Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill Agree...too late. Demolition of the levees should have been done YEARS ago. Then we wouldn't have such catastrophic land loss.
Re: Oil Rig explosion? No it won't and that is unfortunate. There are over 4,000 rigs in the gulf. The last one that blew up was over 30 years ago. Most of not all of the rigs have an automatic cutoff valve. This one did not. Don't know why. When Obama sends the inspectors out to look at the other rigs, they need to make sure all have automatic cutoff valves.
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill wasnt sure how fast the waters would rush down once the levees were gone. I imagined like a small wall of steady moving water washing over out into the gulf
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill My heart geaux's out to those affected whose living is earned from those waters. My grandfather was a shrimper back in the day and it is entire families that surround those boats and whatever it is they bring in. We all need to step up and assist as best we can to all those as the need arrives. Sadly, this story will never geaux away.
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill Radio interview with a survivor, sounds like he knew exactly what was going on. Mark Levin Also, good tutorial on Blow Out Preventers, for us who don't work with them daily: http://energyindustryphotos.com/purpose_of_blowout_preventers_or.htm
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill Here is a post I made on another site, after several people made posts against drilling at all. This is from a tournament redfish organization to which I belong. Most of the members are from FL. This is my response to them. - "Hello...my name is devil's advocate. Please hear me out with an open mind. - A cop goes rogue and starts assisting a drug lord. Should we ban all law enforcement? - Thousands die in auto accidents every year. Should we ban cars and trucks? - Planes crash from time to time. Should we cease air travel? Right now is an epic catastrophe...and opportunity. These oil companies profit BILLIONS and BILLIONS every year, and from time to time, there is an accident. We MUST have oil, and if you wanna depend on the OPEC countries to supply it, get ready for $10/gallon gas. That's what you'd get if drilling is abolished here. Instead of that, this is a time to tell the oil companies how it's gonna be. - You wanna drill off our coasts? WE want a piece of the pie! First things first...MAKE the oil companies fund a HUGE insurance pool that would be available for catastrophes such as this. It wouldn't take them long...believe me. Then, MAKE the oil companies pay the STATES off of whose coasts they drill. In other words, if you drill in the GOM, you owe an equal amount to TX, LA, MS, AL, and FL. You wanna play here, you gotta pay here. - The drilling industry has a horrendous reputation, but for the most part, it is NOT deserved. I spent several years in the industry, and the safeguards in place on MOST rigs are so technologically advanced, you wouldn't believe it. MAKE the oil companies enact the STRICTEST of safeguards. If this rig was so equipped, this wouldn't be NEARLY the tragedy it appears to be. - Coastal erosion is a HUGE issue in LA. A large part of the reason is the oil industry carving up the marsh to benefit themselves. MAKE the oil companies restore the damage they helped cause...or else you can't drill here. MAKE them maintain the marshlands and coasts...or else you can't drill here. - Sometimes when things like this happen, we need to step back and look at things more closely. Believe you me, I am APPALLED at this tragedy. I returned home from Dallas (work assignment that lasted 19 out of the last 22 months) on March 1st. I fished my beloved LA marsh several days a week since, either out of our bayboat, my kayak, or by canoe. My 7 year old caught his first redfish ever back in March on a trip with his mother, brother, and me. - I had just recently discovered paddle fishing for redfish, and was looking forward to the opportunity to participate in an IFA kayak tourney. I IMMENSLY enjoyed getting towed around a marsh pond by huge reds in 10" of water! I became addicted quickly. I could see the writing on the wall last week. My wife had plans for me Thursday...some honey do's that have gone undone with me out of state for so long. But I told her I truly felt like Thursday would be my last chance for a while to catch a redfish in St. Bernard Parish, LA...Reggio to be exact. As it turned out, I was right. The next day, all fishing was closed in this area, all the way down to Venice and all the way up to MS. I was able to catch only 3 reds...I had been catching dozens a day, but the wind was ridiculous out of the south...and I had a real hard time fishing in it. But I will never forget that last cast I made Thursday. I cast a Black/Chartreuse Bomber "Badonkadonk" top water, landing it just past a point that the wind was pushing the current past. After a couple seconds walking the dog, I first saw the wake...then literally the FACE of the redfish...before he lunged at the bait, literally the top half of his body OUT OF THE WATER. I waited until I felt him, set the hook, and let him drag me around for approx. 5-6 minutes. He finally came close enough to the kayak that I reached for the boga. He apparently saw the yak, and made one last run, peeling drag and heading quickly toward a shoreline I know is lined with oysters. I applied a little more pressure, and in an instant...my lure came flying back towards me...and he was gone. I pulled in the lure to observe the straightened hook on the rear treble. I knew then that it was time to go. He won the battle. I fully believe it won't be the last...we will battle again. - I say all that to ensure you that nobody on this site is any more upset by this than I am. But I really think now is not the time to make rash, rushed decisions. It's a time to pray for a quick stop to the source...and a miracle that prevents our coast from devestation. From there, it'll be time to do whatever it takes to restore the coast. From there, it'll be time to move FORWARD. Right now, all I see is blame being tossed around, to BP, Obama, the oil industry overall, local governments, you name it. NONE of it is going to fix anything. We need to step back, take a breath, come together, and move forward together, making sure not only that we learn from this experience, but that we GAIN from it CONTINUALLY in the future. Every thing happens for a reason. Bad things happen for a reason too."
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill no, we dont stop drilling permanently. but it does make sense to look at what newer technology is out there that is being used routinely in other countries but not here. nootch mentioned that accoustic valves (sorry, cant remember the exact term he used) are being used more widely in other countries but not here. we dont know if that would have prevented this, but if it gives another layer of protection, then why not mandate it? seems penny wise and pound foolish not to do some more things to add more protections against accidents. it doesnt have to be either/or. we can drill, but we can also demand that more safety measures to prevent accidents, or to at least try to prevent something being catastrophic if there is an accident, be mandated.
Re: Oil Rig explosion/Gulf Oil Spill Why don't you just say "Yes Daddy", agree with me, and move on?? :hihi: That's exactly what I said..."MAKE the oil companies enact the STRICTEST of safeguards. If this rig was so equipped, this wouldn't be NEARLY the tragedy it appears to be." - Plus all that other brilliance I typed.
