to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has also affected views on the president’s leadership, including on security issues.”

On the economy, the Democracy Corps and Third Way poll showed a five-point rise in the share of voters who think the worst is yet to come, to 32%. As a consequence, 59% now say the country is heading in the wrong direction, up two points from a month earlier...."

Poll Suggests Damage to Obama From Oil Spill - Washington Wire - WSJ

"...Obama Rating Lower Than Most Presidents' Comparables
Obama's end-of-May weekly average is lower than the single-survey ratings for all but two of the nine elected presidents since Eisenhower during May of those presidents' second years in office.

Approval Among Independents Reaches New Low
Obama's current 41% weekly approval rating among independents is by one point the lowest of his administration. His 81% rating among Democrats is tied for the lowest so far among that group, while his current 16% among Republicans is actually up slightly from recent weeks...."


Obama Weekly Approval Average Dips to New Low of 46%

 

[B_VinylBoy]

YAWN.... More about the spill and its devastating effects, please. That's far more important than whether or not a bunch of uneducated fools taking a Gallop poll like the President.

 

[b.c.]

:fest30::arms::beerchug2::dance::banana::headbang::laola::clap:

one great thing to come from the spill -- Obama (and the dems) fall even lower in the polls!....

So, to a conservative/Republican's point of view, the oil spill is a good thing?? ...Something to celebrate.....because it gives them something else to blame on Obama??

That is a surprisingly new low... even for them.

 

[B_Mister Buildington]

So, to a conservative/Republican's point of view, the oil spill is a good thing?? ...Something to celebrate.....because it gives them something else to blame on Obama??

That is a surprisingly new low... even for them.

Obama and the dems are more dangerous to America than all the oil spills ever.

 

[B_Nick4444]

So, to a conservative/Republican's point of view, the oil spill is a good thing?? ...Something to celebrate.....because it gives them something else to blame on Obama??

That is a surprisingly new low... even for them.

not at all a "good thing"

the environmental consequences are dire and extremely severe; but just think -- Obama was planning on expanding off-shore drilling throughout the Gulf shoreline ... that has now been nipped in the bud

the other consequences stemming from the possibility of an Obama second-term, are now also less likely

should the precipitous decline in the Obama political fortunes continue, the likelihood of undoing the consequences of the Obama four-year term are enhanced

looking for the silver lining, dear fellow

 

[B_talltpaguy]

one great thing to come from the spill

No, there is NOTHING good coming from this spill... What an asshole thing to say.