BP Oil Disaster

[Fabian]

I've read that this disaster is threatening the coast of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Has any oil washed ashore yet? Has the scuba community continued to dive in Florida? What kind of impact will this oil disaster have on scuba diving in these areas? I'm curious to know.

 

[AfterDark]

Some oil has hit the Louisiana shore. I don't think Fl is affected, yet. I can't believe the US govt. is dragging their feet on this and nobody is saying a word about it.

 

[Wookie]

Do you really think the government should get more involved than they are now? What expertise do you think "they" should bring? What experience do you think that "they" have that is applicable? So far, I think "the government" has done an admirable job of getting the hell out of the way and letting those with access to $20,000,000 per day of boats and equipment go get the job done. We were told at the beginning that a relief well would be the only permanent solution, and it would take 90 days to drill. We're only on day 35 or so, and we've got about 60 more days of gusher to live with.

I just can't see "the government" bringing anything to the table in this case, except more regulation and higher gas prices.

 

[AfterDark]

Do you really think the government should get more involved than they are now? What expertise do you think "they" should bring? What experience do you think that "they" have that is applicable? So far, I think "the government" has done an admirable job of getting the hell out of the way and letting those with access to $20,000,000 per day of boats and equipment go get the job done. We were told at the beginning that a relief well would be the only permanent solution, and it would take 90 days to drill. We're only on day 35 or so, and we've got about 60 more days of gusher to live with.

I just can't see "the government" bringing anything to the table in this case, except more regulation and higher gas prices.

We have a Navy and Coast Guard that have a lot of expertise in these ops as yet they are an untapped resource. Aren't they suppose to protect our coast?
This is what we have a govt. for not to give money,health care and other bennies to free loaders that haven't done a thing to deserve it! Seems to me everything is turned upside down, the things we have a govt for are not being done but everything they have no authority to do they are doing!

 

[DennisS]

If the government took over, it would have to hire a contractor with the expertise and the equipment to deal with the problem. BP is already hiring contractors and consulting with every oil industry expert they can find. The only people with this expertise is the oil industry. Is anyone suggesting we use taxpayer money to hire BP as a contractor to clean up the oil spill or do they suggest hiring another oil company. Cheney would already have Haliburton in there as prime contractor, hiring BP as a subcontractor.

The Navy and Coast Guard contract work like this out to private companies. Let BP do the contracting with their money, they have profits in the billions, let's not use taxpayer money for this.

The role of the govt was to prevent this from happening but pressure from both sides caused them to ignore regulations. Everybody was all for the drill baby drill mentality with the govt getting lots of money from leases.

Washington Post:"The federal agency responsible for regulating U.S. offshore oil drilling repeatedly ignored warnings from government scientists about environmental risks in its push to approve energy exploration activities quickly, according to numerous documents and interviews.
This Story


Minerals Management Service officials, who can receive cash bonuses in the thousands of dollars based in large part on meeting federal deadlines for leasing offshore oil and gas exploration, frequently changed documents and bypassed legal requirements aimed at protecting the marine environment, the documents show.


The government did not do it's job-preventing the disaster and protecting the environment.

 

[Wookie]

We have a Navy and Coast Guard that have a lot of expertise in these ops as yet they are an untapped resource. Aren't they suppose to protect our coast?
This is what we have a govt. for not to give money,health care and other bennies to free loaders that haven't done a thing to deserve it! Seems to me everything is turned upside down, the things we have a govt for are not being done but everything they have no authority to do they are doing!

You need to go back and review the roles of the Navy and the Coast Guard. The Navy's job specifically is to project the force and will of the United States to the corners of the world. They do not get involved in, nor are equipped to handle oil spills. The navy is not trained in oil spill cleanup.

The Coast Guard's primary function is safe navigation on the domestic waters of the United States, including safety of US flagged vessels, as well as foreign vessels in US waters, maintenance of aids to navigation, and oversight of waterborne emergencies. The USCG is providing oversight of this disaster. BUT, the coast guard doesn't own drilling rigs, nor cleanup boom, nor have the manpower to clean up oil spills. That falls to civilian contractors and volunteers, who, OH, are cleaning up the spill within the limits of their knowledge and technology. This type of thing has never happened before, no one knows what to do. This is a hot potato, no one wants to touch it. If the final solution is to touch off a nuke and turn the seabed into glass, by all means call in the Navy. Until a military response is called for, let the ones who caused this mess make it right. They haven't failed for 60 more days.

 

[Wormil]

I'm pro wookie and anti everything else. Go wookie, Go Wookie.

 

[Wookie]

I'm pro wookie and anti everything else. Go wookie, Go Wookie.

Now I'm scared.

 

[Wormil]

Now I'm scared.

You've been spot on everything. Ninja kick those damn rabbits.

 

[Wormil]

I think Wookie has been giving out a good stomping of dip****s and tardos. Moar Wookie!