Daily Agitator
Think back to the 2008 election….there was one party that jumped all over the issue of domestic oil production…..saying that we need to break our dependency on foreign oil…..the mantra of these people was “Drill baby drill”……justifying their position by saying that there had NOT been a major pollution problem from off shore drilling since Santa Barbara back in the 60’s and that the industry had made significant progress in technology that prevents such a problem from ever occurring ……..they even went so far as saying that it was un-American to oppose such a move…..
Now skip forward to today:
The oil well spewing crude into the Gulf of Mexico didn’t have a remote-control shut-off switch used in two other major oil-producing nations as last-resort protection against underwater spills.
The lack of the device, called an acoustic switch, could amplify concerns over the environmental impact of offshore drilling after the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon rig last week.
The accident has led to one of the largest ever oil spills in U.S. water and the loss of 11 lives. On Wednesday federal investigators said the disaster is now releasing 5,000 barrels of oil a day into the Gulf, up from original estimates of 1,000 barrels a day.
The U.S. considered requiring a remote-controlled shut-off mechanism several years ago, but drilling companies questioned its cost and effectiveness, according to the agency overseeing offshore drilling. The agency, the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service, says it decided the remote device wasn’t needed because rigs had other back-up plans to cut off a well.
Now my question is….where are all the “drill baby drill” people now that their calls have been proven to be a pile of crap!? Come on, you blowhards….you wanted it you got it! Welcome to the future!
Let us be real……there is a bout 3-5% of the world’s oil reserves off the US and the US uses about 25% of the world’s supply….explain how we would break our dependency by domestic drilling? The technology that they were so proud of……it seems that might have be a bit of misinformation…….
Thanx to the domestic oil industry there may well be a horrible seafood year for the Gulf Coast……do you like shrimp? Good, then you will pay through the ass for them this year….you may take the time to thank the domestic oil industry for you lack of Gulf Seafood……
Ok Thanks Welcome….
No prob…I am always looking for condensed versions of the news….thank you….
lol cool story man.
See, that’s a typical left wing distortion. The world’s reserves and worlds supply are two different animals. It’s like comparing apples to oranges. You just can’t do that.
Sure the US might only have 3 – 5% of the worlds oil reserves, but the US uses less than 1% of thpse reserves. So if we can expand our drilling capacity in the US, including the capacity existing off shore, the US can easily ween itself of foreign oil.
And if a few alligators or some other inconsequential wildlife suffer in the aftermath, it’s not my problem as long as I don’t have to pay more to drive my SUV.
First of all, you do not know me well enough to make any such comparisons….second, I live and work in the area your drilling is going to screw up….third, the US has about 1 billion barrels of oil in its drilling ground, it uses about 1.5 or so billion barrels a year, so at best we have a year’s supply…and fourth, it will concern you if you like your seafood and the destruction of one ecosystem will effect others…
Thanx for stopping by and do so again if you would like to have a debate…..
We only use 1.5 or so billion barrels of oil a year? I don’t think so. Try more like 7.5 billion barrels a year. (20+ million barrels a day)
And we only have a billion barrels of oil “in its drilling ground”. I’m not sure what you mean by that comment, but depending on the source, we have anywhere from 70 to 200 billion barrels, and that’s just proven reserves. I won’t even estimate the unproven reserves.
So using proven reserves, that’s anywhere from 10 to 30 years worth of oil. That’s plenty to make it through my lifetime.
BTW Eric….check out my pages on US addiction….you may not agree but that is what I see……
Ooops! Sorry, I’m embarrassed to say I read the wrong line.
I quoted you the totals for North America. The US only has 20 to 30 billion barrels of proven reserves, and that’s only 3 to 4 years of oil.
My bad, I guess I’m going to have to come up with different statistics.
Still it’s more then your estimates. And if we take into the unproven reserves, and use all of North America, we’re still ahead of the game, and not continue to support the radical regimes in the middle east.
Welcome back….it mat be I was quoting off the top of my head from something I read a couple of yeas ago…..if your numbers are correct and I have no reason to doubt you…….that would mean that in 3 0r 4 years we would be back to square one……..I would NOT count on alt energy either….it was a good idea in the 70’s but we have moved beyond and will continue to move on…….nat gas…a good idea but it will be expensive…..my company use to use it to power vehicles and we switch back….costs were rising faster than gas……even if we did break our ME addiction…we would still be held hostage by those we call “friends”……
That is the prob in the US….we and I include myself, seldom look beyond ourselves…..if we develop foresight then we might find a way out of our ME oil predicament……..I can see us ever weaning ourselves off oil,,,,at least not in the foreseeable future…..
Two or three things occur to me from what both you and Eric have said…
Yes, the world’s as well as the US’s oil reserves are finite (just like the UK’s) and yes oil is likely to be required for quite a long time to come in some form or another, but as a fuel there’s no reason why an alternative, cheaper and more efficient power source shouldn’t be discovered tomorrow or the next day – it WILL happen if we look and that requires impetus!
Even with an altenative energy source, dwindling oil stocks WILL become ever more valuable and any country will do medium term well to conserve those stocks for when the price is right.
That said, Eric is quite right that, whilst we may have a social responsibility to future generations, it IS about time these goddamned governments and other politicians started taking the same view of TODAY’S citizens’ wellbeing and happiness as they do of their own – and THEY want it all and they want it NOW!
Artificially high fuel costs are an absolute CRIME committed against the citizens of ANY country since they are usually central to each individual’s financial wellbeing and may well blight their whole future and that of their families.
I don’t want to screw up the planet for my kids, but they’ve already had most of my life given up or devalued for their benefit and I’m f*cked if they’re getting ANY MORE – it’s time (some of the time at least) for me to worry about ME and let others in the future paddle their own canoes.
Future generations undoubtedly won’t thank me if I do screw up their world, but then they won’t thank me whatever I do anyway – even if I live the remainder of my life in misery and poverty for their benefit – so screw ’em!
The problem with alt energy is , as I said, in the 70’s it was important but new prez, new priorities, it happen then and it will happen again……oil is here to stay, until the last drop…and as long as that is the case safety measures will be ignored, oil will spill and money made…..
Little consolation….but I thank you…….
I’m not sure I entirely agree because the world is just a tad bigger than the US and what it thinks…
Of course, if Americans don’t mind being a backwater in twenty or thirty years time, amongst all those other countries like Haiti, Afghanistan and Yemen that will probably not have progressed and have stayed or become third world members (in the looser meaning of the term), then I guess you may be right.
I came across this website, I am always surprised by some of the comments.
Quin, you sir need to take a good look at this country and the beautiful land and sea
that make it up. Since we just finished celebrating Memorial Day I’ll ask you this Question. What Sacrifice have you made in your life for our country ? Did you risk
your life in a War ? Did you work for a cause beyond what is good for you ? Let us
know what part of the Military you served in Quin ? I am no doubt much older than
you Quin, I volunteered for my Country’s military so that all Americans could enjoy
this great land. How does one enjoy a beach that has thick oil scum on it Quin ?
How does the fishing industry survive when our mistake kills everything that they caught Quin? Does the saying Out of sight, Out of Mind sound familiar ? Well this
spill is going to be visible for a very long time. So for all the Drill Baby Drill folks,
Maybe the environmental concerns that were being raised were not so far fetched
after all. If we could depend on giant corp’s to do the right thing and make money
none of this would have to happen, but the right thing is not what they are about.
The only thing a Corp is bound to do is make profit, and if they can make more profit by taking a short cut, disregarding a safety concern, or just looking the other
way, they have shown that is what they will do.
Shame on them for what they have done. Shame on you Quin for not caring about
anyone or thing that is destroyed by this example of greed. Shame on all those
who agree with you Quin this isan’t about your wallet it is about something much
more valuable then money.
Er… you’re of course entitled to your opinion, howver wrong you are. What you are not entitled to do is to assume that I’m American or younger than you – wrong on the first count and probably wrong on the second – shame on you, Lew.
Life’s a bitch, isn’t it 😆