Gulf oil spill

[Poppinsme]

http://www.wwltv.com/news/BP-official-takes-5th-Amendment-wont-testify-95010244.html

And he takes the 5th.

 

[SaraJayne]

http://www.wwltv.com/news/BP-official-takes-5th-Amendment-wont-testify-95010244.html

And he takes the 5th.

Disgusting.

 

[FireDancer]

I have no ill will towards the officials of BP or TransOcean. Accidents happen and we can learn from them and move on. They should face punishment for any violations they ignored or information they falsified, but I don't think they should be beheaded or anything else.

As for how much of the bill BP or TransOcean will have to foot, I believe that has already been spelled out in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

The Earth is taking care of the problems from the Exxon Valdez because the Earth is much more resilient then we give it credit for. It might take thousands or hundreds of thousands of years but in the timeline of the Earth's life that isn't really all that long.

We should do what we can to prevent accidents in the future and clean up what we can when we do have an accident but we learn and move forward not stop in our tracks and panic. When a fire killed the crew of Apollo 1 we learned form the disaster and continued to move forward putting a man on the moon. We didn't throw in the towel and give up because of an accident. When the first plane crashed we didn't stop flying. When the first boat sank we didn't stop skipping along the ocean.

 

[SaraJayne]

I have no ill will towards the officials of BP or TransOcean. Accidents happen and we can learn from them and move on. They should face punishment for any violations they ignored or information they falsified, but I don't think they should be beheaded or anything else.

As for how much of the bill BP or TransOcean will have to foot, I believe that has already been spelled out in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

The Earth is taking care of the problems from the Exxon Valdez because the Earth is much more resilient then we give it credit for. It might take thousands or hundreds of thousands of years but in the timeline of the Earth's life that isn't really all that long.

We should do what we can to prevent accidents in the future and clean up what we can when we do have an accident but we learn and move forward not stop in our tracks and panic. When a fire killed the crew of Apollo 1 we learned form the disaster and continued to move forward putting a man on the moon. We didn't throw in the towel and give up because of an accident. When the first plane crashed we didn't stop flying. When the first boat sank we didn't stop skipping along the ocean.

Considering this could have been prevented by the installation of a safety valve that BP chose not to use, you better believe they deserve the "ill-will" thrown their way.

BP makes $66 million in profits per day. They could certainly have afforded a half a million dollar safety valve that would have saved 11 men...not to mention all of the people directly affected by the oil spill and loss of livelihood.

And knowing how this will affect people and the earth for generations to come is making it impossible for me to be noble and take the high road when it comes to BP.

I'm apparently not that good of a human being.

 

[taylor3297]

I pray it works. This has GOT to stop. And I agree...why didn't they use this method, oh maybe 5 weeks ago???

They didn't do this 5 weeks ago because they had no clue as if it had any chance of working. It had never been done at the depth. With the pressure of the oil coming out and the pressure from the water, they had to do some computer simulations and some old fashioned engineering. Even with them trying it there is a chance that is could make the leak worse. So who would want to rush and try this without doing some research first.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that it does work.

 

[gonzo76]

I have no ill will towards the officials of BP or TransOcean. Accidents happen and we can learn from them and move on. They should face punishment for any violations they ignored or information they falsified, but I don't think they should be beheaded or anything else.

As for how much of the bill BP or TransOcean will have to foot, I believe that has already been spelled out in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

The Earth is taking care of the problems from the Exxon Valdez because the Earth is much more resilient then we give it credit for. It might take thousands or hundreds of thousands of years but in the timeline of the Earth's life that isn't really all that long.
We should do what we can to prevent accidents in the future and clean up what we can when we do have an accident but we learn and move forward not stop in our tracks and panic. When a fire killed the crew of Apollo 1 we learned form the disaster and continued to move forward putting a man on the moon. We didn't throw in the towel and give up because of an accident. When the first plane crashed we didn't stop flying. When the first boat sank we didn't stop skipping along the ocean.

This is a ridiculous statement. Go down there and tell the people of the Gulf Coast this. Are you kidding? This is bigger than the Valdez spill. This will ruin peoples livlihood for a long time, maybe a generation. You should think before you speak.

 

[Poppinsme]

I have no ill will towards the officials of BP or TransOcean. Accidents happen and we can learn from them and move on. They should face punishment for any violations they ignored or information they falsified, but I don't think they should be beheaded or anything else.

As for how much of the bill BP or TransOcean will have to foot, I believe that has already been spelled out in the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

The Earth is taking care of the problems from the Exxon Valdez because the Earth is much more resilient then we give it credit for. It might take thousands or hundreds of thousands of years but in the timeline of the Earth's life that isn't really all that long.

We should do what we can to prevent accidents in the future and clean up what we can when we do have an accident but we learn and move forward not stop in our tracks and panic. When a fire killed the crew of Apollo 1 we learned form the disaster and continued to move forward putting a man on the moon. We didn't throw in the towel and give up because of an accident. When the first plane crashed we didn't stop flying. When the first boat sank we didn't stop skipping along the ocean.

Whatever your smoking I want some.

This HUGE disaster was PREVENTABLE!!!
They didn't want to spend the money to put the proper safety equipment in. Yes accidents happen but knowing the risks and that Exxon had a huge oil spill that cost billions don't you think this could have been avoided????
http://www.wwltv.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/Oi-94963504.html
About hurricanes and oil.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/gulf-oil-...-moments-before-after-explosion-94964369.html

Want to learn more? Read from WWLTV.com, it is our local TV network for New Orleans. Or read NOLA.com, this is our newspaper in New Orleans.


http://www.wwltv.com/news/national/92705879.html

This is the article about how much oil companies have to pay from the federal law.
They are capped at only $75 Million!!!!
The oil spill liability trust fund(US taxpayers) is set at $1 Billion.
Thats all folks.

 

[Toad_Passenger]

They didn't do this 5 weeks ago because they had no clue as if it had any chance of working. It had never been done at the depth. With the pressure of the oil coming out and the pressure from the water, they had to do some computer simulations and some old fashioned engineering. Even with them trying it there is a chance that is could make the leak worse. So who would want to rush and try this without doing some research first.

I am keeping my fingers crossed that it does work.

A company that cares about cleaning up their spill. Rather than a company more worried about getting workers to sign non-disclosure waivers or pointing fingers at other parties. I would have thought a company that wants to solve a major problem would try a technique that had, at least, been proven to work (on land) before they'd try something that had never been attempted anywhere (the dome).

 

[SAHDad]

A company that cares about cleaning up their spill. Rather than a company more worried about getting workers to sign non-disclosure waivers or pointing fingers at other parties. I would have thought a company that wants to solve a major problem would try a technique that had, at least, been proven to work (on land) before they'd try something that had never been attempted anywhere (the dome).

Actually, those domes have been used successfully (as have top kills), but in much shallower water. Maybe, just maybe, the engineers wanted to make sure that, for example, a failed top kill attempt did not make the problem that much worse and that much harder to solve.

 

[FireDancer]

This is a ridiculous statement. Go down there and tell the people of the Gulf Coast this. Are you kidding? This is bigger than the Valdez spill. This will ruin peoples livlihood for a long time, maybe a generation. You should think before you speak.

I am applying reason to the situation and not emotion. I have thought before speaking and have had many conversations with friends about the situation, like most people in the developed world. I'm not going to call for the death penalty for an accident, even a preventable accident.

Whatever your smoking I want some.

This HUGE disaster was PREVENTABLE!!!

Of course it was preventable, every non act of God disaster is preventable in hind sight. Since I have no access to a time machine what could have been done is no longer as important as what can now be done to recover and, most importantly, what can be done to prevent accidents in the future. There are statutory limits set out there for the private liability that BP will owe, as there should be. If there wasn't they would end up bankrupt and paying nothing.

There are always safety precautions that aren't taken advantage of. People get into accidents not wearing seat belts or helmets for example. As they are laying there paralyzed I am sure they wish they could go back and adopt the available safety precautions but it is what it is.

I don't think BP or anyone else should get a free pass, which is why I stated:

They should face punishment for any violations they ignored or information they falsified, but I don't think they should be beheaded or anything else.

 

[Feralpeg]

At the end of the day, these people are just human. It was a horrible mistake, horrible tragedy. I don't believe they should be villified and hated. We should all work together on this terrible accident.

I agree. It was just a matter of time before something like this happened. If it hadn't been BP, it would have been another company. They all use the same basic practices to drill for offshore oil.

The problem is that we aren't really ready to handle emergencies that take place at such depths. The consequences to the environment are just too great. I saw a show the other night where they said that, if left unchecked, this well would continue to spill oil for the remainder of man's time on this earth.

 

[gonzo76]

I am applying reason to the situation and not emotion. I have thought before speaking and have had many conversations with friends about the situation, like most people in the developed world. I'm not going to call for the death penalty for an accident, even a preventable accident.:

You really don't get it. I wasn't talking about the dealth penalty. I was talking about you saying the Earth will work it out in thousands of years. Really? That is what you have to offer about the situation after talking with your friends? I will say it again, go down there and tell the people of the Gulf that. "Hey guys, don't worry, the Earth will fix this way after you are no longer here"

 

[Toad_Passenger]

I will say that I like that BP has the live webstream up. I just wish I knew what it was I was looking at.

 

[FireDancer]

You really don't get it. I wasn't talking about the dealth penalty. I was talking about you saying the Earth will work it out in thousands of years. Really? That is what you have to offer about the situation after talking with your friends? I will say it again, go down there and tell the people of the Gulf that. "Hey guys, don't worry, the Earth will fix this way after you are no longer here"

I was referring to the people who posted things like a guillotine when asked what should happen to executives.

I'm not going anywhere and telling anyone anything. We will clean up as best we can and nature will take care of the rest. Frankly, yes, it might be after the current generation of people are all gone but nature will clean itself far better then we will. The key of course is to stop spilling more crap into the ecosystem which is where preventing future spills comes in.

 

[Poppinsme]

I am applying reason to the situation and not emotion. I have thought before speaking and have had many conversations with friends about the situation, like most people in the developed world. I'm not going to call for the death penalty for an accident, even a preventable accident.



Of course it was preventable, every non act of God disaster is preventable in hind sight. Since I have no access to a time machine what could have been done is no longer as important as what can now be done to recover and, most importantly, what can be done to prevent accidents in the future. There are statutory limits set out there for the private liability that BP will owe, as there should be. If there wasn't they would end up bankrupt and paying nothing.

There are always safety precautions that aren't taken advantage of. People get into accidents not wearing seat belts or helmets for example. As they are laying there paralyzed I am sure they wish they could go back and adopt the available safety precautions but it is what it is.

I don't think BP or anyone else should get a free pass, which is why I stated:

What?
This isn't about somebody not wearing a seat belt or helmet.
And to compare this to a seat belt is unbelievable and crass.

And there is no hind sight issue.
They absolutely knew what they were doing and CHOOSE to not install safety features that would have prevented this.

Because of the greed/profit of BP we the people will pay for this monetarily and environmentally. BP has never any fear of going bankrupt and I don't know why you think a cap of $75 million is enough to cover this?

Once again. WWLTV.com and NOLA.com.

But I live and work in Southern Louisiana so it means something to me.
A little emotional? Guess so.
But thats how the French revolution started....emotion and passion.

 

[brerrabbit]

Considering this could have been prevented by the installation of a safety valve that BP chose not to use, you better believe they deserve the "ill-will" thrown their way.

BP makes $66 million in profits per day. They could certainly have afforded a half a million dollar safety valve that would have saved 11 men...not to mention all of the people directly affected by the oil spill and loss of livelihood.

And knowing how this will affect people and the earth for generations to come is making it impossible for me to be noble and take the high road when it comes to BP.

I'm apparently not that good of a human being.

Not that I am questioning you numbers, but then again I guess I am. $66 million a day works out to $24 billion a year. That exceeds an number I have ever seen for BP. Are you sure thats profit or more along the lines of revenue which is a different number all together.

 

[Poppinsme]

I was referring to the people who posted things like a guillotine when asked what should happen to executives.

I'm not going anywhere and telling anyone anything. We will clean up as best we can and nature will take care of the rest. Frankly, yes, it might be after the current generation of people are all gone but nature will clean itself far better then we will. The key of course is to stop spilling more crap into the ecosystem which is where preventing future spills comes in.

I posted the Guillotine!!!
And I think its an apt metaphor!!!!!
"Vive la Revolution"

 

[FireDancer]

What?
This isn't about somebody not wearing a seat belt or helmet.
And to compare this to a seat belt is unbelievable and crass.

They are both the result of ignoring a safety precaution against the best available advice and then having to deal with the consequences. One is of course a much larger scale then the other.

Life will go on.

I posted the Guillotine!!!
And I think its an apt metaphor!!!!!
"Vive la Revolution"

No, it isn't. The executives of a company should not be put to death for what was an accident, even if it was preventable or the result of negligence.

 

[brerrabbit]

Okay I stand corrected. Last year's earnings for BP were $20 billion which is slightly lower than the $24 billion derived from the the $66 million a day number you quoted. Return on investment 7.57% which is in the middle for International Energy Companies. That is based on Revenues of $367 billion vs costs of $303 billion which puts them in the middle of Major Energy Companies. Still their return is by no means obscene again based on the fact that many companies and industries have much higher return on assets invested with much less risk involved.

 

[Poppinsme]

No, it isn't. The executives of a company should not be put to death for what was an accident, even if it was preventable or the result of negligence.

And you are entitled to your opinion as I am for mine.
How many people lost there lives when the rig exploded?
How many people will continue to lose there lives in the coming years from the after effects?
Once again, it was preventable.