Disaster in the Gulf. Still think "drill baby drill" is a great idea?

I heard about that too, it's some kind of a remote control device if I heard it and remember it correctly. They haven't required it off the coast of the U.S. because it costs too much. How's THAT workin' out for ya, Sarah? Annie

the ocean needs the exercise. on a far smaller scale this is the same reason that smoking is good for your lungs - gets them working and cleans them out.

Before it is over she will try to convince us that killing off the ocean every once in a while is good for the enviroment. Just like the suggestion that we should cut down the forest so new trees could grow or shooting wolves is to keep ranchers in business..

I'd like to see a quote of context that that quote was about off shore drilling. But don't you think with money and technology put into making off shore drilling safer, it would be a great goal to break foreign dependence on oil? Of course thats a good thing.

TTCCW is correct, during the campaign the McCain/Palin team heavily promoted offshore drilling as a way to gain energy independence. There's a lot of oil beneath the ocean but, unlike drilling on land, the environmental impact of an accident is not worth the risk.

Actually she was calling for both. The pipeline turned out to be a pipedream because she did not have the permission of the peoples who owned the property to advance her pipeline to New York. There was also a small problem of using public money to build the pipeline so the end result would be more oil tankers.

ok spall we can do that. By the way - I do not eat anything that comes from the ater. No seafood whatsoever but I dont begrudge others their delight in it.

laglen, as tragic as it is, when a coal mine caves in one community, possibly a few more nearby, are effected. When I plane goes down maybe a few hundred people are effected. This spill will have a lasting effect on not only untold thousands of people in five states but on the economy of those states as well. Add to that the major destruction of sealife which will take years to recover, if it recovers at all, and there's no way that this spill compares to those two examples. Imagine this beach in Pensacola, Florida covered with black oil. The coastal communities depend on tourism...hotels, restaurants, fishing charters, shops and local attractions. Tourists don't come to smelly, black beaches.

Well, laglen, we're going to have to agree to disagree here. There are plenty of land leases that aren't being drilled...drill there. The risks to our oceans are too great and the resources they provide, from food to jobs, are too important. Better stock up on shrimp while you can still afford to buy it.

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. I guess. I don't think there will be a ban on the rigs themselves as this could be an option to rely less on foreign oil. While keeping the big companies around. I do feel that they do pose a threat to the environment because of things like this happening. This is now effecting other businesses and people. That have little to do with the oil because of the amount of oil that was being pumped out of the well or is still being pumped out (haven't been watching the news lately).

Federal regulations can stop the oil companies from drilling in international waters since there's no point in drilling if you're prohibited from bringing the oil to the refineries. I'm watching one of my senators on television right now...Bill Nelson (D-Fla)...and according to the information he has, more than one safety features in the design of the rig failed.

I don't think too many regular folks down here thought it was a good idea in the first place and any politician who did support it is either singing a different tune right now or hiding under his/her bed.

Terrible...just terrible.

By the way Spall, that 200,000 gallons is an old estimate. Try 5 MILLION gallons a day!!!!!

Oh, don't get me started on politicians! A lot of folks in the political world would consider me a Republican or a conservative. And while I might say, for the sake of arguement, that, compared to a Democrat, yes, I'm a "Republican," I still think they're tools, too. But whatever... now I'm started. True environmentally-concerned people always have my upmost attention. Folks concerned about global warming (even though I do not buy that mankind is speeding it up, and common sense kinda debunks 'critical mass' on its own) and the effects of major oil spills and the polluting of rivers, etc, are worthy of my respect. The major problem I see, however, is that they're represented by and large by dishonest tools. The same "side" that publicly promotes alternative energy sources and stand by the line that it's not only good for the planet, but good for the people to be away from privately controlled energy methods, is the same "side" that is HEAVILY invested in these methods. They've set up a cap and trade market worth trillions and now expect folks not to be suspicious when they try to force cap and trade down our throats. The very people feigning concern for the planet are not only proving habitually that they're hypocrites when it comes to energy consumption, but that they're also in line to be among the world's richest people if and when government enforces cap and trade and if and when new "technologies" are invented to provide energy. Since I made a point to roll my eyes at folks smearing a particular former politician and Republicans in this thread, I won't take any cheap shots, but I will say that the same schmucks in control now are set up in places where, if things go EITHER way, they're golden. Politics follows a logical path. Each side is about their version of "progress." But in order to progress, to want to experience new scenery, people need to be tired of the old view. So you need to have an enemy. The enemy has to be strong, dangerous and quickly closing in. It's all BS. Folks can pick sides if they want, and I certainly think one is far worse than the other, especially when it comes to dishonestly in the mainstream. But they're all treasure hunters going to the same place to dig for gold. I won't be able to stand the big gov nanny state once it settles in. My entire country will be like Cleveland. http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE61H5WN20100218 Meanwhile, the fat cats, oops-- I mean good people trying to help live like this: http://www.grizzlybird.net/greenparenting/al_gore_house.jpg http://www.zillow.com/blog/files/2008/09/obamas-house.jpg

well the side that spends rather a lot 'proving' that global warming is a hoax is interestingly the oil industry. you are however right in that there are dishonest types with ulterior motives all over the place. and fyi i suspect that al gore is something we might agree on - this unemployed politician flying around the world pretending to be a scientist has not done his 'side' any good whatsoever i think.

with this issue i think politicians have been busy with the 'distraction' policy. i.e. getting one lot of people scared about environmental disaster, getting the other lot scared about a konspiracy and not doing the sensible thing. which is investing in alternatives.

Sister Sarah posted a long, drawn out thing on myspace where she continued to sing the praises of offshore drilling. As far as this spill goes, she's been there...done that...it's terrible but we need the resources. So, drill baby drill! I'm thorougly disgusted with BP! Criminal charges should be filed against anyone and everyone who was responsible for covering up the extent of the leakage. As far as the president goes, he appears to be hedging a bit on offshore drilling. This rig was an exploratory one and he recently said that no new offshore oil drilling leases will be issued at this time. New safeguards need to be in place but, so far, I haven't heard anything about existing projects. I do know that the fight to stop future projects just kicked into high gear in many states.

Sister Sarah still owns you both SO hard!

she gets rather a lot of attention. and she is highly quotable, pity she is not actually an important politician any longer. burble is fun.

Finding out what went wrong will be nearly, if not completely, impossible since the rig blew up, caught fire and sunk to the bottom of the ocean. How can another disaster be avoided if no one knows what happened in this case? Accidents in coal mines or plane crashes, while tragic, don't come close to having the same devastating impact on the ocean, the sealife and possibly hundreds of miles of coastline along with the lives of thousands of people. Until this happened the offshore drilling industry believed that things were being done properly with the appropriate safeguards in place.

how many disasters are going to be needed before it is discovered how to do things properly? something like this is said after every single one. then a few years later there is another.

According to what's I've been hearing, this rig had multiple safety features which all failed.

No, Spalladino, it will just make them find some other way to make money. They will capitalize on our fear of running out of oil while edging towards some other form of energy that can make them more money, like "cap and trade" where people trade imaginary air for money.

I think this accident is going to take the wind out of the sails of a lot of greedy people, dragon.

i don't think it is going to be that bad. yes the oil industry has a LOT of power but greedy people are beginning to realise there is money to be made in alternatives too. as soon as money appears things change.

One change I would like to see is not allowing any new drilling closer than 100 miles from the coast.

There was a claim a few years back that the Chinese were drilling on some Cuban Leases but it turned out to be an Urban Legend perpetuated by some not so well meaning politicians. http://mcclatchydc.com/2008/06/11/40776/gop-claim-about-chinese-oil-drilling.html They do have their own rigs and do drill but mostley in their own back yard and with national companies like BP and Exon.

I agree with you about alternative sources of energy, hoff. Florida is a great location for both wind and solar...lots of flat, open spaces inland and it's sunny here most of the time.

Thanks, TTCCWW, for clearing that up for me. Have a great day.