Nothing was shut down long before we knew it was a nasty spill. The original moratorium was May 7? At that point it was only a stoppage of new permits to start drilling. It wasn't until May 28th that it was modified to include deep water drilling. 33 rigs get shut down, and the deepwater rigs currently producing oil get to keep producing oil and the shallow water rigs get to keep drilling and producing. If big oil f-ed up and doesn't have a clue what is really going to fix it. So they have to shut down 33 rigs. Really hurting big oil there, I'm sure. No other accident has had an impact even remotely this large, so again, your comparisons are bs.
33 rigs shut down does hurt; it hurts La. How long do you think the rigs will sit idle in the gulf? They are already in negotiations to take off and once their contracts are secured, they won't be back for years. Now, will BP, Exxon, etc. lose out or will the La citizens that worked those rigs lose out? And the several satellite companies that support those rigs and the drilling industry. Gulf drilling is a critical portion of the La economy($70+ billion) and a moratorium on it will hurt La far past 6 months.
If the moratorium was due to a lack of control and the lack knowledge to address a solution shouldn't we also have a moratorium on this administration and Congress as they seem to have the same issues?
I don't know if anyone remembers what it was like south of I-10 in the 80's, but when oilfield work dried up so did nearly everything else. I remember when everyother store in the Southland mall was closed, and when countless small businesses folded up and went away. They say 20,000 jobs will be lost, but I don't see how it won't be a whole lot more.
So if deepwater rigs make up less than 1% of the worlds oil productions, why the hell are there deepwater rigs to begin with? What about the fishermen? What about their jobs, and their livelihood? Oil workers can find other jobs, these fishermen are the ones who are really screwed.
that doesnt make sense. of course you need many inspectors (that actually do their job) but you also need other things in place (such as technology sufficiently validated at all conditions used) before drilling is safe. in my opinion, no more drilling should be allowed until the industry knows what its doing. so anyone supporting a deepwater drilling moratorium is a liberal environmentalist? nuclear holocaust could come and youd still support nukes. ditto.
but will it hurt more than another deepwater horizon spill? i know there were numerous factors that came together to cause this, but clearly after it happened, they didnt know what to do. they are using untested technology to try to stop it. that was grossly irresponsible and must be changed before similar drilling is allowed.
