Re: [Paddlewise] Oil Spill Plans

From: Craig Jungers <crjungers_at_gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 31 May 2010 15:53:31 -0700
On Mon, May 31, 2010 at 8:43 AM, Carey Parks <carey_at_jimparksfamily.com>wrote:

>
> Therein lies the rub. green light and TIME. NASA went to the moon by having
> TESTED back-up plans for the back-up plans. Slowly built up the capability
> to accomplish the mission and then did it. Ready-AIM Aim-and aim
> again-Fire.
> The oil industry in general is doing READY-FIRE-AIM.


Well, in all fairness, deep water drilling has been going on since the
1970s. I worked on a drill rig that drilled in 6,300 feet of water almost
exactly where the Deepwater Horizon was drilling back in 1984. I think that
the analogy might be better if it were to compare the Challenger disaster.
After all, nothing had gone wrong before so why would it go wrong this time?
It's called "complacency".


> The regulators that were supposed to be keeping
> them in check is where my anger is directed. How could they possibly let
> the
> drilling be operated this way?
>
> So after sitting on our butts for 60 years watching our government become
hogtied by one industry lobby after another throwing money at politicians we
are suddenly wondering why the "regulators" didn't do their jobs? BP is
responsible for this, not the regulators. BP decided to remove the mud from
the well before setting the last cement slug (allegedly overruling the
operators of the drill rig - Transocean - in at least one account). BP
allegedly ordered the rig operators to ignore the evidence that the annular
in the BOP was damaged.

And I might add that it's difficult to maintain a regulatory framework when
one political party seems to believe that the answer to every possible
problem is lower taxes. Corporate tax rates have fallen steadily since the
1950s and between the rate decreases and the new loopholes we find ourselves
in a position where simply funding regulators isn't easy.

Guess how much income tax BP paid last year.

What I'd like to know is why a corporation has as many rights as an
individual but none of the responsibilities? I mean.. they can throw *me* in
jail but what can they do to BP? I think that BP should be required to
terminate all operations in the USA and transfer those operations to an oil
company with a cleaner record. That would be any other oil company, by the
way.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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Received on Mon May 31 2010 - 15:53:40 PDT

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