Oil Prices

[RiversideGator]

You are speaking of a fantasy world.  Right now we have no real alternative.  We must drill for oil or we will have economic collapse.  Finding alternative methods of transportation and of energy generation are long term solutions.  We should be doing both.  And, please dont try to say that I am for "destroy[ing] our coastline".  This is an absolute phantom issue.  Offshore drilling is very safe and reliable and can be done out of sight of shore.  If you dont think it is safe, try and find an article about the leaks associated with the many oil rigs hit by Katrina.  Bet you wont find one because there were no significant leaks to speak of.

Here is a story to support my statement:

Hurricane Katrina, Rita Oil Spills Mostly Minor, Didn't Reach Shore

WASHINGTON â€" Hurricanes Katrina and Rita caused 124 spills of petroleum products into the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, almost all of them minor and none resulting in pollution reaching shore, the government reports.

The Interior Department, it its revised assessment, said the 124 spills from drilling rigs and pipelines totaled 17,652 barrels, with six of the spills releasing between 1,000 and 2,000 barrels of product.

The releases included both oil and condensate, a liquefied form of natural gas. There are 42 gallons to a barrel.

The report by Interior's Minerals Management Service called the spills "minimal" and said that releases were kept in check because safety valves installed below the ocean floor shut down drilling wells before the storms hit.

"Oil losses were mostly limited to the oil stored on the damaged structures or contained in the individual damaged pipeline segments," said the report.

"There was no account of spills ... that reached the shoreline, oiled birds or mammals, or involved any discoveries of large volumes of oil to be collected or cleaned up," the report said.

http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/4886

[Lunican]

That was actually detrimental to your case, counselor.

[Midway ®]

Hey, RG, what's the problem? The worse the economy gets, the more apartment houses you can buy. The opportunities for you to amass even greater wealth on account of the desperation of the masses will be endless.

[RiversideGator]

That was actually detrimental to your case, counselor.

Perhaps you should read the clip again.  There were no significant spills and no significant harm to nature caused by one of the greatest US natural disasters of the last 50 years.

[RiversideGator]

Hey, RG, what's the problem? The worse the economy gets, the more apartment houses you can buy. The opportunities for you to amass even greater wealth on account of the desperation of the masses will be endless.

I want everyone to share in a higher standard of living.  This is why I am a capitalist. 

"A rising tide lifts all boats"  -- John F. Kennedy.

BTW, I wonder if Obama will use this quote as he pretends that he is the second coming of JFK?   

[Lauren]

"none resulting in pollution reaching shore" .... meaning there is still pollution. so just because you can't see it, it's not real? out of sight out of mind. great logic.

[RiversideGator]

Can you please post evidence of ecological harm either on the land or in the sea resulting from Katrina hitting the oil rigs then?

[Lunican]

So there were no significant spills to speak of (besides 17,652 barrels) during Katrina (about a one week time period) when the oil rigs were shut down.

Are we allowed to consider oil spills outside of your highly specific time frame?

Everything you say is so highly qualified that it means almost nothing.

[jaxnative]

Crude oil and natural gas seeps naturally out of fissures in the ocean seabed and eroding sedimentary rock. These seeps are natural springs where liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons leak out of the ground (like springs that ooze oil and gas instead of water). Whereas freshwater springs are fed by underground pools of water, oil and gas seeps are fed by natural underground accumulations of oil and natural gas (see USGS illustration). Natural oil seeps are used in identifying potential petroleum reserves.
As pointed out by the National Research Council (NRC) of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, "natural oil seeps contribute the highest amount of oil to the marine environment, accounting for 46 per cent of the annual load to the world's oceans. -- Although they are entirely natural, these seeps significantly alter the nature of nearby marine environments. For this reason, they serve as natural laboratories where researchers can learn how marine organisms adapt over generations of chemical exposure. Seeps illustrate how dramatically animal and plant population levels can change with exposure to ocean petroleum".

NOAA describe a natural seepage area in California: "One of the best-known areas where this happens is Coal Oil Point along the California Coast near Santa Barbara. An estimated 2,000 to 3,000 gallons of crude oil is released naturally from the ocean bottom every day just a few miles offshore from this beach".

[Lunican]

Are these natural fissures suddenly appearing in places where there is no current risk of an oil slick?

[Lauren]

Why are you talking about Katrina?  Are you a real person?

Oil cleanup in the city of Meraux, La

[RiversideGator]

So there were no significant spills to speak of (besides 17,652 barrels) during Katrina (about a one week time period) when the oil rigs were shut down.

Are we allowed to consider oil spills outside of your highly specific time frame?

Everything you say is so highly qualified that it means almost nothing.

This really isnt complicated except that you are trying to make it complicated as part of a liberal shell game.  There were some spills.  But, it wasnt that much and there was no permanent damage to the ecology.  I dont know how to make it any clearer than that.

[RiversideGator]

Why are you talking about Katrina?  Are you a real person?

Oil cleanup in the city of Meraux, La

That picture doesnt exactly prove your point.  And, I am quite real, thank you.   

[Downtown Dweller]

That picture could be from anywhere within the city. It has nothing to do with oil spills in the ocean. I can understand RG's frustration when items like this are used to prove an agenda point. Off shore oil spills are a smaller risk to the ecology than the natural ocean releases, that is a fact. There are currently offshore platforms all over CA; the map posted indicates the potentiality of new drilling. Santa Barbara has several platforms off shore easily seen from the coast line.

It always amazes me to hear people get so upset over oil platforms, or oil drilling on shore when the refineries, storage, and shipping are the main causes of long-term ecological damages. Avila Beach/Bay of San Luis Obispo in California is a perfect example of slow but steady leakage which destroyed the beaches and immediate bay area. Thankfully Shell ponied up the money and cleaned the entire area, including replacement of sand/shore line. Ya'll who are so worked up over offshore drilling should look into the above, THIS is the biggest risk to our coastlines and wildlife, off shore platforms do less harm then mother nature herself.

[Midway ®]

Oil platforms good....mother nature bad.