The Times Picayune in its double editorial of June 9th called for President Obama to speed up the work on naming the full commission that will investigate the BP oil spill, speed up the investigation itself and reduce the 6 month moratorium called for by the President.
The TP joins the oil industry and Louisiana's elected officials and some business leaders who do not like the 6 months moratorium. They all think it is too long but are silent on how long they think it should take. They dare not stick their neck out. Here is how the TP put it. But the government can take measures to speed up the review and end the deep water moratorium earlier, at least for some rigs. The editorial writer lacks the courage and knowledge to explain how the review can be shortened.
As for the editorial talking about the loss of rigs and jobs associated with the moratorium it was pointed out in Part I no one seemed to care or talk about the 76% reduction in offshore rigs working between 2000 and 2009 as published by the TP on 1/17/10. Like Mr. Beer, the TP is more interested in the oil and gas industry then the long range welfare of the people, the environment, the coast and the seafood industry. President Obama needs to see that the investigation is done properly before lifting the moratorium despite the pressure he is getting to let it slide.
As for Louisiana elected officials, they will continue to take large sums of money from the special interest groups working with the oil industry and will continue to cater to them despite the disaster in the Gulf. And the TP will continue to hang onto every word BP says in its full page ads they are taking our in the TP.
Hang tough Mr. President.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
A Lack Of Wisdom: The Root Of The Problem
The BP rig explosion, the resulting oil leak and spillage into the waters of the Gulf is not just a Louisiana problem. According to the location map in the paper each day, BP's well site is located almost directly south of the Mississippi-Alabama state line. The site is closer to Louisiana's land only because South Louisiana extends out into the Gulf some 100 plus miles farther than Mississippi and Alabama.
Mother nature (wind direction, tides, Gulf current and etc.) will determine where most of the oil finally lands. This past week, because of mother nature most of the oil slick has been directly south of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle. It is possible for those three states to wind up with more oil on their land than Louisiana, so the spill is not just a Louisiana problem like our elected officials would like us to believe.
The governor's of the four gulf states are looking out for their own interest and will naturally be in conflict with the Presidents responsibility of looking out for the country's best interest. Louisiana and Mississippi governors do not support the Presidents 6 month moratorium. The governors of Alabama and Florida have not taken a hard position on the subject. All four governors support more offshore federal sharing.
Louisiana officials always talk about the risk of offshore drilling because most takes place offshore Louisiana. Louisiana claims it just wants its fair share for its contribution of taking such risks. However the most harm done to our wetlands, marshes and coastal erosion comes from onshore drilling in South Louisiana, yet our elected officials in La., have refused to address the issue even though onshore drilling is regulated by the state. There is no wisdom, courage or leadership among our elected officials in La. to confront the problems caused by onshore drilling. Instead they want to pass the buck to the federal government. Every one knows they want no part of big bad federal government except when they do not have the character to stand up and be counted.
Governor Jindal and other elected officials who continue to play the blame game do not need to possess ESP to know that BP and the oil industry in general are laughing out loud with the blame being put on the federal government instead of where it rightfully belongs, on BP and the industry. Those political contributions are doing just what they are supposed to do, influence our elected officials. And that says it all.
Mother nature (wind direction, tides, Gulf current and etc.) will determine where most of the oil finally lands. This past week, because of mother nature most of the oil slick has been directly south of Mississippi, Alabama and the Florida panhandle. It is possible for those three states to wind up with more oil on their land than Louisiana, so the spill is not just a Louisiana problem like our elected officials would like us to believe.
The governor's of the four gulf states are looking out for their own interest and will naturally be in conflict with the Presidents responsibility of looking out for the country's best interest. Louisiana and Mississippi governors do not support the Presidents 6 month moratorium. The governors of Alabama and Florida have not taken a hard position on the subject. All four governors support more offshore federal sharing.
Louisiana officials always talk about the risk of offshore drilling because most takes place offshore Louisiana. Louisiana claims it just wants its fair share for its contribution of taking such risks. However the most harm done to our wetlands, marshes and coastal erosion comes from onshore drilling in South Louisiana, yet our elected officials in La., have refused to address the issue even though onshore drilling is regulated by the state. There is no wisdom, courage or leadership among our elected officials in La. to confront the problems caused by onshore drilling. Instead they want to pass the buck to the federal government. Every one knows they want no part of big bad federal government except when they do not have the character to stand up and be counted.
Governor Jindal and other elected officials who continue to play the blame game do not need to possess ESP to know that BP and the oil industry in general are laughing out loud with the blame being put on the federal government instead of where it rightfully belongs, on BP and the industry. Those political contributions are doing just what they are supposed to do, influence our elected officials. And that says it all.
Subscribe to:
Posts
(
Atom
)