U.S. Administration In Contempt Over Gulf Drilling Moratorium, Judge Rules

[sappstuf]

The Obama Administration acted in contempt by continuing its deepwater-drilling moratorium after the policy was struck down, a New Orleans judge ruled.

Interior Department regulators acted with “determined disregard” by lifting and reinstituting a series of policy changes that restricted offshore drilling, following the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, U.S. District Judge, Martin Feldman of New Orleans ruled yesterday.

“Each step the government took following the court’s imposition of a preliminary injunction showcases its defiance,” Feldman said in the ruling.

“Such dismissive conduct, viewed in tandem with the re-imposition of a second blanket and substantively identical moratorium, and in light of the national importance of this case, provide this court with clear and convincing evidence of the government’s contempt,” Feldman said.

President Barack Obama’s administration first halted offshore exploration in waters deeper than 500 feet in May, after the explosion and sinking of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig off the Louisiana coast led to a subsea blowout of a BP Plc well that spewed more than 4.1 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Overly Broad

Feldman overturned the initial ban as overly broad on June 22, after the offshore-drilling industry and Gulf Coast political and business leaders challenged it. U.S. Interior Secretary Kenneth Salazar said later that day that he would “issue a new order in the coming days that eliminates any doubt that a moratorium is needed, appropriate, and within our authorities.”

In July, Salazar instituted a second drilling moratorium that was also challenged by an industry lawsuit claiming the ban was harming the Gulf Coast economy, which is heavily dependent on deepwater drilling activities. That ban was rescinded in October, before Feldman could rule on its validity.

Feldman later ruled that enhanced drilling safety rules Salazar imposed to permit companies to resume offshore exploration violated federal law, and he struck down those as well. Opponents of those rules complained to Feldman that regulators were continuing to block the resumption of drilling after Feldman’s rulings.

Wyn Hornbuckle, a Justice Department spokesman, said the government is reviewing yesterday’s ruling. He declined to comment further.

Informal Moratorium

The Offshore Marine Service Association, a group representing offshore service vessels and shipyards, urged the president to end what it called an informal moratorium on offshore drilling.

“President Obama claims to have lifted the Gulf moratorium, yet not a single deepwater permit has been issued in nine months,” Jim Adams, the association’s president, said in a release after the ruling. “As a result, thousands of workers are out of jobs, Americans are paying more for gasoline and heating oil, and our nation is becoming even more dependent on unstable nations for our energy needs.”

Feldman also ordered the government to pay the legal fees of Hornbeck Offshore Services LLC, which filed the initial lawsuit. The company had described the fees as “significant.”

Hornbeck “was put to considerable expense, after Judge Feldman issued the injunction, contending with the government’s litigation posturing and defiance of the court’s order,” Sam Giberga, the company’s general counsel, said today in an e-mail.

“The government was not at liberty to impose its own will after the court struck down the policy,” Giberga said. “The government, like any citizen, had to obey the ruling, even if it didn’t like it.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-03/u-s-administration-in-contempt-over-gulf-drill-ban-judge-rules.html

Obama..
“restoring the rule of law,”

Indeed.

[okie52]

Shocking!!!

And after all Obama has done to help the US towards energy independence.

[OklahomaTuba]

Its more than contempt, its gross misconduct that should be grounds for impeachment as oil is near $100 and the unemployment rate is in double digits.

[Bourbon St Sooner]

The moratorium has supposedly been lifted, but since the gov't isn't issuing drilling permits, there's still no drilling. The small companies that would be servicing those rigs are getting killed, the ones that are still afloat that is.

[Veritas]

The tl;dr version: counter to what they'd assumed, turns out Obama's adminstration can't just do whatever the **** they want.

[sappstuf]

Shocking!!!

And after all Obama has done to help the US towards energy independence.

This just comes out of left field doesn't it?

Don't forget how the Obama administration tried to justify the moratorium in the first place.


When President Obama last month announced his six-month deepwater moratorium, he pointed to an Interior Department report of new “safety” recommendations. That report prominently noted that the recommendations it contained—including the six-month drilling ban—had been “peer-reviewed” by “experts identified by the National Academy of Engineering.” It also boasted that Interior “consulted with a wide range” of other experts. The clear implication was that the nation’s drilling brain trust agreed a moratorium was necessary.

As these columns reported last week, the opposite is true. In a scathing document, eight of the “experts” the Administration listed in its report said their names had been “used” to “justify” a “political decision.” The draft they reviewed had not included a six-month drilling moratorium. The Administration added that provision only after it had secured sign-off. In their document, the eight forcefully rejected a moratorium, which they argued could prove more economically devastating than the oil spill itself and “counterproductive” to “safety.”"

[okie52]

Certainly we can be thankful that Obama made sure ethanol would be available.

[okie52]

This just comes out of left field doesn't it?

Don't forget how the Obama administration tried to justify the moratorium in the first place.

He is weaning us off of that filthy oil...well, at least the domestic variety.

[soonercoop1]

Seems these liberal/progressives are now ignoring the rule of law completely since Obamacare is still being enacted after being declared null and void...They are very close to sedition....

[StoopTroup]

Does Louisiana own the Gulf of Mexico? I mean...if they do...I guess that Judge has some reason to think he can state the Fed isn't or shouldn't be able to make such decisions. I really think the Government should sent Louisiana a bill for allowing BP to spill all that oil and let it drift towards the beaches of other States. Either that or the other states should sue Louisiana I guess. Funny how the judge can suddenly try to have it his way but earlier didn't tell the Government to butt out.....lol

I hope he gets jurisdiction and the bills that go with it. That way they can help pay back the deficit. LMAO

[okie52]

Does Louisiana own the Gulf of Mexico? I mean...if they do...I guess that Judge has some reason to think he can state the Fed isn't or shouldn't be able to make such decisions. I really think the Government should sent Louisiana a bill for allowing BP to spill all that oil and let it drift towards the beaches of other States. Either that or the other states should sue Louisiana I guess. Funny how the judge can suddenly try to have it his way but earlier didn't tell the Government to butt out.....lol

I hope he gets jurisdiction and the bills that go with it. That way they can help pay back the deficit. LMAO

I'm sure LA would be glad to pay for all of those beaches that were destroyed to get those oilies back to work.....which beaches were those that were damaged/destroyed?

You do realize that over 1/2 of all of the Gulf coast economy is from oil and gas. And hasn't bp accepted full responsibility and set aside $20,000,000,000 for damages? Now, unlike other American industries that have been bailed out or pushed through bankruptcies, we actually have one that is paying their bills, employing people with good wages, and providing tax and royalty revenues.

And if the man of science would actually look at the benefits of offshore drilling he could actually reduce the deficit by the royalties and taxes that would be produced by offshore drilling....you know, kind of like the $10,000,000,000 loan he gave Brazil to develop their offshore reserves. And that really doesn't begin to address what it would do for our trade deficit and energy independence.

[delhalew]

I'm just shocked someone is calling him out. I was sure this would be just another thing that got brushed over.

[AlbqSooner]

Does Louisiana own the Gulf of Mexico? I mean...if they do...I guess that Judge has some reason to think he can state the Fed isn't or shouldn't be able to make such decisions. Funny how the judge can suddenly try to have it his way but earlier didn't tell the Government to butt out.....lol

Inasmuch as he is a United States District Judge, he has ample reason to state the Fed isn't or shouldn't be able to make such decisions.

The Judge, by issuing the temporary injunction at the first opportunity, basically told the Government to butt out until the Court had the chance to hear the case presented.

[AlbqSooner]

Its more than contempt, its gross misconduct that should be grounds for impeachment as oil is near $100 and the unemployment rate is in double digits.

You would be well served to look into the legal definition of Contempt of Court prior to making statements like this.

[dwarthog]

Certainly we can be thankful that Obama made sure ethanol would be available.

A sound strategy, turning ones food supply in to fuel and negatively affecting food prices around the world.

Yep, folks low on food and short on cash are thankful alright....

[okie52]

A sound strategy, turning ones food supply in to fuel and negatively affecting food prices around the world.

Yep, folks low on food and short on cash are thankful alright....

Hopefully we'll get off ethanol in the future....or at least wait until it is a viable alternative energy source.

[The Profit]

Since oil is a precious national commodity, I would prefer that the oil industry in the nation be nationalized.

[texaspokieokie]

Since oil is a precious national commodity, I would prefer that the oil industry in the nation be nationalized.

golly geeee; what a wonderful idea !!!! something else the feds could **** up !!!!!!

[okie52]

Since oil is a precious national commodity, I would prefer that the oil industry in the nation be nationalized.

You and Chavez.

However, there is some method to your madness. That would be a sure way to wean us off oil.

[EnragedOUfan]

You and Chavez.

However, there is some method to your madness. That would be a sure way to wean us off oil.

I have no sympathy for people who make it their life in the oil business. Nor do I have sympathy for people who make it their life selling food to the workers waiting to board the ships...... We just had the worst oil spill known to mankind. Oil leaked into the ocean for over 2 months. Instead of being concerned about the future safety for the guys working on the rig or the environment and ecosystems in the water, its all about the money and Louisiana's economy. Only when we have another oil spill and it totally pollutes our drinking supply will we then realize that maybe we should have tried a little better to prepare for the future. But by then, it will be too d#mn late. With the increasing rate of our worlds population and with the rate of pollution and garbage, I'm glad I won't be around 100 years from now to see the wrath we will have caused. I do feel for my great, great grandchildren through.......

[dwarthog]

Hopefully we'll get off ethanol in the future....or at least wait until it is a viable alternative energy source.

I believe there are some alternatives available out there, switch grass etc. that are far superior to corn.

Corn just happens to be a politically popular subsidy among the farm belt voting block.

[texaspokieokie]

I have no sympathy for people who make it their life in the oil business. Nor do I have sympathy for people who make it their life selling food to the workers waiting to board the ships...... We just had the worst oil spill known to mankind. Oil leaked into the ocean for over 2 months. Instead of being concerned about the future safety for the guys working on the rig or the environment and ecosystems in the water, its all about the money and Louisiana's economy. Only when we have another oil spill and it totally pollutes our drinking supply will we then realize that maybe we should have tried a little better to prepare for the future. But by then, it will be too d#mn late. With the increasing rate of our worlds population and with the rate of pollution and garbage, I'm glad I won't be around 100 years from now to see the wrath we will have caused. I do feel for my great, great grandchildren through.......

do you have any idea what would happen to US economy if no one "made it their life in the oil business" ????????

some of the most stupid stuff i've ever wasted my time reading !!!!

[okie52]

I believe there are some alternatives available out there, switch grass etc. that are far superior to corn.

Corn just happens to be a politically popular subsidy among the farm belt voting block.

Yep, there are, or at least appear to be (switchgrass, algae, etc..) I am all for R & D on the various ethanol fuels, but mandatory inclusion in our fuel supplies before they are viable is insane.

[okie52]

I have no sympathy for people who make it their life in the oil business. Nor do I have sympathy for people who make it their life selling food to the workers waiting to board the ships...... We just had the worst oil spill known to mankind. Oil leaked into the ocean for over 2 months. Instead of being concerned about the future safety for the guys working on the rig or the environment and ecosystems in the water, its all about the money and Louisiana's economy. Only when we have another oil spill and it totally pollutes our drinking supply will we then realize that maybe we should have tried a little better to prepare for the future. But by then, it will be too d#mn late. With the increasing rate of our worlds population and with the rate of pollution and garbage, I'm glad I won't be around 100 years from now to see the wrath we will have caused. I do feel for my great, great grandchildren through.......

Ummm, you really thought this out, huh?

They have been drilling in the Gulf for over 50 years and this is the 1st spill of any magnitude. And what was the damage? He11, last I heard they can't even find the oil now.


Sure, they should enforce regulations and drill in a safe manner. But we also shouldn't have arbitrary red tape to satisfy an administration's agenda.

Do you ride a bike to work?

[texaspokieokie]

you assume he works ???

[Mixer!]

n/m

[pphilfran]

I have no sympathy for people who make it their life in the oil business. Nor do I have sympathy for people who make it their life selling food to the workers waiting to board the ships...... We just had the worst oil spill known to mankind. Oil leaked into the ocean for over 2 months. Instead of being concerned about the future safety for the guys working on the rig or the environment and ecosystems in the water, its all about the money and Louisiana's economy. Only when we have another oil spill and it totally pollutes our drinking supply will we then realize that maybe we should have tried a little better to prepare for the future. But by then, it will be too d#mn late. With the increasing rate of our worlds population and with the rate of pollution and garbage, I'm glad I won't be around 100 years from now to see the wrath we will have caused. I do feel for my great, great grandchildren through.......

What do you suggest we use instead of crude?

How long will it take to implement your fuel choice?

How much will the new fuel you so desperately want cost?

You are long on rhetoric and short on facts....

[okie52]

you assume he works ???

A wild assumption on my part.

[OUMallen]

What do you suggest we use instead of crude?

How long will it take to implement your fuel choice?

How much will the new fuel you so desperately want cost?

You are long on rhetoric and short on facts....

Natural gas.

Decade and a half or so, but lots of transitioning is and has occurred.

Much cheaper, and domestic.

[Ike]

Ummm, you really thought this out, huh?

They have been drilling in the Gulf for over 50 years and this is the 1st spill of any magnitude. And what was the damage? He11, last I heard they can't even find the oil now.




It's in the food....

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/activist-lab-tests-show-dangerously-toxic-substances-present-gulf-shrimp/

[The Profit]

You and Chavez.

However, there is some method to your madness. That would be a sure way to wean us off oil.



That is what I'm thinking, my old friend.

[pphilfran]

Natural gas.

Decade and a half or so, but lots of transitioning is and has occurred.

Much cheaper, and domestic.

For the most part you still gotta drill...same basic environmental problems as crude..

[pphilfran]

Oh, and what kind of time frame to changeover 25% of our vehicle fleet?

[picasso]

Ummm, you really thought this out, huh?

They have been drilling in the Gulf for over 50 years and this is the 1st spill of any magnitude. And what was the damage? He11, last I heard they can't even find the oil now.


Sure, they should enforce regulations and drill in a safe manner. But we also shouldn't have arbitrary red tape to satisfy an administration's agenda.

Do you ride a bike to work?

And that's a miracle when you're talking about high pressure wells.

[soonercoop1]

Since oil is a precious national commodity, I would prefer that the oil industry in the nation be nationalized.

:D

[delhalew]

For the most part you still gotta drill...same basic environmental problems as crude..

Most of that drilling would be on the mainland. Drilling that, frankly, Oklahoma would dry up and blow away without.

[OUMallen]

For the most part you still gotta drill...same basic environmental problems as crude..

Not exactly the same, as said above. Natural gas drilling, while it has a surface impact, is really quite clean.

[OklahomaTuba]

NatGas is a helluva lot cleaner to extract, and a lot more abundant than the **** needed to use "clean energy" such as coal/nuclear waste needed to power electric cars, or the lithium needed to make a battery.

But most eco-nazi's aren't really smart enough to understand that it seems. They still believe in this myth of magical fairy energy coming from the sun and wind, where unicorns shiat skittles and little fluffy bunnies play with butterflies.

[delhalew]

Not exactly the same, as said above. Natural gas drilling, while it has a surface impact, is really quite clean.

I've taken part in said drilling and fracturing. Environmental impact is remarkably slight these days.

[delhalew]

Goobers like Obama are so concerned with our world image. I wonder how the worlds population feels about us having the audacity to make their food more expensive by using it in our automobiles.

[OklahomaTuba]

I wonder which is better, fracing or terraforming an entire continent into cornfields?

[okie52]

And that's a miracle when you're talking about high pressure wells.

It's really not. Had the rams (BOP) worked as they should normally this well would have been instantly contained. The same is true for the thousands of wells drilled inland every year, too.

[okie52]

It's in the food....

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2010/11/activist-lab-tests-show-dangerously-toxic-substances-present-gulf-shrimp/

According to the FDA, less than 1% of the seafood showed levels above acceptable.

[OUthunder]

I have no sympathy for people who make it their life in the oil business. Nor do I have sympathy for people who make it their life selling food to the workers waiting to board the ships...... We just had the worst oil spill known to mankind. Oil leaked into the ocean for over 2 months. Instead of being concerned about the future safety for the guys working on the rig or the environment and ecosystems in the water, its all about the money and Louisiana's economy. Only when we have another oil spill and it totally pollutes our drinking supply will we then realize that maybe we should have tried a little better to prepare for the future. But by then, it will be too d#mn late. With the increasing rate of our worlds population and with the rate of pollution and garbage, I'm glad I won't be around 100 years from now to see the wrath we will have caused. I do feel for my great, great grandchildren through.......


What a stupid ****ing post!

[SoonerNate]

Give the libs a chance to watch MSNBC tonight so they have their talking points lined up in response.

[texaspokieokie]

What a stupid ****ing post!

my thots exactly !!!

[texaspokieokie]

i wonder if "enragedoufan" drinks ocean water.

[Veritas]

I have no sympathy for people who make it their life in the oil business. Nor do I have sympathy for people who make it their life selling food to the workers waiting to board the ships...... We just had the worst oil spill known to mankind. Oil leaked into the ocean for over 2 months. Instead of being concerned about the future safety for the guys working on the rig or the environment and ecosystems in the water, its all about the money and Louisiana's economy. Only when we have another oil spill and it totally pollutes our drinking supply will we then realize that maybe we should have tried a little better to prepare for the future. But by then, it will be too d#mn late. With the increasing rate of our worlds population and with the rate of pollution and garbage, I'm glad I won't be around 100 years from now to see the wrath we will have caused. I do feel for my great, great grandchildren through.......
So how is it, then, with your great hatred of oil, that you're typing away madly on a computer that is manufactured with the help of petroleum byproducts that arrived here in the US on a ship powered by oil and was transported to your home by vehicles running on gasoline?

Poseur.

[MR2-Sooner86]

So how is it, then, with your great hatred of oil, that you're typing away madly on a computer that is manufactured with the help of petroleum byproducts that arrived here in the US on a ship powered by oil and was transported to your home by vehicles running on gasoline?

Poseur.

Grab a napkin, you just got served!

[EnragedOUfan]

Screw it, lets analyze most post. However, I am an Industrial Safety major right now while I'm in ROTC so I have a safety first/environmental friendly mind.

A simple wikipedia.org search gives some pretty good insight on this planets population growth. Its actually quite scary if some of the future projections come true and we really have a food shortage. This something that could affect us during our lifetime.....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population

Since someone mentioned our water purification process, not much oil is involved. My drinking water (and everyone elses drinking water) is purified by sand, rocks, and chlorine. My water may be fed through PVC pipe however, I'm not for sure. You got me there.

I must be stupid for being concerned about the 11 people who lost their lives on that rig. What caused this? Why did this happen? How could it have been prevented?

I guess I'm stupid for being concerned that it took 2 months to cap this thing off. And yes, oil actually made it Louisiana. It made it to the beaches. Its potent content could be smelled in the air by local gulf residents. That's bad. I bet half of you would think differently on this had your kids been smelling that sh%t on a daily basis while they walk to school/play outside........

I'm stupid for being concerned and fortunate that oil didn't infect the Mississippi river. The Mississippi river feeds most of the streams in the US. Our drinking water comes from either springs, which come from aquafers from beneath the earth, or rivers and lakes, which alot of those rivers are fed from the Mississippi. There is a process called the Hydrolic Cycle, it has to do with how water is recycled from the ocean, coming back in rain, sinking into the earth and in rivers, and either evaporating again or sinking deep into the earth to eventually make its way back into the ocean. Where do you people think your drinking water comes from? Mostly rain that fills up our resevoirs/lakes or the river. Its then purified.

Back to safety, why did this happen? Before offshore drilling should be allowed, the exact cause of this incident, how to prevent it, and how to cap off an oil well drilled half a mile below sea level should be known. Its absolutely assinine to want to continue with this ASAP. Peoples safety should be first in my opinion and how to prevent this sh&t from happening again. But I forgot, its Obama's fault. Its unconstitutional.

Did I mention that thousands of gallons leaked into the ocean? Luckily, I was living in Deutschland when this happened but I'm glad I stayed away from the local seafood for a while. Just my opinion.

As to my computer being made from oil, you got me there. Matter of fact, everything in my home is d%mn near made from oil. However, I lived in a country for 4 years that relied more on glass than plastics (Germany) and it was a law for you to recycle every thing. If recycling was mentioned in America, people would go nuts. And yes, I have no sympathy for the man who makes his life fortune selling sandwiches/beverages to the workers awaiting to board ship. Now that oil is banned, he's out of business. Thats like the gold running out and the gold miner then has nothing else to do. I wouldn't invest my life flow of money into something like that. Just my opinion....

BOOMER!

[okie52]

They already know how to cap it...its no mystery. Rams/BOP would be an instantaneous cap except, evidently, this BOP either malfunctioned or was tampered with. There is over 50 years of drilling in the Gulf and, again, Obama's delays were to satisfy his own anti oil agenda rather than produce new safety measures. The judge saw that, why don't you? I'll restate it for you since you seemed to have missed it the first time....over half of the gulf economy is from oil and gas. This isn't just some sandwich salesman but high paying jobs that provide important energy supplies to this country and, which I am sure is news to you, also supplies desperately needed revenues, royalties and taxes to our own overspending government.

You're talking to Okies here. We have thousands of wells all over OK and over 100 years of drilling history. Our drinking water is just fine and so are our crops and food chain. And so is our unemployment rate. We have had wells drilled to over 30,000 feet in this state so we know a little bit about drilling, oil and gas.

Now you are on to something if you don't allow your uninformed, misdirected ideology to sabotage it. That is overpopulation. The world will be 9,000,000,000 people in the next 30 or so years. A much worse force for famine, pollution and energy shortages.

The world should be moving the other direction and trying to reduce its population to 1 billion in the next few generations instead of 9 billion. Other than having to correct some ponzi scheme like social security, most of our planet and resources would be in far better shape.

[AlbqSooner]

The Mississippi river feeds most of the streams in the US.

Please, oh Enlightened One, other than the natural eddy effect that occurs when two rivers converge, can you give me the name and location of one stream that is FED by the Mississippi River?

[AlbqSooner]

While you are at it, can you name one stream west of the Rocky Mountains that feeds the Mississippi River?

[Veritas]

I love college students who forget the salt shaker.

[texaspokieokie]

Please, oh Enlightened One, other than the natural eddy effect that occurs when two rivers converge, can you give me the name and location of one stream that is FED by the Mississippi River?

why the "ocean stream" of course.:D

[texaspokieokie]

beware of all that oil going "upstream" in the mighty mississip.

[texaspokieokie]

last i heard (long time ago) the deepest wells in the world are in western OK &
west tx. like 35,000 ft.

if hydra-fracking is so bad, all of OK would have been ruined a long time ago.

[texaspokieokie]

i can't believe that enraged made such an intelligent (?) post & then followed it up with a Much More intelligent post. WOW !!!!!!!

[pphilfran]

All knowing one, you must have missed my questions...so I will give you a second shot...I wait eagerly for your reply...

What do you suggest we use instead of crude?

How long will it take to implement your fuel choice?

How much will the new fuel you so desperately want cost?

A couple of new questions that might whet your appetite...

How about nukes and storing its waste for 100k years or so...how about clean coal and carbon capture and the storing of the many cubic miles of captured and then compressed CO2 for eternity...they good to go?

How about hundreds of people dying in car wrecks...should we ban autos until we know exactly what caused each of those wrecks? And then implement plans to keep each and every accident from happening?

Many people die or could die from peanuts or other allergens...should we ban that kind of stuff?

Thanks in advance for your thoughtful reply....

[Veritas]

You're going to get no answer, pphilfran. Those who rage against evil fossil fuels have no viable answer, just bitches and moans about a situation they themselves don't have the balls to do anything but complain about.

At least the "but it has a face" crowd has the sack to go vegetarian (vegans are an entirely different subject, the only way those losers live what they preach is to go live off the land in the wilderness since that's the only way to escape animal products).

[Sooner98]

I have no sympathy for people who make it their life in the oil business.

Several posts later.....



I must be stupid for being concerned about the 11 people who lost their lives on that rig. What caused this? Why did this happen? How could it have been prevented?


Nice work.

[MR2-Sooner86]

You got people like this around you? Country is full of them now! People walking around all day long, every minute of the day — worried about EVERYTHING! Worried about the air, worried about the water, worried about the soil. Worried about insecticides, pesticides, food additives, carcinogens; worried about radon gas; worried about asbestos. Worried about saving endangered species.

Let me tell you about endangered species, all right? Saving endangered species is just one more arrogant attempt by humans to control Nature! It's arrogant meddling! It's what got us into trouble in the first place! Doesn't anybody understand that? Interfering with Nature! Over 90 percent.. over... way over 90 percent of all the species that have ever lived — EVER LIVED — on this planet are gone. Whissshht! They are extinct!

We didn't kill them all.

They just... disappeared! That's what Nature does! They disappear these days at the rate of 25 a day, and I mean regardless of our behavior. Irrespective of how we act on this planet, 25 species that were here today, will be gone tomorrow! Let them go... gracefully! Leave Nature alone! Haven't we done enough?

We're so self-important. So self-important! Everybody's going to save something now. "Save the trees; save the bees; save the whales; save those snails." And the greatest arrogance of all, "Save the planet." WHAT? Are these ****ing people kidding me? Save the planet? We don't even know how to take care of ourselves yet. We haven't learned how to care for one another, we're gonna save the ****ing planet?

I'm getting tired of that ****. Tired of that ****. Tired! I'm tired of ****ing Earth Day! I'm tired of these self-righteous environmentalists; these white, bourgeois liberals who think the only thing wrong with this country is there aren't enough bicycle paths. People trying to make the world safe for their Volvos. Besides, environmentalists don't give a **** about the planet. They don't care about the planet. Not in the abstract they don't. Not in the abstract they don't. You know what they're interested in? A clean place to live. Their own habitat. They're worried that some day in the future, they might be personally inconvenienced. Narrow, unenlightened self-interest doesn't impress me.

Besides, there is nothing wrong with the planet. Nothing wrong with the planet. The planet is fine. The PEOPLE are ****ed. Difference. Difference! The planet is fine. Compared to the people, the planet is doing great. Been here four and a half billion years. Did you ever think about the arithmetic? The planet has been here four and a half billion years. We've been here, what? A hundred thousand? Maybe two hundred thousand? And we've only been engaged in heavy industry for a little over two hundred years. Two hundred years versus four and a half billion. And we have the CONCEIT to think that somehow we're a threat? That somehow we're gonna put in jeopardy this beautiful little blue-green ball that's just a-floatin' around the sun?

The planet has been through a lot worse than us. Been through all kinds of things worse than us. Been through earthquakes, volcanoes, plate tectonics, continental drift, solar flares, sun spots, magnetic storms, the magnetic reversal of the poles; hundreds of thousands of years of bombardment by comets and asteroids and meteors; worlwide floods, tidal waves, worldwide fires, erosion, cosmic rays, recurring ice ages... And we think some plastic bags, and some aluminum cans are going to make a difference? The planet... the planet... the planet isn't going anywhere. WE ARE!

We're going away. Pack your ****, folks. We're going away. And we won't leave much of a trace, either. Thank God for that. Maybe a little styrofoam. Maybe. A little styrofoam. The planet will be here and we'll be long gone. Just another failed mutation. Just another closed-end biological mistake. An evolutionary cul-de-sac. The planet will shake us off like a bad case of fleas. A surface nuisance.

You wanna know how the planet is doing? Ask those people at Pompeii, who are frozen into position from volcanic ash, "How the planet's doing?" You wanna know if the planet's all right, ask those people in Mexico City or Armenia or a hundred other places buried under thousands of tons of earthquake rubble, if they feel like a threat to the planet this week. Or how about those people in Kilowaia, Hawaii, who built their homes right next to an active volcano, and then wonder why they have lava in the living room.

The planet will be here for a long, long — LONG — time after we're gone, and it will heal itself; it will cleanse itself, because that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system. The air and the water will recover; the earth will be renewed; and, if it's true that plastic is not degradable, well, the planet will simply incorporate plastic into a new pardigm: the Earth plus plastic! The Earth doesn't share our prejudice towards plastic. Plastic came out of the Earth. The Earth probably sees plastic as just another one of its children. Could be the only reason the Earth allowed us to be spawned from it in the first place. It wanted plastic for itself. Didn't know how to make it. Needed us. Could be the answer to our age-old philosophical question, "Why are we here?" "Plastic! ***holes."

[picasso]

It's really not. Had the rams (BOP) worked as they should normally this well would have been instantly contained. The same is true for the thousands of wells drilled inland every year, too.

I'm talking about the potential. But hey, I'm just quoting my dad who's been in the oil business for 45 years.

[jkjsooner]

You got people like this around you? Country is full of them now! People walking around all day long, every minute of the day — worried about EVERYTHING! Worried about the air, worried about the water, worried about the soil. Worried about insecticides, pesticides, food additives, carcinogens; worried about radon gas; worried about asbestos. Worried about saving endangered species.

Let me tell you about endangered species, all right? Saving endangered species is just one more arrogant attempt by humans to control Nature!

I agreed with you up until this point. Yes, in nature species do go extinct. We're not talking about the normal rate of extinction. We're talking about human caused extinction. We have hunted a lot of species to entinction and we're doing so at a much faster rate than evolution can create new species.

Also, let's make one thing clear. When we talk about "natural" we exclude humans. Sure, if you believe in evolution we are just a part of nature but we're a highly intelligent species that can influence nature a lot more than any other species.

Some people will argue that what we do is nature by definition. If so then the word "natural" has no meaning whatsoever as everything would be considered natural. A nuclear exchange between the US and Russia would be considered just part of nature by this definition.

I'm not saying you follow this line of reasoning but there's always one person who makes the stupid argument that whatever humans do is just part of nature.



The planet will be here for a long, long — LONG — time after we're gone, and it will heal itself; it will cleanse itself, because that's what it does. It's a self-correcting system.

I agree the earth will correct itself. In a million years species will come and go and the biodiversity and overall environmental state of the earth will show no signs that humans were here.

But that's not the point. We're talking on human time scales here. We're not concerned about what will happen to the earth in a million years. We're worried about what will happen in tens or hundreds of years. The lack of biodiversity and the overall degradation in the environment affects humans on a human time scale. That is our concern.


All that said, there are idiots who want to stop all human procreation and just allow the human race to die off because as a species we have ruined the planet. (Yep, I've heard people actually make this argument.) Not only is that wacky and extreme, it also shows a lack of knowledge about why we want to protect the environment and a lack of knowledge about how the earth has self-correcting features. If we don't value humans and only "the earth" then there would be no reason to look at these issues on a human time scale.

[okie52]

I'm talking about the potential. But hey, I'm just quoting my dad who's been in the oil business for 45 years.

Well he's got me beat by about 5 years.

Sure there are risks as there are with about any energy source but does your dad think we shouldn't be drilling in the Gulf?

[StoopTroup]

I'm pretty sure 80% of what I'm touching or have on Was made in China, Japan, Thialand, Bangledesh or Korea.

[MR2-Sooner86]

I'm pretty sure 80% of what I'm touching or have on Was made in China, Japan, Thialand, Bangledesh or Korea.

http://www.mentorwwllc.com/breastsurgery/images/big-products/gel-implants.jpg

:confused::eek::D ;)

[TitoMorelli]

Did I mention that thousands of gallons leaked into the ocean? Luckily, I was living in Deutschland when this happened but I'm glad I stayed away from the local seafood for a while. Just my opinion.

Pretentious?!!! Vous?!!!

[TitoMorelli]

I'm talking about the potential. But hey, I'm just quoting my dad who's been in the oil business for 45 years.

http://amayberrystateofmind.com/images/Goober8.jpg

[StoopTroup]

Lol

[picasso]

Well he's got me beat by about 5 years.

Sure there are risks as there are with about any energy source but does your dad think we shouldn't be drilling in the Gulf?

Not at all.:) His point was that the industry has an impressive record when you think about all of the high pressure wells they work with.

[picasso]

http://amayberrystateofmind.com/images/Goober8.jpg

Is that your pops? Can he do a lube job or is that your specialty?

[StoopTroup]

:pop:

[okie52]

Not at all.:) His point was that the industry has an impressive record when you think about all of the high pressure wells they work with.

Sorry, misunderstood where you were coming from.

Yes, the overall record is impressive.