civilized ku # 518 ~ gas holes
Wednesday, June 2, 2010 at 11:20AM 
There's a hole in America's arm where all the money goes • click to embiggenThere are so many aspects of the BP/Gulf of Mexico (aka, The Dead Sea) disaster that would be funny/amusing if they weren't so utterly tragic. One such aspect that I am following is the inane/absurd utterances that many observers and participants are making.
Right at the very top of that list is just about anyone affiliated with BP - does anyone believe anything those people are saying? Like, say, Tony Hayward, the chief executive of BP, who claimed recently that his company’s testing has shown “no evidence” that any of the oil in the Gulf of Mexico is lurking beneath the ocean surface. Oil is lighter than water, Mr. Hayward explained, and will rise to the top. The man is either an idiot or a liar. Most likely, both.
High on that list are the "government-is-too-big" simpletons who are complaining that the government (by "government", they actually mean the black guy in the White House) has let them down ... that the government isn't "taking charge" and "doing more" to solve the problem. The irony meter is totally pegged on that one.
All that said, the idiots that get me really worked up are the ones like Senator Mark Begich, Democrat of Alaska who is a staunch supporter of drilling in the Arctic. Begich, who is annoyed by the new restrictions / moratorium on offshore drilling, said he was frustrated because the restrictions / moratorium “will cause more delays and higher costs for domestic oil and gas production to meet the nation’s energy needs ...”
Begich has also argued that the restrictions / moratorium would cost Alaska jobs and money, and force the country “to export more dollars and import more oil from some unfriendly places, jeopardizing our economic and national security.”
IMO, here's a hint for Senator Begich ... it's way past time for "higher costs for domestic oil and gas production to meet the nation’s energy needs". In fact, it's way past time for higher costs for oil-based energy from any source. Americans have demonstrated time and time again that they are not about to voluntarily give up their thirst for oil. If we wish to reduce consumption, we need to make the cost of excessive consumption excessively expensive.
It's also way past time to start dealing with our nation's so-called energy "needs". While Senator Begich advocates for the development of alternative energy, he is, as far as I know, mum on the subject of meaningfully reducing our nation's energy consumption. This stance places him in the very fine company of most Americans who believe it is their "right" to have cheap energy and their "right" to consume that energy like there's no tomorrow.
(an aside): I've taken to calling these people "gas holes".
Unfortunately, that seems to be holding true even in the face of the BP/Gulf disaster. And, also quite unfortunately for the environment and the citizens along the Gulf Shore (as it stands today - who knows how the reach will extend), the outlook for their "tomorrow" is looking pretty grim.
Reader Comments (10)
We can blame BP, we can blame the guvment, but let's face the honest truth - BP is only supplying a demand and the guvment encourages that. They give us what we want. And to satisfy our thirst they are having to go to further and further extremes. Don't we realize that someday we'll RUN OUT?
If we don't like the oil spill then go off the grid and bike to work (must be hard to do in a cold, dark upstate NY winter, eh!).
I just heard that Palin tweeted that the whole thing is the environmentalist's fault since they won't allow Arctic drilling. Hoot.
Gotta agree with Andrew. It's a grim source of amusement that the majority of the people baying for BP blood drive cars. Generally big ones. Where do they imagine the gasoline is coming from?
We can blame BP, we can blame the guvment, but let's face the honest truth - BP is "only supplying a demand and the guvment encourages that. They give us what we want."
Absolutely not! We need oil and we do not need oil spills.
BP like other oil companies are giving us what they want: oil drilling under lax environmental laws. And passing the buck to taxpayers when there's a disaster. That is about to change.
Volontary industry regulation and regulations written by and for industry are being shown for what they are: scams.
The new insult: 'You gashole!!' I like it.
Charles Krauthammer also laid this problem on environmentalists: environmental restrictions have pushed drilling further out to sea with all the subsequent difficulties.
Andre might want to watch this - http://www.ted.com/talks/amory_lovins_on_winning_the_oil_endgame.html
Here in Norway the "Oil Lobby" is working hard to start drilling outside of the Lofoten and Vesterålen Islands - An area known for thousands of years to be one of the worlds richest in fish. The nature and geography of the islands are unique and spectacular with mountains rising steeply up from white beaches and an azure ocean - An Arctic paradise. But the Oil industry claims accidents are rare and nature recovers quicly from spills, so why bother?
In Canada, Esso and others are asking the governement not to change any environmental laws and regulations until the "real causes" of the Louisiana oil spill are known. They know for a fact that any environmental laws voted at this time would be influenced by what happened in the Gulf of Mexico.
Their objectives are the rich Canadian Artic oil deposits. An oil spill in that region would have consequences for at least a century.
http://www.seizebp.org/
No environmental law in the world would have an effect - this is much more in the realm of safety laws (i.e. trying to prevent things going wrong). And laws don't really help much there, either, being a means to claim restitution after the fact.
Worst response I've so far heard was from the Gov. of La. who stated on CNN that he was not going to lift a finger until BP or the Federal Government promised to pay.
"No environmental law in the world would have an effect"
We can't let the oil industry decide by itself and for itself. There have to be guidelines and safety checks implemented as environmental laws just as much as they'll be guidelines agreed upon at the next G20 Summit later on this month in Toronto to contain the voraciousness of the finance industry that nearly crashed the world's financial system not too long ago.
Yes, there will be guidelines and safety checks implemented by laws for the oil industry. We simply can't let corporations run amok and ruin people's lives and a region's economy as BP has done. When the oil spill hits Florida, watch out!