The Gulf Oil Spill gives us an opportunity to get past the typical labels and name calling and discuss policy in light of the on going disaster. There are many possible angles to come at this such as...
Big Gov. is bad, BP are the experts and should be left alone. Damages are what courts are for.
Big Gov. is good, why hasnt the Gov. done more, faster to take over operations and force BP to get this under control.
Off-shore oil drilling is safe. As a percentage of wells operating and oil extracted this spill is a tiny amount and we need oil.
Off-shore oil drilling is not safe. This spill shows that it only takes one event to destroy the lives of millions of people.
Energy policy/investment is another topic to consider.
What are your thoughts and has this crisis changed or hardened your view?
The Gulf Oil Spill gives us an opportunity to get past the typical labels and name calling and discuss policy in light of the on going disaster. There are many possible angles to come at this such as...
Big Gov. is bad, BP are the experts and should be left alone. Damages are what courts are for.
Big Gov. is good, why hasnt the Gov. done more, faster to take over operations and force BP to get this under control.
Off-shore oil drilling is safe. As a percentage of wells operating and oil extracted this spill is a tiny amount and we need oil.
Off-shore oil drilling is not safe. This spill shows that it only takes one event to destroy the lives of millions of people.
Energy policy/investment is another topic to consider.
What are your thoughts and has this crisis changed or hardened your view?
usually people want to lay the blame at someone's feet, but it's not one identifiable person's fault, BP is it, we can ***** and moan but against what a foreign corporation?
I just wish we had better leadership throughout all of this, instead we hear about the Noble accolaides of the members of the Obama administration
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Posts: 5,593
Re: Oil, Oil, Everywhere..
The problem is too complex for yes and no answers. Are BP and the other contractors the experts, yes. Should they be left alone, no. As a gulf resident said on CNN yesterday, you can't let the fox guard the hen house. BP et al were the ones that took short cuts for the sake of money and efficiency. It cost a dozen people their lives and will impact millions of others. The government needs to ride rough shod over the operations but I don't see that. The opinion I have is while Obama talks a tough game he really doesn't want to get elbow deep in it and wont take ownership. He is simply operating as a politician not a leader. Shame on them all.
As for the world cup, Go USA!! Ya I know, ain't gonna happen.
I am always hesitant to get involved politics on a forum but here goes.
No way BP should be left alone. Imo, no way the government should be left alone either. The latter not so much in the ways of getting involved in the technicalities but really taking a look at the organizations that were supposed to be watching out to make sure a company didn’t act as recklessly as BP did. What’s coming out in the aftermath, about all of the OSHA warnings and fines issued to BP while they did absolutely nothing to rectify is what disgusts me the most. I’m all for government regulation but we don’t need more of it, we just need the current regulation to be enforced for a change.
This crisis has very much hardened my views against oil. Previously I saw it as a necessary evil and now I want them to get us off the stuff, pronto.
How about you, Shoto?
Amplexor, what do you think of the $20 billion agreement? Was Obama taking a harder stance in solidifying that?
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Re: Oil, Oil, Everywhere..
Quote:
Originally Posted by WantsHappiness
Amplexor, what do you think of the $20 billion agreement? Was Obama taking a harder stance in solidifying that?
No, not in my opinion. The $20B won't begin to cover the tab and BP knows it. It was an easy PR move for both that's why they both agreed so quickly. Luckily the $20B isn't the ceiling and it will go higher. I would expect there is a good chance that BP will fold in the next few years from the fall out. Ironing out the financial fall out is not the issue, getting the leak stopped is. It's all for show at this point.
Just like the dog and pony show going on in congress today with the grilling of the PB CEO. There will be fault to be found for sure but is dragging this guy into session to testify for 5 or 6 hours the best use of his time in a crisis?? Let alone the number of hours he had to spend preparing his canned PR responses. He should be focusing on the problem not waisting time so our senators can puff up their chests and rattle their sabers to show they are "doing something".
No, not in my opinion. The $20B won't begin to cover the tab and BP knows it. It was an easy PR move for both that's why they both agreed so quickly. Luckily the $20B isn't the ceiling and it will go higher. I would expect there is a good chance that BP will fold in the next few years from the fall out. Ironing out the financial fall out is not the issue, getting the leak stopped is. It's all for show at this point.
Just like the dog and pony show going on in congress today with the grilling of the PB CEO. There will be fault to be found for sure but is dragging this guy into session to testify for 5 or 6 hours the best use of his time in a crisis?? Let alone the number of hours he had to spend preparing his canned PR responses. He should be focusing on the problem not waisting time so our senators can puff up their chests and rattle their sabers to show they are "doing something".
I concur about the motivation. Besides, the time for political puffing of chests passed a couple months ago.
I am glad the families will have some immediate relief though and not have to wait years upon years for the court cases to be resolved as they did with the Exxon spill. It bugs me a bit that some of the $20 billion will come from shareholder dividends but I suppose that’s the risk you take when investing.
From the sounds of it the leak will not be stopped until August. I might speculate that a lot of their efforts in that realm thus far have also been for show.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mario Kempes
Argentina are gonna win!!! You heard it here first!!!
Argentina really showed up yesterday, wow! Still gotta say Go USA!
Did you see the "winning" USA goal that the referee disallowed? If you get a chance, watch it in slow motion. 4 Slovenian defenders were holding and fouling USA players and yet, he disallowed it!!!!!!!!!!!
I don't think we've heard the end of this yet.
I saw 2 USA players being interviewed after the game. They were extremely gracious about it all. I wouldn't have shown that much understanding..........
I concur about the motivation. Besides, the time for political puffing of chests passed a couple months ago.
I am glad the families will have some immediate relief though and not have to wait years upon years for the court cases to be resolved as they did with the Exxon spill. It bugs me a bit that some of the $20 billion will come from shareholder dividends but I suppose that’s the risk you take when investing.
From the sounds of it the leak will not be stopped until August. I might speculate that a lot of their efforts in that realm thus far have also been for show.
Argentina really showed up yesterday, wow! Still gotta say Go USA!
Yeah, Argentina were great. Reminded me of Mario Kempes & Co. in the 1978 World Cup. I hope they win it.
I reckon the FIFA authorities will be livid with today's referee in the USA game. FIFA soooooooooo wants soccer to be stronger in America and getting to the next round of the World Cup would give them a great boost. I still expect them to beat Algeria but, if they don't, today's decision may come back to haunt them.
Here in Ireland, the knives are still out for Thierry Henry (guilty of the double hand ball that put us out of the World Cup qualifiers) and the French team.
Deep down, I think if it had been an Irish player who did the same thing, we'd be saying, "The ref didn't see it. It was a goal!"
I just can't understand why they won't allow tv replays to view such incidents!
Ok, glad this is moving a bit now. It is a very complex issue and it cuts across ideology and policy in many ways. Some of my thoughts are...
"we are addicted to oil" as Bush said, and the greater point is we're addicted to cheap oil. The cost of this event is part of the cost of burning petrolium products that we dont pay for until this happens. Climate change (if you believe in it) is bringing more costs that we havent paided for. Not to mention wars and aid in countries we otherwise wouldn't care a bit about. So what is the real cost of oil? Probably double what we see at the pump. Pretending oil is cheap so the oil companies can continue to rake in huge profits has to stop.
The Supreme Court just told us that corporations have the same speech rights as citizens and thus can spend all they want to help get oil friendly empty suits in office (yes there are rules but easy to get around if you do it right). Their lobbists write the laws that regulate them. Their bought and paided for politicians push or kill bills as they are told and threaten government organizations tasked with regulation and oversight with slashed budgets if they actually do their job. Then these same empty suites retire from "public service" to become corporate lobbiests themselves or to work directly for the companies that previously bought them off.
This Corporatist model of goverment we have been on the last 50 yrs or so has shifted wealth to the top 1% while crushing the middle class upon which a functioning democracy depends. (big topic there..way beyond the current issue)
On the current politics, I find it amussing that so many people hate the gov. until something happens and then expect the gov. to come and save them. I also love the irony of gulf coast residents saying we cant stop drilling because it would hurt them even more with greater job losses.
On Obama, you have to remember that he (and I) believe in climate change. This is one of his major policy objectives that in the big long-term picture equates to saving the world (again if you believe in it). So Obama has (or is trying to) cut deals with key Republican members of congress to get an energy/climate change bill passed. His offer is expanded drilling for votes for his bill. So this situation puts him in a very difficult position of on one hand keeping his "save the world" bill alive and at the same time being tough on a company that is part of an industry he is offering greater access to. On top of that there is a lot of questions about what he/our government can really do. The horse has left the barn...
Oil, Oil, Everywhere.. 
Ya I know, ain't gonna happen.
If you get a chance, watch it in slow motion. 4 Slovenian defenders were holding and fouling USA players and yet, he disallowed it!!!!!!!!!!!
