Notable quotable

Oil in the ocean: light as a feather!

Posted by David Roberts at 12:04 AM on 09 Jul 2008

"These [oil] firms have learned a lot over the past two decades and three decades about their ability to go out and put a platform in water and extract oil and do it in a way that they're not causing any environmental harm at all."

-- White House deputy press secretary Tony Fratto

For story: Notable quotable
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no, it's true.

mostly they've learned that it's too expensive to do it. and not doing it does no environmental harm at all.

by gzuckier at 7:31 AM on 09 Jul 2008

Offshore drilling

Environmental reporter Ron Way cites government statistics and a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) to the effect that "there's not enough oil in offshore areas to make much difference in world prices -- which drive most worldwide pump prices, including those in the United States."

-- Susan Albright, co-managing editor, MinnPost.com.

For those interested, here is a link:
http://www.minnpost.com/ronway/2008/07/09/2505/lifting_dr ...

by SusanaMN at 9:15 AM on 09 Jul 2008

Tony, baby ...

I don't see how offshore drilling would result in zero impacts, although it is true that there have been major advances in the technology since the disasters of Ixtoc and off the Santa Barbara coast. Pipe casing has been deepened and strengthened. Drilling fluid are non-VOC. Drilling muds don't contain nearly as much heavy metals. Wastewater must be tested to part of million limits. But there's always some ecological disruption.

I just got an email from Surfrider, a pro-surfing and environmental group, that opposed all offshore drilling (I guess in the US). I oppose this measure for certain offshore parts of the Gulf Of Mexico because we're already drilling there, and a few deepwater fields in the Eastern Zone way off Florida look fairly promising. Alaska, California, and other sensitive areas seem unlikely for development simply because of high costs.

There are 98 of 111 offshore drilling rigs active in the Gulf of Mexico (source: Rigzone). There are 271 if you include drill ships, work-overs, and rigs waiting for inspections. If you include all the inshore and offshore rigs in the Texas and Louisiana zones, there are over a thousand oil and gas structures out there (many are stripper wells, idle, or in production mode).

As I pointed out to Surfrider, these rigs have really helped several kinds of marine species such as the Red Snapper, Southern Lobster, and various corals. They are notorious "fish attractors" or aggregators that do seem to have increased biomass instead of just concentrating it. Some experts have gone as far as saying that these offshore rigs, once idled, should be cleaned and the well cemented in 300 feet and left standing, since current laws require dismantling within a certain number of years.

Other experts have suggested that such idled offshore platforms make ideal locations for wind power, solar concentrators, wave machines, weather stations, tsunami detectors, and for the purposes of Homeland Security.

As to new ones, until this country has a valid and reasonable energy policy with real results, I think that drilling should be expanded in the Gulf of Mexico, even in the deeper parts of the Florida / Eastern Zone. -sam

Onward through the fog

by Sam Wells at 1:16 PM on 09 Jul 2008

New Bridges

The bridge companies have learned so much over the past 20 years that they can now build a bridge across the Gulf of Mexico and the plans to build it are underway. The bridge will save approximately 400 miles on the drive from Brownsville, TX to Key West, FL.

Revenues from the bridge are predicted to be enormous, as residents of Texas and Florida have been asking for this bridge for a long time and are willing to pay the high toll that will be charged. I'm offering shares in the bridge for a really good price. You're guaranteed to get rich! Email me at BS.com and I'll send you the details.

by Wolverine at 10:42 PM on 09 Jul 2008

"learned a lot"

Well, one thing they have learned is to market themselves on TV as being excruciatingly enviro-conscious. I have long been infuriated by Chevron's ad for the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, in which they boast about knowing how to drill "respectfully." Cf. also this page from their site:

http://www.chevron.com/stories/#/stories/environment/env_ ....

And I must say, it surprises me that Grist has not gone after the big energy people's claims that "we are now doing everything RIGHT, and this is the way to make everybody happy!"

The coal people seem to have even more talented Madison Avenue crews on their payroll than the oil people.

But really, it surprises me that when Dick Cheney was talking ages ago about what a teensy teensy footprint would be needed to drill in ANWR, because his pals in Exxon etc. know how to do this sort of thing now, Grist did not insist that his claims were/are highly controversial.

Chickens deserve our true friendship! So do fish! So do other sentient beings! Let us learn to be kind.

by caniscandida at 2:50 AM on 10 Jul 2008

ADVERTISING POLICY

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