Oil in the Gulf

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Regarding work force reduction -
I'm not sure but my comment (about the work force reduction) derives from a Q&A session before a Congressional Subcommittee which includes the following:

"Since the end of FY 2001, MMS’s overall audit and compliance staff decreased from 420 Full Time Employees (FTE) to 369. The reduction of 65 full-time employees (FTE) cited in the FY 2007 Budget Justification applies to the Offshore and Federal Onshore compliance and audit staff members. However, of that 65 FTE, 14 were sent to the MMS Indian audit and compliance program. Of those remaining 51 FTE, 28 were reassigned to the RIK program, 21 were eliminated, and 2 were reassigned to Indian outreach."

 

[TFrere]

"My understanding is that the oil that is drilled in the Gulf goes out to open oil markets, not to the United States."

Tim,
I know of no tankers leaving the gulf going to other countries. We, in the US, consume ~25 percent of all the oil produced in the world and we only produce ~10 percent. We are the largest importer of oil in the world and all of the oil produced in the Gulf of Mexico is consumed in the US. There may be oil produced in Alaska which is consumed in Canada but the gulf oil is consumed here.

 

[TFrere]

Don,
Maybe you're right about MMS cutting back. However, everything I have heard in recent years is that they have been beefing up the number of inspectors.

 

[Jalepeno]

Canada does not import oil from anyone. We produce (pump) more oil than the middle-east and we are the largest oil exporter to the US.

 

[LordNelson]

the problem with regulators is the pressure put on them by politicians. regulations are passed to make it look like the politicians are doing something. they don't necessarily want them enforced especially on their contributors. too often, when regulators try to enforce the laws on a supporter, the politicians will get it involved and will tell them to back off. being that the politicians control the agency's budget, it makes it extremely difficult not to give if the civil servant has any hopes of staying employed or wanting to advance.

 

[Phil Herring]

Folks, this thread is right on the edge of being moved to the political forum. The topic is obviously of great importance to sailors, but if you find yourself wanting to type words like:

politician, administration, or either political party

...you're in the wrong forum. Thanks!

 

[Alan]

Right now oil is showing up in the Florida Keys. Wont be long before it starts its trip up the east coast. The environmental devastation is going to be around for a very long time. They're still finding oil in Prince William Sound left over from Exxon Valdez and that was only a little spit compared to this one.
From what I'm hearing BP's Atlantis is drilling a MUCH bigger well in deeper water and it too has no way to contain any emergency that could well show up there. If Atlantis develops a leak it would be a bigger disaster by a factor of 10.

Spill baby spill, what a nightmare they have created!!!

 

[KD3PC]

Please Alan--

where is the link to reports of the oil being in the FLA keys?

Can we reduce the hysteria around this?

 

[Monty Miller]

Canada does not import oil from anyone. We produce (pump) more oil than the middle-east and we are the largest oil exporter to the US.

Actually, Canada imports half of its domestic oil needs from other countries.

"Despite being a net energy exporter, Canada also imports large amounts of energy products. [1] It is both an importer and exporter of coal and petroleum because its major coal and oil fields are located in Western Canada, particularly in Alberta, far removed from its main industrial centers in Ontario and Quebec, and many of its oil refineries cannot handle the types of oil produced in Canada.["

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Energy_policy_of_Canada

Sorry Phil, but I respect this forum and when people dump wrong information I react.

Jalepeno or is it Jalapeno.? You need to research before you make wrong statements. I do not know everything even though I was born in Vancouver and used to live in West Van.

 

[Alan]

.......not hysteria, just the plain truth.

here's your link: http://www.wesh.com/news/23590871/detail.html

Whether this disaster makes it to the east coast or not does not lessen the devastation that will result. I don't want to see this happen any more than you but wishing and hoping otherwise doesn't do diddly to stop it.

 

[Don S/V ILLusion]

Please Alan--

where is the link to reports of the oil being in the FLA keys?

Can we reduce the hysteria around this?

I was there last night and left early this a.m.
There is weathered oil in one stretch of beach which I won't characterize because someone may take exception to my description of it's size.

The important point to make here is that there have been 600 recorded observations of tar balls or oil washed up on various Florida beaches just in the past year - samples were taken yesterday of this new one and the analysis to determine a source hasn't been done yet.

Some will automatically assume this is from the Deepwater Horizon release; others might be inclined to wait for some real info.

Your choice.

 

[JohnEh]

Does anyone have any thoughts as to how long it may be before it would be safe to cruise in the Gulf and where?

 

[Stu Jackson]

John, the CG can't even tell you where the extent of the spill is and you want to know this? I'd get out your oujia board, right now, and you tell us!

 

[KD3PC]

Alan and the group,

"Right now oil is showing up in the Florida Keys. Wont be long before it starts its trip up the east coast."

this is my burn....Alan, you state the above as fact, when it reality....it MAY reach the keys by Sunday, and even that is questioned by the two differing opinions in your link, which is just a regurgitation of an earlier AP story..

NO OIL has reached the keys...tar balls, which if you are on the eastern seaboard, have been around since at least the late 1960's.

Don't get me wrong, this is awful and will certainly take some time and $$$ to mitigate, but I still think it best to deal in what we know, not speculation, or politic'ing.

 

[Chuckbear]

We lived in the Keys for ten years and these "tarballs" were always washing up on the beaches all over the Keys. They come from many sources and the definitive answer will only come from testing and it is unlikely that it is from the Gulf oil spill. We have been closely monitoring the event since day one and gather information from several sources. The winds and currents have not been conducive to pushing the oil towards the Florida coast yet. You can pretty much discount most of what the news reports since they always lean heavily towards sensationalism.

 

[John]

If you want to see what is being done to the oceans, take a look at this video:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jeremy_jackson.html
Deepwater Horizon is just one step in turning them into dead bodies of water. Everybody wants to blame the politicians, but it was BP and their criminal gang that was calling the shots.

 

[soling42]

Interesting link. Thanks. Surprisingly articulate.

Accidents are one thing but on the other hand the on-going toxic, bacteria infested spew from the Mighty Mississippi constantly draining Americas rust belt and Heartland flows everyday 24/7 along the same Gulf current that the much more obvious ooze(with a fraction of the volume) now flows. Arguably 8 of the 10 most polluted rivers in the world are listed as being in Louisiana and they flow relatively unabated while the media turns it's sensationalized focus on one well of thousands whether Shallow/deep.

How can we condone the fact that this unstoppable breach happened during a relative calm between seasons and still can't be purged quickly. Imagine the carnage possible during an active hurricane season with a Gulf ringed with deep well rigs. Hopefully someone will get wealthy designing eqt to pinch the base of these beasts at their worst moment, either in storm related messes or the the unpredictable accident.

Sad none the less.