Offshore drilling bill passes house - CONTACT YOUR SENATORS!

[captain]

I would agree with this as well. I fully understand that there are people that actually buy the trucks and vans that need them. I have 3 kids and a minivan to tote them with all their stuff around. But, I also see that out of about every 10 people that own huge trucks and SUVs (F-series, Escalades, Suburbans, etc.) maybe 1 of them ever puts more than two people in it or ever tows anything with it. Those other 9 people have pristeene truck beds that have never seen cargo, trailer hitches that have never seen a hitch, fold down back seats that have never been folded down to hold anything and 4-wheel drive that has never been off road. These people buy these vehicles for one thing (status) and therefore if they are going to burn gas at a faster rate so that they can look cool then I see no problem with them paying more tax on those vehicles. That extra tax be an alternative fuel tax that can go to research new fuels.

I agree that many buy big trucks and SUV's as a status symbol but why should I who pulls a boat with the back of the truck filled with diving equiptment and a compressor not to mention all the other things I haul in my truck have to pay because someone wants to look cool.

 

[RV]

40 pages so far,, man... I don't know if anyone posted this yet or not but....

China, in an agreement with Cuba, is going to put oil rigs 45 miles off Key West....

 

[K Mejean]

40 pages so far,, man... I don't know if anyone posted this yet or not but....

China, in an agreement with Cuba, is going to put oil rigs 45 miles off Key West....

I have heard about that. I'm sure this has been said somewhere along the lines of this but I am gonna say it again. If we drill there will be regulations and safety precautions that will not happen if Cuba and Mexico drill. They are going to drill too. Until there is a realistic solution to the problem we have to drill. We can't keep getting into bed with all these scumbags in the middle east. They have us over a barrel and it's about time we stop that ****. I am torn about what it may do to the water just like everyone else. We live in a country with the best and the brightest so if there is a safe way we will come up with it. Maybe we will get real lucky and our drilling will stop the other countries from doing it.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

40 pages so far,, man... I don't know if anyone posted this yet or not but....

China, in an agreement with Cuba, is going to put oil rigs 45 miles off Key West....

Neither of which has anything remotely resembling environmental protection concerns. And if their pollution starts washing up on Florida beaches, there ain't squat the USA can do about it ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[H2Andy]

China, in an agreement with Cuba, is going to put oil rigs 45 miles off Key West....

just for the record, these are exploratory drillings. no one really knows if there's
any accessible oil there. a Spanish company reported some findings, but they have
not been confirmed:

In February 2005, Castro announced that huge Chinese drilling rigs would be used to further explore areas in which a Spanish company had reported promising results. The Cuban government also signed a contract with China's oil and gas company, Sinopec, to work in areas around the island thought to contain oil deposits.

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/05/08/Worldandnation/Cuba_seeks_oil_near_K.shtml

 

[RV]

well there ya go...

 

[altitudemike]

I disagree with that 99% of all the ofshore drilling & completion work done by other countries is done by American & Canadian companies following thier safety & environmental policies & standards. China will just be footing the bill.

 

[oilman66]

I am torn about what it may do to the water just like everyone else.

No need to be torn! I've worked for a major oil company for several years on some of the biggest, highest producing platforms around...and I can say from personal experience that the environmental controls on these structures are excellent. It's sad that the oil industry suffers from the stigmas from the past, but it's just that - the past! I've been on my current facility when we surpassed 170,000 bbls of oil/ day production rates and yet the water around here is pristine. Even if others like me didn't care about the environment, they still wouldn't want to go to prison for violating anti-pollution laws.

 

[dlndavid]

Good post oilman, I've been on rigs in the gulf and have not witnessed any widespread pollution, and these were Mexico's platforms.

 

[K Mejean]

No need to be torn! I've worked for a major oil company for several years on some of the biggest, highest producing platforms around...and I can say from personal experience that the environmental controls on these structures are excellent. It's sad that the oil industry suffers from the stigmas from the past, but it's just that - the past! I've been on my current facility when we surpassed 170,000 bbls of oil/ day production rates and yet the water around here is pristine. Even if others like me didn't care about the environment, they still wouldn't want to go to prison for violating anti-pollution laws.

Thank you for posting. It's good to here from someone that is involved in the industry. I have no doubt that the oil industry does its best to keep the enviroment around it clean but I must admitt that once in a while the hype from the media and tree hugger organizations get to me so I am glad to have a true "live it" perspective.