It is NOT the Gulf Oil Spill

[OldNSalty]

I dont agree with everything that has been done to date, however getting the government to "fix it" is not going to be the right answer. There are lots of companies, who did nothing to create this incident, that are about to hurt over "knee jerk" decisions and lack of "new procedures".

Yea. Because clearly safety regulations weren't followed anyway so why try? Government regulation is never the answer. They only do crazy crap like try and make food safe which only cuts into our profits. If you remove the controls you can count on the large companies to 'do the right thing' without government involvement.

 

[Jersey]

Correct. The blame goes much 'deeper' than BP. Why are these companies being allowed to drill a MILE down? At those depths, what can you do?

Where would you like them to drill? They drill there as they suspect there is oil there! (Given the BP Oil Catastrophe, I suspect they were correct, and lots of it.) Would you prefer they drill in your back yard? Prolly not. No one seems to want windmills, oil rigs, coal mines or nuke plants in their back yards, but we all want the by-product. Shall we continue our reliance on unstable geo-political areas of the world?

This is a country that put men on the moon and got them back safely with less technology then I have on my cell phone. While I do not have answers, I believe money needs to be directed to R&D and to American Companies to develop safer methods, better technology and better governance (and not neccesarily by the Government).

Off soapbox. For an interesting and sometimes amusing/sometimes violent and not so amusing take on rig life, read "Don't Tell Mom I Work on the Rigs: She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a *****house", by Paul Carter (2005) then think about what oil workers go through to keep your car gassed up and lights on.

 

[drbill]

They have not in any sense tried to duck their responsibilities.

I'd have to respectfully disagree. The statements made by BP CEO Tony Hayward and one of their VPs were pretty outrageous in my mind and the constant downplaying of the problem and the scope of the "spill" was inexcusable since they would initially not allow public access to the video being taken and downplayed reports by independent researchers that suggested their estimates of the amount were way off.

On top of this we have the history of Ixtoc I to evaluate BP's current efforts with.

MMS has proven to be literally "in bed" with the oil companies and therefore ineffective in its mission. The government (mostly under the Bush-Cheney regime, but continuing into the current administration) deserves a good share of the blame as well.

 

[DCBC]

I wouldn't boycott BP. I'd like them to make a lot of money this year and use all of it to pay those who have a legitimate claim and clean-up the environment. You can't get blood out of a stone and I don't want them having any excuse.

Incidents will always happen and I have little doubt that those that are negligent will be prosecuted. No bankruptcy or cash-flow restrictions BP, just do your best to make it right! Get on it! And Obama, get off your ass!

 

[Peter_C]

I wouldn't boycott BP. I'd like them to make a lot of money this year and use all of it to pay those who have a legitimate claim and clean-up the environment.

Well BP just happens to build one of the nicer solar panels on the market with the best warranty in the industry with 25 years @ 85%.

If anyone happens to want some BP solar panels and an/some inverter(s) let me know :cool2:

 

[wausman]

What you call it doesn't make any damn difference.

Too much talk trying to "name" stuff, or cover backsides, all meaningless. This is beyond PR, and beyond spin. I'm tired of press conferences and Cabinet Secretary (rotating, Napolitano, Salazar, Browner) and Presidential visits venting hot air and talking-point sound bites, in an attempt to appear "hands-on" with hands that don't know what to do.

The only decisive action by the Administration has been to shut down all wells deeper than 500 feet (meaning 80 percent of the production in the Gulf). Thanks a lot for that one, it will cost us about 20,000 jobs here. Please don't kill us with any more kindness.

I agree what you call it does not make a diffrence it does not clean it up it does not help the wildlife. But I have to agree with the OP that calling it the BP oil spill reminds us of who cut corners and caused the whole thing.

And yes BP has had good PR and stood up and took the blame. But the fact is they are to blame because they were trying to cut corners to make more money. I am sure I will be buying BP gas at other stations but I will not be filling up at any BP stations.

 

[LavaSurfer]

Correct. The blame goes much 'deeper' than BP. Why are these companies being allowed to drill a MILE down? At those depths, what can you do?

Find more oil
Right, wrong or indifferent... they are drilling deep and it won't stop anytime soon.
Not as long as we keep buying for the product.

 

[OldNSalty]

I am sure I will be buying BP gas at other stations but I will not be filling up at any BP stations.

And that hurts BP how?

That type of knee jerk reaction only hurts your local economy and some small poor Joe who is trying to make a living unless you can identify which (if any) of the local BPs are actually owned by the company. Most of these gas stations are owned/operated as a small family business and there isn't much money to be made in selling gas to the end user. The deal between being a BP gas station or any other is marginal for the franchise buyer-the gas companies all have near identical terms and they all favor the oil company providing the gas. I suspect the main reason that shop owner in your town is a BP station is because Shell and Exxon already had stations on the other corners.

 

[randini]

I read somewhere that technically it isn't even BP's rig. At the time of the "hemorrhage" they were leasing it from Transocean and, apart from a handfull of BP people, it was mostly Transocean staff on board. So technically, wouldn't you want to be boycotting transocean rather than BP?

 

[LavaSurfer]

I read somewhere that technically it isn't even BP's rig. At the time of the "hemorrhage" they were leasing it from Transocean and, apart from a handfull of BP people, it was mostly Transocean staff on board. So technically, wouldn't you want to be boycotting transocean rather than BP?

It's a BP Well. Contractors aside, the well owner is responsible for the way the well is run and the resulting consequences. Drilling is a project and the Project Manager would be BP. Maybe only having a small handful of BP employees is a telling fact. If the well was a massive success and reinvented the way we acquire oil in a safer, more ecological and effective way, would you be trying to give Transocean credit, would BP not take credit?