Oil

[MarkBNJ]

People lean on Obama a bit too much these days, but then call him the Messiah behind his back, which I do realize is done because they think "he" thinks he is one. Well, this spill proves that he is not one....but people who called him that expect him to be one. I saw the survivors of the rig explosion are meeting with him today...which is a little embarrasing because they bad-mouthed him to no end yesterday.

As far as camping out down there....I don't know....I've thought about that too. But, damn, there are many, many grownups down there now doing the coordination.

PS....you say that..."it could be slowed down if people really wanted it to be".....Dave, don't you think that with every fiber in their body that they want to stop this? What are they gaining by keeping it flowing into the gulf? Even that sound bite by the CEO is being overblown and used just to sell the news. I can understand what the guy was saying......he was saying that just to highlight the fact that this is an all-consuming problem, and he is working hard at stopping it.

QFT. It's common for people without technical expertise to vastly underestimate the challenges in a situation like this. I doubt one person in 100 in the U.S. knows what the pressure in that pipe is. Why isn't that sort of detail included in news stories more often? It used to be, or maybe I am viewing the past through rose-colored glasses. The media talk down to their audience today, like we're a bunch of salacious, voyeuristic teenagers... oh, wait... never mind. The details would put a lot of things into perspective, and the average consumer could stop believing that they just stick a length of tube into the ground and collect the oil in barrels.

 

[bobpbx]

QFT. It's common for people without technical expertise to vastly underestimate the challenges in a situation like this. I doubt one person in 100 in the U.S. knows what the pressure in that pipe is. Why isn't that sort of detail included in news stories more often? It used to be, or maybe I am viewing the past through rose-colored glasses. The media talk down to their audience today, like we're a bunch of salacious, voyeuristic teenagers... oh, wait... never mind. The details would put a lot of things into perspective, and the average consumer could stop believing that they just stick a length of tube into the ground and collect the oil in barrels.

Well said Mark. Even if they did give the technical facts though, as you've said, many of the adult humans in America do act and think like a bunch of salacious, voyeuristic teenagers. Even if it is just 10 or 15%, its far too much to keep our economy and workforce World Class.

 

[46er]

People lean on Obama a bit too much these days, but then call him the Messiah behind his back, which I do realize is done because they think "he" thinks he is one. Well, this spill proves that he is not one....but people who called him that expect him to be one. I saw the survivors of the rig explosion are meeting with him today...which is a little embarrasing because they bad-mouthed him to no end yesterday.

Obama is leaned on because he deserves it. He selected those in office that have responsibilty in overseeing any drilling and beyond. He deserves a lot more of being leaned on. He needs only look to his people to find 'an a$$ to kick'. The next of kin of the survivors have nothing to be embarassed about. Hopefully they bad-mouthed him to his face, he needs a jump start. The mis-managment of this disaster is as big a disaster itself. There are foreign, state of the art skimmers ready to help, but this administration says no one has asked them to waive the Jones law. WTH, waive it yourself, get the skimmers working. It all reminds me of Camp Runamuck.

 

[bobpbx]

Obama is leaned on because he deserves it. He selected those in office that have responsibilty in overseeing any drilling and beyond. He deserves a lot more of being leaned on. He needs only look to his people to find 'an a$$ to kick'. The next of kin of the survivors have nothing to be embarassed about. Hopefully they bad-mouthed him to his face, he needs a jump start. The mis-managment of this disaster is as big a disaster itself. There are foreign, state of the art skimmers ready to help, but this administration says no one has asked them to waive the Jones law. WTH, waive it yourself, get the skimmers working. It all reminds me of Camp Runamuck.

I strongly disagree with you, and in looking back at your posts on this subject, it is very easy to see that you harbor a grudge against the government on this matter. Hear this 46'r; The government did not cause this problem...BP did. You simply cannot force quality into a product or process by increasing outside inspections. It has to come from within.

 

[46er]

I strongly disagree with you, and in looking back at your posts on this subject, it is very easy to see that you harbor a grudge against the government on this matter. Hear this 46'r; The government did not cause this problem...BP did. You simply cannot force quality into a product or process by increasing outside inspections. It has to come from within.

And I disagree with you Hear this Bob; this was surely an equipment fault, but the management of the aftermath is on Obama's plate, it is the govt that must approve all oil spill response plans. Unfortunatley, they also waived tests that may have shown the instability of drilling at this site, that's why the MMS director no longer has a job. The lack of management & direction by his people since the explosion has contributed to the devastation. How long will they wait for BP to find a solution until they become more actively involved? There is more than one company with deepwater drilling experience. The folks in the Gulf do not need hollow sound-bites. I never harbor grudges, life is too short, but I do find fault, lots of it.

 

[bobpbx]

There is more than one company with deepwater drilling experience.

Meaning what, exactly?

 

[bobpbx]

I never harbor grudges, life is too short, but I do find fault, lots of it.

Not when it came to Oyster Creek you didn't. You still don't believe they affect the Bay. You are usually on the side of industry in these matters, and too quick to blame the government.

 

[46er]

Not when it came to Oyster Creek you didn't. You still don't believe they affect the Bay. You are usually on the side of industry in these matters, and too quick to blame the government.

Ha, interesting. Opinions based on science are hardly a grudge. You really need to get to know people before you form opinions of folks based on posts on a forum, that's rather shallow. If I were to do that of you, I'd believe you are introverted and overly opinionated, but I might be wrong as I have never met you. Enjoy your day, and if you'd like to discuss this further, PM me.

 

[imkms]

Plenty of blame to go around

Certainly the Gov't and BP screwed up this one. But I do blame the Gov't for spending too much time pointing fingers and making threats, when instead their first priority should have been assisting with the containment and/or removal of the oil already in the water. All measures should have been used immediately, including using the experience and resources available from foreign nations. The reasons for the accident can be determined later, but as occurs all too often it became an opportunity for a political issue.
Hopefully, lessons will be learned from this accident and new rules combined with new technology will help to greatly reduce problems in the future. As far as Obama spending a lot of time in the area, I see no point to it. Sure he should visit to view the problem, but after that he just gets in the way and it becomes nothing more than photo-ops. He can do more in Washington to coordinate efforts than he can when away from DC. Politics always gets in the way!

 

[pinelandpaddler]

Ha, interesting. Opinions based on science are hardly a grudge. You really need to get to know people before you form opinions of folks based on posts on a forum, that's rather shallow.

Now, now, I didn't detect any character judgment in Bob's post. Good discussion guys.

 

[bobpbx]

...I'd believe you are introverted and overly opinionated, but I might be wrong as I have never met you.

I never met you, but have read most of your posts. You seem to have an opinion on everything, and it is usually a contrarian view. It seems that you go out of your way to give the opposing view. That is normally fine if you are just having fun debating and strengthening your mind, but if that is the case, you should open your post with a qualifying statement, such as...."Lets look at this from a different angle".....or......"Lets see how the opposition would come at this". But instead, you come off as argumentative.

 

[46er]

It's begun.

 

[MarkBNJ]

It's begun.

I'm so conflicted. The end of that video was actually funny, though I'm not sure it was worth the first part. I am easily swayed into the view that middle management in every bureaucracy consists of bumbling idiots. But then on the other hand, this really isn't like other management problems, and in the end that makes the jokes fundamentally unfair. It's like poking fun at NASA when a rocket goes wrong. The wellhead is a mile down. That is earth orbit for all practical purposes.

As for the government... oh, conflict. Sure, I'd like to bash the Democrats. But I didn't approve of their gleeful chortling over Bush's supposed personal responsibility for the Katrina disaster, and I am not joining the Obama bashers on this one either. If there were a crisis on the space station tomorrow how much control do you think the President would have over the outcome? This country needs to grow a pair and stop effing whining about blame every time something goes bad. It's sort of pathetic.

 

[PancoastDrifter]

Hey all - If you want to get depressed check out my buddies photostream from Pensacola, Florida.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomd77/

This could easily be New Jersey beaches...