Before You Say The Gulf Coast Cannot Live Without BP

The older I get, the more I realize that in the cases of jobs and money, especially in today's economy, both can be very touchy subjects. Such is the case of mega-employer B.P. Aka British Petroleum.   At times, one knows if one speaks ones mind, feelings might be hurt.

I grew up just north of the Mississippi Gulf Coast and N.E. Of New Orleans. It meant the world to me and still means a great deal (Though I have lived in Arkansas for 11 years, I still have many friends…and family there); and my family of origin has been there four decades.

Before reaching a definite conclusion, I had to consider the following. B.P has consistently been one of the top-ten largest oil firms in the world, along with Shell, Exxon, Conoco/Phillips et al. But bigger is not always better. Whereas ALL of BP's competitors have had ten or less safety violations per year for several decades, BP has consistently violated those rules and had 250+ violations annually, putting lives, ways of life, wildlife, and economies at risk in pursuit of big money.

This time, in a flash, they snuffed out the lives of eleven men, (and two more died later in the clean-up), ruined countless 2-3 generation family businesses, the entire ecosystem, and with oil and dispersant everywhere, it is not if, it is WHEN a hurricane comes, will we will all see the scope of the damage done. Those tar-balls won't be sitting on the beach any longer. The oil will not be floating around only in the ocean. It will be in our schools, businesses, and homes, on our land-raised food, etc. 1.5 million gallons of dispersant has been used.  For whatever reason, BP chose one of the most toxic kinds. There are some that are harmless to the environment. They chose not to use those. The dispersant used stays on the ocean floor forever and is  a chemical toxin, many say much worse than the oil!

Anyone who has lived on or near the coast knows, a hurricane or major tropical storm WILL happen. It will be interesting to hear the feelings of those who are sure BP is our economic saving grace when the oil starts heading into the inland.

You may remember awhile back, under Florida's Republican Governor Jeb Bush, a very tough decision was made. Did Florida want offshore drilling or pristine beaches, fishing, wildlife,and a booming tourism economy, offshore drilling, or both? It wisely decided on the former.

There  remains no Florida offshore drilling, though they are seeing the results of what can happen when  an out-of-control corporation such as BP.

As I write this, there is a tropical storm forming in the Caribbean moving towards the Gulf.Again, we know this can turn easily into a hurricane, and, even if it stays a tropical storm, itwill bring much of what is in and on the ocean onto land, sometimes way beyond the Coast itself.

Did it ever occur to anyone that even if deep-water drilling returns, and BP is banned, thatany of the other top six, with near-pristine safety records, could easily take over and do it right after the clean up (though I would prefer to see no deep water drilling at all until all the snags are worked out).

We saw a BP spokesman on the news yesterday use the tired old analogy, "When an airplane crashes, they don't outlaw flying". Well that's a tired old analogy for a reason. It's not exactly true.  When airlines such as Eastern and several others had such consistently poor safety records and crashes that it finally did not have the money to safely fix, as large as the firm was, it eventually  folded or would have been violating more and more. They, unlike BP, knew the right thing to do before more destruction and deaths happened.

Did the airline industry suffer from that.  It did just the opposite. It learned from Eastern and others errors and, though it has never been that profitable except for a few airlines, improved its safety record dramatically.

My wife Lee brought up another really interesting issue. If deep water drilling (which is only10%  of ocean drilling) SOOO important for Louisiana, why is it that there is so much poverty there?  In Alaska for instance, every citizen is given a stipend for giving the opportunity of oil companies to drill. Surely much of Louisiana does not live in poverty, but given "just how important oil is for it to flourish", the track record is pretty bad. I see MANY more people in Louisiana getting benefits from technology, banking, arts, etc than oil.

I see a few oil fat cats taking in the cash from deep water drilling. Keep in mind only 30 or soof the 300 offshore La wells are deep-water.

The topic of offshore drilling came up again (in Florida), (not just  deep-water but ALL offshore drilling) under another Republican Florida Governor  Charlie Crist. He also, saw no benefits to the state and the state remains a flourishing  tourism and wildlife reserve.

I guess if I still lived and worked near the coast, it would be too easy to buy into BP's nonstop "Good-guy" PR campaign. It is nonstop and it seems to be effective.I know how easy it is to "overlook a problem or issue if it is nearby". It is human nature to "go into denial". But if one "who has been there", but now can see it from a distance, a new perspective, the whole issue becomes more clear.

One can see through the BP ad campaign's  thin-veneer. It is smoke and mirrors and very expensive. All those millions of TV dollars  could and should go to small business owners, wildlife refugees, out of work oil workers, etc., but no.

It is going to put on a happy face. Sorry BP. We have more than a junior high education; mos tof us, and we don't buy it. Any of it. Thank you for trying. Please stop while you are way behind, and let another oil company do the job.

I used to (try) to work in the entertainment industry. I had a few successes but many more failures than successes. Though it was an ego-blow to pack up my bags and leave NYC (and L.A.), I did so. Now I write songs, cartoons, articles, etc., am married, and very happy. When I left the exciting field of "showbiz", I had no idea what would happen next, but as  it turned out, it was better for me and everyone involved. Can't you do the same, BP with our oceans? You've had successes, but LOOK AT THIS FAILURE!!!!!

As far as us, victims of BP, this may be a real wake-up call. The alternative energy is out there.It is not expensive, and it is easy to convert. For years I have talked about "we should…" and"wouldn't  it be nice if…?" In other words I could talk the talk very well. Perhaps it is also time for ME to  look within and walk the walk; by actually using such alternative fuels. I can't change BP.

I  can write articles and songs that hopefully raise awareness. I can change me, and that means taking this issue seriously, very seriously, as I can see the horrendous damage this has done.     (ArticlesBase SC #2728569)

A Carbon-neutral Pile of Manure

Ordinarily, I might take environmental problems seriously, but lately, I can’t. Because the only people imploring me to are advertisers.

Every marketer, it seems, wants to prove how “green” they are. As usual, our industry just follows the herd. And because of the eco-awakening, we’re now lecturing consumers that they need to be “green,” too.

How? By buying more stuff.

In Georgia, for example, the state is promoting environmental awareness via an “Energy Star” tax-free weekend. People are getting a sales tax break when they buy new energy-efficient refrigerators, dryers, etc. In other words, we have to consume more in order to consume less, throwing away perfectly good appliances in the process.

Is consumption always the best answer to the our problems? Is advertising the best voice of reason?

I’m not old, comparatively speaking, but at a certain point I recognize when I’ve lived through a particular cycle in the pop culture. And environmental awareness, yes, I’ve lived through this before. In the late 80’s, Earth Day got hip again. We banned CFC’s from hair spray and Styrofoam boxes from McDonald’s because of a hole in the ozone layer. We started recycling newspapers and plastic, thinking we were saving the planet. That lasted a couple of years, then the Ford Explorer came out. Concern about CFC’s gave way to a feeding frenzy for SUV’s.

Ironically, all this greenwashing is a result of how wildly successful advertising and marketing is. Ad agencies came into their own in post-WWII America, where our industry routinely sold a dream of suburbia: shiny chrome-infused cars, vinyl siding, shag carpeting and frost-free refrigerators.

Comfortably ensconced in our air-conditioned lifestyle, our massive consumption has put a undue strain on the world’s resources. But now, other countries who have fed our largesse (think China, India, etc) want a piece of our energy-thirsty lifestyle for their own. And that’s compounding the problem.

So now global warming and fate of the planet is on our front burner, and as consumers we’ll do almost anything to show we care. In lieu of a real change in the way we live, our clients are more than willing to hire us to sell the solution. And what's really perverse is that brands are charging a premium for the privilege of feeling good about helping the environment. Brands like Method cleaning products or beauty products from The Body Shop cost significantly more than other brands, and organic produce commands a higher price than conventionally grown. Frankly, many families whose budgets are stretched to the breaking point can’t afford to buy green when price is their primary motivating factor. Which is a shame—even if families want to make a difference, they can’t afford to and we make them feel worse for that shortcoming.

The ultimate load of environmentally-fueled nonsense, however, is coming via good ol’ corporate brand-polishing TV spots for companies who have spotty histories. It’s hard for me to believe that global monoliths like Chevron, BP, Dow and GE are going to lead the environmental awareness revolution, despite their multi-million ad campaigns dedicated to concepts like “ecohumanology” or whatever they’re calling it this week. But agencies, many of them good ones, are perfectly content to shovel this compost on the public.

It’s hard not to view all this greenwashing with a jaundiced eye. But maybe there’s a solution.

I’d love it if the advertising business was more environmentally-friendly. And I know just where to start. I’m sick of clients that demand rounds and rounds of pointless changes to their work---changes that require more printouts, more mockups, more electricity for the computers, and more gasoline to drive to and from client meetings. How about we cut out all the layers of client approvals and the mass quantities of comp materials needed for those presentations?

Of course, I won’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen. Because the ad industry never takes its own advice. We’ll save the real action for someone else. We’re into empty gestures. Which is why I’m thinking about purchasing a carbon offset for the electricity I’ve used writing this column. Maybe I’ll go plant a tree. But since there’s a total watering ban where I live due to a record-breaking drought, it’ll likely die.

Hey, it’s the groupthought that counts, right?   (ArticlesBase SC #576275)

BP oil spill planet killer

By Michael Webster: Syndicated Investigative reporter.  

Millions of listeners heard on the popular Coast to Coast Am radio show recently that the BP oil spill is a planet killer. Talk show host Ian Punnett welcomed two guests, Jim Bell during the second hour and Minister Lindsey Williams in the 3rd hour, for a discussion on the Gulf oil crisis as well as alternative energy. In the second hour, Minister Lindsey Williams, who once served as a chaplain for the oil companies operating in Alaska, shared what he claimed to be the "real story" behind the Gulf oil crisis. He explained that, in the 1970's, Russia drilled over 40,000 feet into the ground and discovered abiotic oil, i.e. oil which replenishes itself via an as-yet-unknown natural chemical process. The off-shore drilling done by BP in the Gulf of Mexico, Williams said, was their attempt to create a similar super-deep well and access this same abiotic oil. However, according to his sources, BP insiders and U.S. Government officials the pressure from this pocket of abiotic oil in the Gulf was so great that it burst all the safety valves on the floating platform.     According to writer Jose Lugo i

Williams went on to allege that oil industry insiders believe that the only method to stop the flow of oil in the Gulf is via a nuclear device and even that has potential for catastrophic results. Bell, who rejoined the conversation in the fourth hour, agreed with Williams about the potential danger of using a nuke to thwart the spill because it could "pop the bubble" and cause all of the underground oil to emerge simultaneously. On the potential long term effects of the crisis if the flow of oil is not stopped, Bell speculated that it could reach Europe within three years through the Gulf Stream. Additionally, Williams observed that the overwhelming amount of dangerous gasses, which are also being released from the disaster, could be swept along the East Coast should a hurricane arrive in the Gulf. Williams stated that those same dangerous pollutants are in the air in alarming amounts and getting more dangerous everyday. He further indicated that the oil pressure coming up the oil deep water pipe was running between 20,000 and 70,000 PSI. Last night on the Coast to coast Am show Science Advisor Richard C. Hoagland commented on the oil spill in the Gulf. He warned listeners that an even worse catastrophe could be looming if a giant gas bubble that has formed at the site of the leak on the ocean floor should blow. Hoagland said the pressure in the pipe is 100,000 or more lbs of pressure per square inch or PSI. Both agreed that BP nor anyone else knows how to shop this amount of pressure coming from the largest and deepest underwater oil well on earth.

Williams said "that the dangers from this run away well is a planet killer and we may not be able to stop it." Mankind could be doomed.

Bell, who calls himself an "ecological designer," blamed the oil spill on a corporate culture which focuses on making a profit by way of "taking short cuts" that, ultimately, result in situations such as the one in the Gulf of Mexico. He put forward the notion that the ideal scenario to break free of corporate controlled energy is to aggressively pursue efficient solutions which would make the transition away from oil easier and faster. Using solar power as an example, he theorized that, with good leadership, it would take about 40 years for such a transition to take place.

n the movie Armageddon, there was a scene where Steve Buscemi who played the part of a reluctant-hero-astronaut and while sitting and waiting for liftoff, he uttered a profound philosophical statement;   "Hey Harry, you know we're sitting on 4 million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon and a thing that has 270,000 moving parts built by the lowest bidder, makes you feel good doesn't it"?   In the movie, this statement was made by an oil drilling roughneck to other roughnecks; but it says so much about the oil business and today's corporate culture. It's the reckless, do it quick, cheap and dirty routine.   Lugo went on to say that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster is a case in point. The disaster started with an explosion that nobody was ready for. Then the oil companies (BP and Transatlantic) discovered that they had absolutely "NO PLANS" to handle the unfolding disaster, they had to think things up as they went along. They had only one shut off station in one location, that malfunctioned! Reckless, quick, cheap and dirty!   Williams said that the amount of oil gushing from the well is much greater than BP and the amount the Government is reporting as only one million gallons a day. Both guests surmised that the more accurate amount gushing from the well is in the millions of barrels. Why didn't they have shut off valves along the pipe line?  They did but all the system was overwhelmed by the great pressure of the blow out.   But the most anguishing question remains, "Why didn't they have a back-up plan?" Things happen in the ocean--hurricanes, sinking ships, equipment breakdowns, Murphy's Law etc.. Why didn't they have plans for these possible disasters? Because no commercial company has ever drilled that deep before this is a super-deep well with a mile of sea water on top of it. The pressures alone at those depths are enormous and may have contributed to the failures.   During the program it come out that there are multiple holes in the pipe and that more oil is gushing from fissures as far away from the well head as 20 miles.

Hoagland said that at the sea bed at the well for miles around it is a bubble and it is growing, believed to be pressure from a huge natural gas build up that could blow at any time and kill many there and in the general area working to stop the rush of the largest out of control oil leak that man has ever known.

Michael Webster's Syndicated Investigative Reports have been read worldwide, in 100 or more U.S. outlets and in at least 136 countries and territories. He publishes articles in association with global news agencies and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 136 countries. Many of Mr. Webster's articles are printed in six working languages: English, French, Arabic, Chinese, Russian and Spanish. With ten more languages planed in the near future.

Mr. Webster is America's leading authority on Venture Capital/Equity Funding. He served as a trustee on some of the nation's largest trade Union funds. A noted Author, Lecturer, Educator, Emergency Manager, Counter-Terrorist, War on Drugs and War on Terrorist Specialist, Business Consultant, Newspaper Publisher. Radio News caster. Labor Law generalist, Teamster Union Business Agent, General Organizer, Union Rank and File Member Grievances Representative, NLRB Union Representative, Union Contract Negotiator, Workers Compensation Appeals Board Hearing Representative. Mr. Webster represented management on that side of the table as the former Director of Federated of Nevada.   (ArticlesBase SC #2642727)

BP has begun an operation

BP has begun an operation to fit a tighter cap over its blown-out oil well in the Gulf of Mexico. An underwater robot has taken off the existing dome to make room for the new sealing cap.

But the operation may last between four and seven days - meaning oil will flow unimpeded into the sea.

Another system is also being linked up and may start collecting crude on Sunday, BP says. It is drilling two wells to intercept and block the leak.

BBC reports that BP estimates the first of these wells will be finished in the first half of August, enabling the company to intercept the damaged well "and kill operations performed".

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig in April killed 11 people. President Barack Obama has called the leak the biggest environmental disaster in US history.

BP's submersible robots are preparing to remove the current containment cap from the ocean floor.

The new sealing cap - similar to a smaller version of the damaged blow-out preventer - has three devices that are designed to shut the flow, the closing rams, and multiple ports for connecting pipes to collect crude.

According to BP, the new cap "creates the potential to increase oil and gas containment capacity to greater than 50,000 barrels per day and should improve containment efficiency during hurricane season by allowing shorter disconnect and reconnect times".

The company said that "there can be no assurance that the sealing cap will be successfully installed or installed within the anticipated timeframe", given it has never been attempted at this depth before.

It added that contingency caps like the existing one are at the ready on the seabed, should the replacement operation fail.

The company also said that favourable weather conditions had made it possible to begin another operation in tandem - connecting a new ship to the blow-out preventer.

Known as the Helix Producer, it will begin collecting oil and sending it to a third ship being used for the purpose.

BP says this could begin "ramping up containment operations as early as Sunday".

The containment dome currently collects about half the amount of oil gushing out of the damaged well.

On Friday, the Coast Guard commander overseeing the response, Adm Thad Allen, said the flow of leaking oil could be shut off by Monday. But in that time hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil could flow unabated into the ocean.

"We have a significant chance to dramatically reduce the oil that's being released into the environment and maybe shut the well in altogether in the next week," he said.

"I use the word 'contained'," said Adm Allen. "'Stop' is when we put the plug in down below."

At the moment it is believed that BP is siphoning off only around half the leaking oil.

Current US government estimates of the spill range from between 35,000 to 60,000 barrels a day.

On Thursday BP said its operation to drill a new relief well to stop the Deepwater Horizon leak was ahead of schedule.

BP's bill so far has been more than $3.1bn - and it has agreed to set up a $20 billion fund to deal with compensation claims and clean-up costs.     (ArticlesBase SC #2818374)