Oil spill effects

[SmokeJumper]

My heart goes out to all the people directly impacted on the coast and I hope that those whose livelihood depends on the open water there can find a way to make it.

The spill is also a reminder for me of how most of what we consume is linked to oil and that making smart choices can reduce the impacts of these inevitable tragedies. I was watching the end of Food Inc. on the DVR last night and they cited that it takes an average of 75 gallons of oil to get a feed-lot head of cattle to market. I just put half of one in the freezer. Hidden consumption everywhere...

 

[southernsmoker]

Up here in the Hibernia fields they say there are 3 methods of turning off a blow off valve. The oilwells are 300 + Kms offshore so they say not much chance of reaching land if they have a spill here, what about the dang water etc...I don't put much stock in that?

Hope you boys get her under control asap...

 

[langosta99]

BP will pay for the clean up. Maybe before everyone starts getting all excited we should remember that 11 people were also killed. As for the consumption issue, this country runs on oil so unless you have the miracle soybean to replace it we should focus on how to get the product with more safety in mind. Maybe a few nuke plants would not be bad for this country eh?

Halliburton is a big a$$ company. They get the contracts to do these kinds of jobs here and in Iraq because they have the ability to do them. How many construction companies do you know of that have the equipment and experience to do these jobs?

 

[landarc]

Can you re-rig shrimp boats and shallow water trawlers for other fisheries? Might be time for some of those guys to move their boats. It isn't pretty as an idea, but, when the salmon fishing out here collapsed, a lot of fisherman had to move, or re-rig for a different fishery. Hard choices, but, I can't see how this disaster to the economy can be avoided.

 

[greg of the BGE]

Most undersea rigs used around the world have dead man handle shut off valves to prevent this. Cheney and Bush said they were too expensive and made it so they did not have to be used. They were also approved to drill to 18k' and they went below 24k. This is not a radical act, this was an act due to the corporations and special interest groups owning the politicians from both parties.

Why do we irradiate food when it destroys the vitamins, which is why we need to eat? Because it extends the shelf life of the food. Longer shelf life, less nutrients. Sounds like the typical win for the corporations and loss for the consumer.

 

[deathamphetamine]

So today is the day they try to lower the steel vessel over the pipe rupture.


Hope it works...