By Rick London
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 a while 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, it will 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, that any 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 only 10% of ocean drilling) is SO 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 so of the 300 offshore Louisiana 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; most of 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.
Rick London is a writer/designer/entrepreneur and founder of Google's #1 ranked offbeat cartoon funny gifts where he sells tees, mugs, greeting cards, etc. bearing his Londons Times Cartoon images, and his over 8000 offbeat cartoons Londons Times which have remained #1 on the Internet since 2005.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rick_London
http://EzineArticles.com/?Can-the-Gulf-Coast-Survive-Without-BP?&id=4552771
Sunday, June 27, 2010
How to Rescue the Gulf - The Next Time
By Klaus H Hemsath
The BP oil rig disaster has once more demonstrated the urgent need for the development of two critical emergency response technologies.
Future deepwater drilling should be permitted only if dependable emergency closure equipment for leaking oil wells becomes available. Similarly, specially equipped vessels for cleaning quickly spreading oil spills from leaking oil wells must become available for immediate deployment in response to a pipe break or a blow out.
No such dependable emergency response technologies are presently available anywhere.
Multiple designs of surface skimmers are available but the technology is dated and is not capable of quickly corralling the oil from wells, which are gushing thousands of barrels of crude oil each day.
Small leaks can be cleaned with equipment designs that are most suited for shallow and calm waters. Out at sea, only larger vessels can be employed. The preferred oil skimmer design for offshore duty is still an oil boom acting as a barrier for floating oil. All oil booms look similar; none operates effectively in choppy waters.
Oil booms act as a vertical barrier and are made from a flexible material, which extends like a curtain for a foot or more beneath the water surface. The assembly is kept floating by a buoyant material or by air inside an airtight tubular chamber made from the same material as the submerged skirt.
The booms are manufactured in long sections, which can be joined and can be extended for miles. These very long barriers of booms are mostly used to close off estuaries or contain oil spills in rivers and near-shore locations.
Shorter sections of this type of boom can also be used as oil skimming devices. In this configuration, oil booms form a large loop, which is formed like a U, a V, or a J. A single vessel carrying one or two outriggers on its sides can pull one or two U-shaped or J-shaped loops. Three vessels can form a V-shape; two are towing, the third one is collecting the skimmed oil.
The U.S. Coast Guard is using some of their cutters for oil skimming duties. This type of vessel has been able to collect as much as 1500 barrels of oil on a single day under ideal conditions.
The BP oil leak is bound to leak oil until at least the middle of August. After more than one hundred days, more than five million barrels or more than two hundred million gallons crude will have been spilled into the Gulf. This oil is spreading unobstructed on the surface and is threatening wetlands, estuaries, and beaches in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Some of the oil may eventually reach the East Coast of the US if not cleaned in due time.
During the last ten years, a more advanced design of a skimming vessel has been developed in Europe. Instead of towing the typical, flexible oil boom, this new design uses two solid, heavy, and very tall steel barriers. These two barriers are suspended on strong derricks or davits that are extending from both side decks of the skimming vessel. The two steel barriers are lowered into the water halfway and their outer ends are pointed towards the ship's bow at a slight forward angle.
The skimming vessel steams ahead, the oil piles up and flows toward the hull, where it is collected and pumped aboard the ship. This type of skimmer can operate under adverse weather conditions and does not have to wait for calmer waters.
Collection duties and collection efficiencies of these vessels are higher than those of skimming vessels with outrigger towed oil booms. This type of skimming vessel also has a rather large displacement and can stay offshore for skimming duties lasting several days. The vessel can run on its own bottom to the leak at rather high displacement speeds and can arrive at the spill in hours or at most a couple of days due to the much shorter distances between main shipping lanes in Europe.
An American design must take into account the very long coasts of the USA. Advanced emergency vessels must collect more than 5000 barrels of crude, which has not been given a chance to spread too far. Such emergency vessels need to reach the site of a major oil leak in less than twenty four hours. This means that vessels capable of maximum speeds of 25 knots must be stationed not more than 600 nautical miles apart. The design for such a high speed oil skimmer is not available, yet.
Similarly, no designs have been proposed for the reliable closure of leaks similar to the BP Deepwater Horizon well. This is utterly disturbing. An illustrious team of experts, professors, and a Nobel laureate disappointed when it could not come up with a workable solution for halting the leak.
A single, inventive mind can often beat a roomful of the "brightest minds". Analysis is distinctly different from inspired synthesis. Inventors and scientists approach problems in ways that are fundamentally different. Most scientists have great analytic skills. Inventors analyze, too. However, their strong suit is not analysis but inspiration. Great inventors can envision things that nobody else has ever seen before.
Unfortunately, the modern patent system has made life for this type of inventors very difficult. In the US, not that many new products are being developed inside the proverbial garages any longer. Only larger companies or new ventures can fund the development of a promising new product and can provide the resources for staying with a promising product from idea through concept confirmation, product design, patent application, and marketing. Many brilliant ideas never make it because they are subverted by well meaning but incompetent product evaluators, managers, and marketers.
The BP disaster is just another illustration for this systemic failure. There is no hope for saving the Gulf this time. We can only hope that we learn from the BP disaster and have an emergency preparedness system in place in time for dealing with the next large oil spill.
In "Clean Energy for Centuries" Dr. Hemsath presents a comprehensive plan for ending Global Warming and Climate Change. A new book "Petroleum Substitutes from Biomass" is in progress. For fifty years he has developed, designed, and installed advanced energy technologies as scientist, process engineer, inventor, Corporate CTO, CEO, entrepreneur, and author. He holds more than 60 US Patents. Visit http://www.thermalexpert.com for information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Klaus_H_Hemsath
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Rescue-the-Gulf---The-Next-Time&id=4549193
The BP oil rig disaster has once more demonstrated the urgent need for the development of two critical emergency response technologies.
Future deepwater drilling should be permitted only if dependable emergency closure equipment for leaking oil wells becomes available. Similarly, specially equipped vessels for cleaning quickly spreading oil spills from leaking oil wells must become available for immediate deployment in response to a pipe break or a blow out.
No such dependable emergency response technologies are presently available anywhere.
Multiple designs of surface skimmers are available but the technology is dated and is not capable of quickly corralling the oil from wells, which are gushing thousands of barrels of crude oil each day.
Small leaks can be cleaned with equipment designs that are most suited for shallow and calm waters. Out at sea, only larger vessels can be employed. The preferred oil skimmer design for offshore duty is still an oil boom acting as a barrier for floating oil. All oil booms look similar; none operates effectively in choppy waters.
Oil booms act as a vertical barrier and are made from a flexible material, which extends like a curtain for a foot or more beneath the water surface. The assembly is kept floating by a buoyant material or by air inside an airtight tubular chamber made from the same material as the submerged skirt.
The booms are manufactured in long sections, which can be joined and can be extended for miles. These very long barriers of booms are mostly used to close off estuaries or contain oil spills in rivers and near-shore locations.
Shorter sections of this type of boom can also be used as oil skimming devices. In this configuration, oil booms form a large loop, which is formed like a U, a V, or a J. A single vessel carrying one or two outriggers on its sides can pull one or two U-shaped or J-shaped loops. Three vessels can form a V-shape; two are towing, the third one is collecting the skimmed oil.
The U.S. Coast Guard is using some of their cutters for oil skimming duties. This type of vessel has been able to collect as much as 1500 barrels of oil on a single day under ideal conditions.
The BP oil leak is bound to leak oil until at least the middle of August. After more than one hundred days, more than five million barrels or more than two hundred million gallons crude will have been spilled into the Gulf. This oil is spreading unobstructed on the surface and is threatening wetlands, estuaries, and beaches in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. Some of the oil may eventually reach the East Coast of the US if not cleaned in due time.
During the last ten years, a more advanced design of a skimming vessel has been developed in Europe. Instead of towing the typical, flexible oil boom, this new design uses two solid, heavy, and very tall steel barriers. These two barriers are suspended on strong derricks or davits that are extending from both side decks of the skimming vessel. The two steel barriers are lowered into the water halfway and their outer ends are pointed towards the ship's bow at a slight forward angle.
The skimming vessel steams ahead, the oil piles up and flows toward the hull, where it is collected and pumped aboard the ship. This type of skimmer can operate under adverse weather conditions and does not have to wait for calmer waters.
Collection duties and collection efficiencies of these vessels are higher than those of skimming vessels with outrigger towed oil booms. This type of skimming vessel also has a rather large displacement and can stay offshore for skimming duties lasting several days. The vessel can run on its own bottom to the leak at rather high displacement speeds and can arrive at the spill in hours or at most a couple of days due to the much shorter distances between main shipping lanes in Europe.
An American design must take into account the very long coasts of the USA. Advanced emergency vessels must collect more than 5000 barrels of crude, which has not been given a chance to spread too far. Such emergency vessels need to reach the site of a major oil leak in less than twenty four hours. This means that vessels capable of maximum speeds of 25 knots must be stationed not more than 600 nautical miles apart. The design for such a high speed oil skimmer is not available, yet.
Similarly, no designs have been proposed for the reliable closure of leaks similar to the BP Deepwater Horizon well. This is utterly disturbing. An illustrious team of experts, professors, and a Nobel laureate disappointed when it could not come up with a workable solution for halting the leak.
A single, inventive mind can often beat a roomful of the "brightest minds". Analysis is distinctly different from inspired synthesis. Inventors and scientists approach problems in ways that are fundamentally different. Most scientists have great analytic skills. Inventors analyze, too. However, their strong suit is not analysis but inspiration. Great inventors can envision things that nobody else has ever seen before.
Unfortunately, the modern patent system has made life for this type of inventors very difficult. In the US, not that many new products are being developed inside the proverbial garages any longer. Only larger companies or new ventures can fund the development of a promising new product and can provide the resources for staying with a promising product from idea through concept confirmation, product design, patent application, and marketing. Many brilliant ideas never make it because they are subverted by well meaning but incompetent product evaluators, managers, and marketers.
The BP disaster is just another illustration for this systemic failure. There is no hope for saving the Gulf this time. We can only hope that we learn from the BP disaster and have an emergency preparedness system in place in time for dealing with the next large oil spill.
In "Clean Energy for Centuries" Dr. Hemsath presents a comprehensive plan for ending Global Warming and Climate Change. A new book "Petroleum Substitutes from Biomass" is in progress. For fifty years he has developed, designed, and installed advanced energy technologies as scientist, process engineer, inventor, Corporate CTO, CEO, entrepreneur, and author. He holds more than 60 US Patents. Visit http://www.thermalexpert.com for information.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Klaus_H_Hemsath
http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Rescue-the-Gulf---The-Next-Time&id=4549193
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