Archive for off shore drilling
As BP crisis continues, will drilling moratorium be passed?
Posted by: | CommentsOver two months later it appears that the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico may be entering a new phase, a phase that hopefully will result in the most success to date in capping the tragic flow of oil into the ocean. While the situation remains precarious and the clean up task still looms large the future of oil shore drilling remains in the balance. Public opinion at present would suggest that some type of changes are desperately needed, whether this will result in a temporary moratorium on deep-water drilling remains to be seen. The Obama administration are anxiously seeking another opportunity to have a legal precedent restrict deep-water drilling after failing on two recent attempts. The hope is that revised evidence that stresses safety concerns coupled with some subtle rewording may result in a temporary freeze allowing the industry to be properly evaluated and changed as needed.
While the legal wranglings look set to continue the current situation continues to worsen by the day. Meanwhile the proponents and opponents of the case are split along the lines you might anticipate; industry experts proclaiming the demands to be unreasonable and too radical while environmental groups applaud the moves and call them long overdue.
The department of the interior have renewed optimism that the case will be supported as new evidence about how the industry can not manage a deep-water blowout and subsequent oil spill is growing in real time as the BP situation continues to develop. One of the very few bright spots with the current disaster is that it may help cement the belief that spill response capacity is not suitable and add gravity to the request to suspend such operations. The initial case wanted to restrict any rigs drilling at a depth of greater than 500 feet while the newest revision seeks to review any free floating drilling rigs. As the landscape keeps changing so does the scope of the proposed restrictions. The industry of course is fearful that the reaction may be overcompensating for the current event, but can your really overcompensate for the worst US environmental disaster in history? That hardly seems possible.
In the meantime the difficult dance between energy/economic needs seeks to be offset by creating a blueprint for a process that better protects the environment. Its almost as if this courtroom drama is scheduled to become a large and very publicized metaphor for the entire ebb and flow of the environmental movement. It’s a theme I find myself returning to -objectors say the costs are too high in a fiscal sense, while activists say there is no greater cost than the result of doing nothing. This is one battle that apathy must not win – the dismay of millions who have watched the escalating tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico must not return to what they were doing before. The easy protest vote seems to be ‘boycott BP’ but the fundamental problems run so much deeper. This is not just an issue with BP – this is an issue with safety and planning, reward versus risk. It’s an issue in which we each hold vested interest.
Tags: BP, BP Oil Disaster, BP Oil Spill, drilling moratorium, gulf of mexico oil leak, impact of drilling disaster, moratorium on drilling, off shore drilling, planet forwardGulf Oil Spill must cause a rethink in what we are doing….surely?
Posted by: | CommentsIts hard to know what to do about the oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the catastrophe has escalated on a daily basis and with no remedy yet being successful the immediate and long term implications of the crisis each loom larger by the hour. As we watch the news and share the frustration at the (thus far) failure to cap the leak the questions are being asked as to how this happened and how it can be avoided again. Common sense says that the very nature of deep sea drilling leaves this a standing risk of our quest for more oil. Can the process be made 100% 
safe? I don’t believe so. Is this a worthwhile cost as we seek to continue our desire to extract fossil fuel from every trench on earth? It can’t possibly be an equitable exchange.
The amount of oil that has discharged into the ocean at this date is already the worst natural oil disaster of recent times, if the plans to cap the oil over the next few days don’t bear fruit the option proposed is the drilling of relief wells. That sounds good until you realise that the idea of relief wells being in place is many weeks and perhaps months away. If the oil continues to spew freely for another 4-6 weeks it becomes almost impossible to gauge just how tragic this issue will then become. While I don’t possess the answers I’m happy to see a huge number of newspapers, blogs and organizations ask the pressing questions and also begin the campaign to ensure this simply can’t happen again.
In the meantime I wanted to share some links to useful information to further comprehend the impacted and the story that unfolds further each day. From the Planet Green site comes a disturbing summary of the species of wildlife that are at risk due to the expanding oil slick. Worth noting is that this is under the acceptance that the slick may only impact the North-Central Gulf Coast.
You’ve probably read that the chemical dispersants being used to reduce the clustering of the oil are potentially as dangerous as the oil itself to marine life in the region. This recent story, video and selection of photos from TreeHugger.com focuses on hundreds of dead fish that are washing up on beaches along the Alabama coastline. What’s interesting to note is that the author can’t determine if the oil was the cause of the loss of fish or perhaps the chemicals being flushed into the water, visually it would appear the latter may be the cause. As if the crisis doesn’t have enough difficult facts to face the chemicals are considered a necessary compromise to reduce the oil.
Trying to gather a good widespread understanding of the long and short term impacts of the disaster can result in an avalanche of contradicting information. I found that this series of interviews conducted by The Wildlife Society provide a good overview of the facts and actions being taken to try and safeguard the areas at risk.
For a more optimal understanding of the actions in place and planned by the response team I strongly recommend visiting the ‘official deepwater response’ website. A valuable resource to read and see the methods being considered and attempted to stem the flow and links to official press releases, interviews and much more. As a source of information beyond speculation (as the broadcast media seem intent on doing) and without spin, this site is updated constantly with new press releases and information.
Later this week I’ll write about useful sites to visit if providing relief via a donation or volunteering time is an option for you if you live near the Gulf Coast. While the news these last few weeks has been thoroughly distressing hopefully the result will be a cessation in offshore drilling…Globally!
Tags: deepwater horizon, deepwater oil spill, gulf of mexico oil spill, impact on marine life from oil spill, off shore drilling, oil rig disaster, oil spill impact, planet forward, planet green, safety for oil rigs, the wildlife society, treehugger.com
