Gulf spill: Many Americans currently don't really mind

Commentary: Of course there are some who do.....especially those on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico states soon to be dealing with the massive - and still unabated - Deepwater Horizon drilling well blowout. (And likely for years to come....No one seems to precisely know (or will say yet), but the type of oil from this disaster may not be "lighter" (i.e., easier to disburse, biodegrade, etc.); as is hinted via articles linked here and here.)

5/15/10 update: NYT (article link): Gulf oil gusher appears worse than estimated; much larger

Update: Link from MSNBC to an interactive, animated spill trajectory map covering a number of days: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37133684/ns/gulf_oil_spill/ns/gulf_oil_spill/


(Earlier posted info.:) Results from an 'Economist/YouGov' poll reported on 4/30/10:

" Thousands of barrels of oil have spilled into the sea as a result of the devastating explosion on an exploratory rig in the Gulf of Mexico last week. But who cares about that? In this week's poll, 63% favoured increased offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. In a poll conducted two weeks before the explosion, 63% favoured increased offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. Perhaps that will change if/when the oil starts washing up on shore, leading to photos like this. The White House, which has pushed for more drilling, seems prepared for a change in mood.

 Drill, baby, drill: 66% of Republicans "strongly support" offshore drilling, compared with 21% of Democrats (still, more Democrats favour drilling than oppose it)."

Those poll results currently mirror a few others that I've seen. (The 'natural gas' portion of drilling questions (above) may have affected results, however.) And although this recent article (link follows) accentuates percentages who (say they) are concerned about the spill/environment in general, what is striking is that they seem to be in the minorities of all respondents. 5/6/10 article link: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/may2010/2010-05-06-091.html

Update: This newer poll still shows that a majority supports offshore drilling (link).  Read on as to a big (ass) reason why....

As long as (numerous) Americans can drive their silly SUVs/pickup trucks solo and often empty of significant cargo -- as much as they damn please, who cares about: some turtles, shrimp, fish, dolphins, whales, birds, beaches, entire eco-systems -- now and for your children's future, etc., etc.  "Grandpa gets to drive his SUV around....that's all that matters." What a responsible, caring legacy to leave....


For a few reasons, offshore oil drilling in United States ocean waters will NOT substantially reduce dependence upon foreign sources of oil (link to Scientific American 2008 article). Retail gasoline prices will not go down. Conservation, combined with newer, cleaner technologies WILL reduce demand. The U.S. public must get behind a paradigm change.
Perhaps there may be some hope of this...(link to one recent opinion article): http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/editorial/outlook/6996414.html

Update (link): "How can a device that has 260 failure modes be considered fail-safe?" 


At this moment, this link describes a likely cause of the exploration rig explosion. Many of us (i.e., consumers) have a small and distant connection to this latest oil-related catastrophe. How many ecological disasters will it take? The time to begin significantly reducing that connection is now. Offshore oil exploration and production is not "safe".

Oil Spill - San Francisco

Date taken:	1971
Photographer:	George Silk

 
Link to photo slideshow of impacted wildlife (MSNBC): http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36964179/ns/news-picture_stories/displaymode/1247/?beginSlide=1 

Gulf spill: Another IXTOC 1 disaster?

 (Competing with the oh-so-important "Halle Berry Splits with Boyfriend" story:)

Link to pertinent article: http://www.helium.com/items/1819703-environmental-effects-of-the-deepwater-horizon-oil-rig-disaster-in-the-gulf-of-mexico

As can be seen (above), it took nine months to cap the 1979 IXTOC 1 blowout....(IXTOC was an even deeper well, though).

4/30/10 satellite photo of growing "spill":

http://www.incidentnews.gov/attachments/8220/526479/COSMO_SAR_30Apr10_2351UTC_CSTARS.jpg

Update: Link to a Washington Post article from 5/1 providing better details about potential environmental impacts. Unfortunately, a "mega-disaster" in the making....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36881232/from/RSS/

Oil Spill - San Francisco

Date taken:	1971
Photographer:	George Silk

Another 5/1 update: Spill triples in size. http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100501/ap_on_bi_ge/us_gulf_oil_spill 

It's very early, but some volunteer efforts to help with spill-related clean-up, etc. are beginning to form. Not associated with this blog. But here is one link: http://members.greenpeace.org/blog/greenpeaceusa_blog/2010/04/30/volunteer_info_for_gulf_oil_spill  

5/1/10 story link: More ways to help (no affiliation with this website/blog): http://fieldnotes.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/05/01/2291388.aspx 

"Spill Baby, Spill" (That right, Sarah?)

From NOAA, Deepwater Horizon Incident, Gulf of Mexico, update 4/25/10. (That thing above is called a "map", Sarah. Of the Gulf of Mexico. In the United States. Of America.)

 
Updated map, 4/27/10, source: NOAA

4/27/10 news story update. No "gray" area (or oily brown): This appears to be a disaster in the making (link): http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36800673 .  
CONFIRMED, 4/28/10 (link to AP story): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100429/ap_on_bi_ge/us_louisiana_oil_rig_explosion
(The "leak" (blowout?) is five times worse than initially categorized....)

She famously "corrected" Joe Biden in a 2008 debate about it: Where are Sarah Palin and the Republican/Tea Bagger "Drill Baby Drill " (link) drones on THIS One?  The silence is deafening.

A guess: After appropriately mourning the cost in human life....probably fabricating a way to conspiratorially link Greenpeace (or some other political opponent - perhaps Ted Kennedy) -- to this LATEST oil spill disaster....

Having a giant laugh (or another paranoia attack)... about this newest environmental desecration to the "rock" the rest of us have to exist upon?? (That includes your children, etc.)

-- Enjoy your chief clown (link): 

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/videos/?uri=channels/338017/877248

"Spill Baby, Spill" - Link to (serious, non-clown) editorial and editorial cartoon: http://www.pnj.com/article/20100425/OPINION/4250306/1020/Editorial--Safe-offshore-drilling? 

Unfortunately, it's not just Sarah and her backward "crowd" who do not "get it" about offshore oil drilling/exploration. Please see the following post here....

Earth Day irony: And our administration wants to expand offshore oil drilling??

Today is "Earth Day"....right??

4/22/10 AP news story (link follows, below). What a sick joke. This type of event (even worse) is one big reason why the environmental movement, Earth Day (etc.) ramped up 40 years ago (link).

Pray for better luck ...perhaps that's the 'contingency plan' this time.

(story link:) 

Burning offshore oil rig sinks, big oil spill possible

4/23/10 update: "No leak"....YET. (Link to AP story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100423/ap_on_bi_ge/us_louisiana_oil_rig_explosion )

Re update: If luck happens to prevail in this situation, nothing asserted here (in this post) is invalidated. Environmental issues have been raised (again). Dirty energy sources should be questioned. Offshore oil drilling is not "safe"(link). America's oil addiction leads to problems.

4/24/10 AP news story,new update (link):http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100425/ap_on_bi_ge/us_louisiana_oil_rig_explosion 

(Old photo, Santa Barbara off-shore oil spill, 1969, Google/LIFE archives)

Yeah.....'drill baby drill'. How about ...."spill baby, spill"?? U.S. "commitment"  to the environment remains at joke levels. Energy policies? Total hypocrisy. It's basically about finding any way to ensure that "drill-queen" Sarah Palin and zillions of others can drive their fat-ass SUVs/pickups -- solo,on-road, and with a "cargo" of air the majority of the time.....

(Background story: Obama to open more offshore areas for oil drilling (link to NYT 3/30/10 article): http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/science/earth/31energy.html )


More sick "Earth Day" incongruity: Wisconsin energy bill dies on Earth Day (NYT, link): http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/22/business/AP-WI-Wisconsin-Clean-Energy.html?src=busln 

"Earth day", 2010: We're all doing such a fantastic job of (planet) "stewardship":
"Deadly fungus could wipe out bats" (link to article)

 and

 - Bees dying at alarming rate (link): http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/honey-bees-dying-scientists-suspect-pesticides-disease-worry/story?id=10191391 

- Acid in oceans worsening (link to 4/22/10 article): http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36713115/ns/us_news-environment/

Oh well....Cheer up with a lovely song (link): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPOzQzk9Qo&fmt=18

Oh yeah: Climate change is Al Gore's imagination...

More glaciers melt away in Glacier National Park (link to 4/7/10 AP news story)

I've been to Glacier myself a couple of times. The rangers we spoke to there believed "something was up" with climate change....

As Mr. Gore has said: It's going to soon need to be named "The Park Formerly Known as Glacier Nat'l Park"

Go see it.....QUICK.

Oh....BTW: Today is April 7th, and the current temperature is 90 degrees (F) where I live (New England)....(That's about 35 degrees above "normal" for the date. One year doesn't make a trend, but it's been well above normal for temps. here and everywhere (link) during the last several weeks... already.)

The Party of No. And no class.

What it is:
(And what they are:)

Link: 

An Absence of Class
 

Unbelievable

We'll see if anything further come to light about this story, but it's more evidence that this country is close-to-insane when it comes to guns. Too many of the unreasonably paranoid and/or gun-packin' maniacs... getting their way:

Link to 3/14/10 AP "Pentagon gun" story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100314/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_pentagon_metro_shooting_guns


FWIW: From a recent forum post (re guns in Starbucks):
"Visiting a Starbucks (or similar) while carrying a gun, you are most likely one or more of these:

- An armed criminal. Criminal use of guns, including threatening and intimidating, is far more common in the U.S. than actual self-defense use of guns. (Supporting link) (A broader link.)

- Paranoid. Even in the gun-whacked U.S., the rate of aggravated assault is approx. three per 1000 inhabitants. That's three-tenths of one percent. (Link)

- A police officer, perhaps off-duty. (Link)

- What the originator of this oh-so-enlightening topic suggests. Put somewhat civilly: An insecure person and/or a gun-packing maniac. You're part of the problem, not the solution."

More bad climate news

Actually, scientists have been watching methane for awhile now, but the latest findings (linked below) are of concern.

It's human nature to deny or avoid facts that (likely) convey "bad news" (e.g., for planet dwellers), but please read and remember this one for your kids and grand-kids. And be aware that there are other heat-trapping gases - some man-made -  in the climate "mix", also. (I.e., beyond carbon dioxide and methane.)

Whether warming (or the amount of warming) is or isn't an absolute, locked-in certainty (yet), don't we all owe it to future inhabitants to do what is possible about ameliorating climate warming gasses and emissions...now? (Ethically?) It is also time to start seriously looking into man-made methods for removing heat-trapping gases from the earth's atmosphere - whether that sounds like science fiction or not.

Link to 3/4/10 AP story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100304/ap_on_sc/us_sci_climate_methane