The Real Lessons of the Gulf Oil Spill

One question that has been raised by a few with respect to the Gulf Oil Spill is "Why are we drilling in 5000+ ft of water in the first place?" The answer is because Environmentalists have effectively blocked efforts to drill on land or off the East or West coasts for decades now, hence the move to deep water drilling. In the case of California, there is widespread opposition by the public to offshore drilling. This is understandable, but misguided.

This disaster is 100% BP's fault, but we need to factor in the newly gained knowledge that a spill in these depths is potentially much worse than one in shallow water because of the technical challenges of operating at these depths. It will take MONTHS to drill a relief well, and in the meantime, 50,000 gallons of oil is leaking per day. More regulation is needed of the industry, that much is sure. But we also need to look at developing less risky Oil sites.

We are at least several decades from becoming independent from oil. Even if every car and power plant were converted to some other technology, plant based plastics are still in their infancy and not ready to be mass produced. Oil is the lifeblood of the world economic system, a failure to properly manage the production and distribution of it will lead to higher oil prices, which in turn will lead to higher prices on everything else. We need to do our part to conserve as well, and not waste oil since it is a finite resource. But we can not ignore the fact that in today's world, it is the best alternative for energy that we have yet found in terms of cost, energy density, and abundance.

I am all for extensive use of Green Technology such as Solar and Wind, but these will only slow the growth in demand for energy, not replace Oil. The truth is, there is no suitable replacement for oil. An automobile gas tank which is full has 80 times the energy of an electric auto which is fully charged. That is a huge disparity, not likely to be overcome any time soon. While we continue to refine our green energy tech, we must continue to develop existing Oil source in responsible and safe ways. A failure to secure our energy future would be just as irresponsible as the actions of the BP crew on the Oil Rig who gambled on safety and lost.

I hope for all or our sakes that this tragedy doesn't turn into a call for an extended moratorium on all drilling in the U.S., but it appears that this is exactly what is happening. The Oil Companies are being setup to take the fall for this when many of them have operated responsibly and safely for a very long time now. This is politics as usual and I hope that most people see through it. The Government did a terrible job of ensuring that BP was operating safely, and now we are all paying the price. The Government also failed to provide for any kind of response. This is tragic and inexcusable considering the recent experience with Katrina and the abundance of Oil Platforms in the Gulf of Mexico.

Standing back and saying that it is the Oil Company's responsibility is no substitute for ensuring before hand that someone is prepared to respond to such a disaster. Why was there no response plan? If Bush were still in Office they would be calling for his impeachment now. I think/hope that people are still in shock and will eventually snap out of it and demand answers of Obama. Why was he busy pushing a Health Care Bill that a majority of US citizens don't want while the MMS was ignoring their duty to protect Miners and Gulf Oil Workers. What other parts of the Government are being run this ineffectively while Obama pushes his progressive agenda. There is something to be said for progress, but not at the expense good stewardship of the existing and necessary functions of Government. How can we, the richest country in the world, be so unprepared for something that was so predictable?

Health Scare 2010

Ahhh, reading the news I see that the Democrat attack machine is in full swing. Beware the evil Right Wing Extremists!!! The vast majority of those who buy into this kind of nonsense are not too bright and not very capable of pulling off anything complex enough to do real damage (unlike the 911 hijackers who were all very educated.) The real threat is from those currently in power who are putting future generations on the hook for Trillions of dollars in entitlement spending that we can ill afford. If you look at the current budget, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security currently account for about 14% of Govt. Spending in the 2010 budget (More than Defense!) That is before the currently passed legislation adds another 30 Million or so people to the rolls. Add to this interest on Debt and our Deficit and you have a very scary picture. This President promised Hope and Change: he has delivered on the second item, but the first one is quickly fading from view. Massive unemployment coupled with new taxes on businesses disguised as "fees" for new insurance requirements will further dampen our struggling economy. No one on the Left wants to talk about the long term effects of all the additional spending we have just signed up for. They are like the foolishly grinning couple who just purchased too much home on an Adjustable Rate Mortgage who think they can just "re-fi" anytime they want. So, the Left is doing a bunch of hand-waving and trying to find convenient boogeymen on the right, painting everyone who disagrees with their world view as either a Racist, a Homophobe, a Violent Extremist or all three. I voted for Obama but never thought he would be so reckless as to sign a piece of legislation as literally and figuratively bankrupt as this Healthcare bill. It won't solve the problem of rising health care costs. It won't improve the quality of medicine. And it may actually reduce access as many Dr's choose to retire rather than accept a bunch more patients whose insurance will only pay them a fraction of their actual costs of doing business. So, please, stop trying to scare us about a bunch of rednecks who are more likely to shoot themselves in the foot than to actually do any real harm. Cover the REAL danger to this country, those currently in power and the disastrous long term effects of their ill conceived and fiscally irresponsible policies.