Obama ban on deepwater drilling overturned

Seems to me whether agenda driven or not, pausing drilling on our coasts based solely on the fact that the contingency plans of ALL the major oil companies were boiler plate and obvious there IS NO contingency place.

There should be new law passed that a valid contingency plan must be in place with contacts that are actually alive, before proceeding. Seems pretty common sense to me. So agenda or not, they should stop drilling to make sure these things are not going to happen again. This catastrophe cannot be allowed to happen again on our shores. We have only seen the the tip of the problem this spill is going to cause.

Again seems pretty common sense.

Originally posted by FearNoEvil
Do you want to stop ALL drilling or just deep water drilling?

I'd like to see it all stopped, including mining, deforestation, and more.

I want to see the industrial age abolished. I would like to see the entire world start living a modest minimal lifestyle (think Amish like) and give up all these unnecessary excesses that we do not need to exist and survive. I want us all to put ecologic preservation ahead of our self-serving wanty wants. I want us to preserve the planet for the benefit of our descendants and all the wildlife upon her. That's what I want, and it's what I would have hoped everyone else would have MORALLY wanted too. But you and I know that ain't ever going to ever happen, not in this immoral world.

So, short of that which I want to see, and in light of the fact that 7 billion people on this planet are going to kill the planet in their selfish self-gratifying self-serving pursuit of the hoity toity high on the hog american lifestyle, I guess what I really want is an 89% reduction in the worlds human population instead .. and again, only if humanity refuses to surrender this war they are raging against nature and all our futures.

I don't expect a lot of people to understand what's in my heart no more than I can understand them that would want to trash the planet for profit and a paycheck. Dead murdered dolphins and birds and whatnot are not worth a paycheck according to my moral beliefs. I don't know how anyone else could justify this in their heart .. unless they don't have one.

Originally posted by Styki
People say Obama is doing nothing, as if he has a magic wand to get around the red tape. If he tries to go around the system the people say he is abusing his power.

I'm happy that's not my job.

Indeed. The very same people who say he is a `Dictator`complain when he doesnt act like one.

Originally posted by AP-Chris
reply to post by Styki

 

People say Obama is doing nothing, as if he has a magic wand to get around the red tape.

Red tape is an unacceptable excuse. Anyone in the government that thinks it is OK to sit and do nothing until all the i's are dotted should be fired. Bobby Jindal and Okaloosa County officials are heroes and an example to all leaders.

Besides, red tape is code for getting "their" people to contract so that the money stays within the family.

Nonsense. It`s a trap. If the President subverts the `red tape (ie law) he is called a Totalitarian. If he follows the law, he is labeled weak. Most Americans dont even begin to understand how the law actually works.

No one wants to admit it, but we all actually crave that good ol fashion GW Bush Ì`m the decider`crap, it would seem.

Oh, Democracy, how you bore the plebes.

Originally posted by Teller
It's very easy to be an environmentalist, when you live in a house with a roof, have food on the table, and clean water to drink.

You can yell at BP all you wish, but the fact of the water is, the oil companies are the ones that keep the world in motion. Is it right? No, but pretending to hate them while being completely reliant on them is a useless debate.

Wanna really show them? Go live in a fort in the middle of the woods using fire for warmth and deer for food.

Agreed. Americans need oil. Americans use oil. Americans could get off oil tomorrow if they scaled down and gave up the luxury of a microwave dinner at 3am with the AC on while watching the plasma screen.

Our entire infrastructure is built around cheap oil. That isnt going to change over night. Or next week. Or next decade, as has been said before.

The best thing for american security is to continue to drill in our borders. In addition, it keeps the REAL environmental cost on the front burner, since we obviously dont care AT ALL about massive oil spills when they happen in the third world.

Yes, we need substantial, systemic change, but no one is going to hold (y)our hands and do it for us. We have to do it on a local level. Period. there is no `green`alternative to our current levels of consumption.<

All the windmills and solar panels in the world wont change that.

Originally posted by mishigas
Excellent news. Obama will have to learn that he must follow the Constitution the same as we all do. Enough of his making up the rules as he goes along.

Indeed. Of course, there are those in this thread who seem to crave a President who does what he wants. Funny it seems to be the same who fear a dictatorship.

Orly Taitz is a hero when she files new cases every week for years, But when Obama simply refiles with addtional paper work to satisfy the judge hes evil.

Originally posted by justadood
Funny it seems to be the same who fear a dictatorship.

I fear a dictator that would want to enslave me (involuntary servitude) for the benefit of others. I do not fear a dictator that would want to protect me from the self-serving individuals that would want to destroy me and our ecology/environment.

reply to post by Divinorumus
I'd also like to see all drilling stopped. I too would like to live like the Amish. But I think mankind is just now seeing the real problem that oil is. We need to urgently transition away from oil. But that will take time. Can you imagine the gas prices if we just shut off all oil drilling?

I'm not sure if you're familiar with the way the nuclear industry works but they have at least 3 levels of backup on every critical system. There is peer checking with sign-off sheets and so on - very strict. If the oil industry was regulated like the nuclear industry, this would not have happened.

I would like to see the US cut through the red tape and become a world leader in green tech but that will take time even if you shut off all drilling now.

The 2nd step should be to create green jobs for the unemployed to move into as you transition away from oil.

But if we don't get this leak sealed (that's the 1st step) it will be the slow ending of the world, so it won't really matter then, will it?

Peace

Originally posted by Styki
People say Obama is doing nothing, as if he has a magic wand to get around the red tape. If he tries to go around the system the people say he is abusing his power.

I'm happy that's not my job.

Exactly. People accuse him of not doing enough, then accuse him of abusing his power when he is actually doing something. Essentially the people complaining want Obama to fork out tax payer money, magically clean the spill up, and not force BP to pay for the spill. And if he did this, people would accuse him of being a corporate shrill. Its a catch 22. if you asked any of these naggers what they would have done as president, I bet you they either wouldnt have a clue or they would say something the president has already done.

In anycase this entire mess happened from an unregulated oil drilling rig in the gulf. I'd bet my bottom dollar many of these critics complaining and crying continue to use BP to fill their cars up. In reality we are in part to blame, but americans, in particular those on the right, must find a scapegoat, and the political one at that.

Judge who nixed drilling ban has oil investments

No surprise here, huh? Man oh man, what some hewmons will do and risk just to self-gratify their self-serving selfish desires. That judge should have, as required, recused himself. I hope someone kicks him in the ass.

[edit on 23-6-2010 by Divinorumus]

reply to post by Misoir

I am just sick of these corporate morons I am just so sick and tired of this bull #, they make our lives hell and kill our families. They make us all suffer so they can gain and I am just tired of it.

So what are we going to do about it?

That's the 50 million dollar question.

Judge overturns Obama’s drilling ban
Author: Jeff Taylor

After the BP oil spill disaster President Barak Obama ordered a moratorium on further exploration for deep sea drilling in the Gulf of Mexico for a period of six months. At the time many businesses said this was a step too far, an overreaction, and said they would challenge it through the courts.

The Moratorium covers Alaska, Virginia and the Gulf of Mexico to stop new deepwater drilling as well as new permits and active exploration. As a result of the ban some 33 rigs have been idle in the Gulf and some have been thinking of relocating. The ban had not only been of concern to local businesses, state politicians were also keen to see this ban lifted.

In response to a suit by Hornbeck Offshore Services joined by 20 other companies, Judge Martin Feldman of the US District Court in New Orleans yesterday granted an injunction against the President’s moratorium. He said that he found it too broad and insufficiently justified.


He wrote in his ruling: “If some drilling equipment parts are flawed, is it rational to say all are? Are all airplanes a danger because one was? All oil tankers like Exxon Valdez? All trains? All mines? That sort of thinking seems heavy-handed, and rather overbearing.” He also pointed out that ‘deepwater drilling’ was insufficiently defined and there was no timeline for implementing safety measures.

In response the White House, as well as environmental groups, said it would appeal the decision saying that the President did not think potentially putting more lives in danger without knowing exactly what went on would be a mistake.

Robert Gibbs, the White House chief spokesman said: “The President strongly believes that continuing to drill at these depths without knowing what happened does not make any sense, and puts the safety of those involved and the environment in the Gulf at a danger that we cannot afford.”

Unless appealed successfully BP and the other operators in the area could now re-start operations.

www.economicvoice.com...

As long as humanity allows the STS to run the show more of this is going to happen until we have hit a point of no return.

Laugh at me all you want ATSers, but I've had a bad feeling since day one concerning this OIL LEAK, it's not even called the right thing, it was never a spill that misnomer takes the sting out of what this really is.

It's a oil leak and it's not stopping.

All in the name of greed and from this article, we humans just aren't learning by our mistakes.

All this Obama bashing, I'm not saying I love Obama but he did try to put a ban on drilling and was overturned.

We humans get exactly what we deserve by allowing our government to be run by corporations.

People need to stop and educate themselves as to who the real enemy is, it's not Obama - he's a puppet and he at least tried to put a ban on more drilling.

We should be going after the people who lifted that ban.

God, will people ever the frak learn from their mistakes?

The last president that went against "corporate rule" was JFK and we all know what happened to him.

It's the large corporations and the "CEO's, CFO's and upper level management of these large corporations that have bought our governments all over the planet that should be strung up, not a president that doesn't even have 1/2 the power these companies have.

People just keep drinking that corporate kool aid and it now comes in a new flavor, Gulf Oil.

[edit on 23-6-2010 by ofhumandescent]

Originally posted by Britguy

Obama Administration Knew About Deepwater Horizon 35,000 Feet Well Bore

oilprice.com

According to the Wayne Madsen Report (WMR) sources within the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the Pentagon and Interior and Energy Departments told the Obama Administration that the newly-discovered estimated 3-4 billion barrels of oil in the Gulf of Mexico would cover America's oil needs for up to eight months if there was a military attack on Iran that resulted in the bottling up of the Strait of Hormuz to oil tanker traffic, resulting in a cut-

(visit the link for the full news article)

This is from another thread i just read.

Obviously it is in the best interest of the us to go back to drilling, gotta build those reserves back up so we can put war with Iran back on the table.

but seriously, Obama's agenda is money, and thats what the oil companies have. Who among us is truly surprised? They can say they will fight this all they want, but we are going to have our oil dependence forced on us anyways.

The president should invoke a state of emergancy , give himself some extra powers, and make his orders stick. A Judge should not have power over emergancy measures employed to prevent catastrophe. A judge is not qualified to say wether the measure is required or not, that should be down to unbiased research by non industry geological experts, and until THEY make a call on the safety of the current operations active at this time, there should be a total stop on drilling.
Judges should preside over crime , they have no business deciding on matters of geological saftey,politics and the like, and they certainly shouldnt have power over and above that of the head of state in emergancy matters.

Hmm, this seems very wrong if one man (the president is also one man, but acts with many others) can overturn a decision by the government. Leaves him very open to...persuasion. Don't know how the US works really, but shouldn't this be done by the supreme court or something?

doesn't the government also get some kind of royalties for allowing these companies access to drill these deep water wells in the first place, read somewhere that it was like 8.5% price of total oil drilled as payment to the U.S.
If that is true then U.S would be losing a great deal of profit by this alone from banning all drilling of thirty odd percent of total nations oil reserves.



[edit on 23-6-2010 by redgy]

Deep water drilling would be ok if government agencies where more careful giving out permits and performing thorough inspections. We cannot trust our fate with oil companies because they are a business and business exists to make money. Naturally some companies may try to cut corners and who can blame them in a captitalist society?

All governments need to stand their ground and do their job properly. I am sick and tired of PAYOFFS TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY! That is why I support strong socialist leaders such as chavez and castro. They are not afraid to fine, imprison or even kill if necessary.

Originally posted by TrueBrit
The president should invoke a state of emergancy , give himself some extra powers, and make his orders stick. A Judge should not have power over emergancy measures employed to prevent catastrophe. A judge is not qualified to say wether the measure is required or not, that should be down to unbiased research by non industry geological experts, and until THEY make a call on the safety of the current operations active at this time, there should be a total stop on drilling.
Judges should preside over crime , they have no business deciding on matters of geological saftey,politics and the like, and they certainly shouldnt have power over and above that of the head of state in emergancy matters.

Indeed they should have declared the oil leak a national emergency after the first week rather than a crisis of national significance. I simply cannot understand why the USA government is trusting BP to fix such a difficult leak, ESPECIALLY AFTER 4 MONTHS, with at best a 50-50 chance.

The russians have successfully nuked 4 oil and/or gas wells shut. As simmons said, all they had to do was drill a parallel hole about 10 feet away and drop the nuclear armament. Even if it failed(IT WOULD NOT) there would be no collateral damage to the gulf states due to distance and depth.

I HEARD THE REASON PRESIDENT OBAMA IS SO INDECISIVE IS BECAUSE HE HAS SIGNED NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATIES WITH MANY NATIONS AND DOES NOT WANT TO MAKE IT APPEAR AS THOUGH THERE ARE ANY EXCEPTIONS!

Sometimes there is good reason for powerful weapons besides using it for terrorism or war. THIS IS ONE OF THEM! Don't be your average lame liberal mr obama, less you be a one term president or worst get impeached by the scummy republicans WHO SUPPORT THE OIL LOBBY.

Think about it and be A MAN, not a 20 year old sissy boy. If BP fails after 4 months and the oil reaches europe EVERYONE WILL HATE YOU! Even the people who voted for you.........

The BP spill isn't the worst thing to happen to the US, despite what the media says. All this will blow over just like the Iraq and the Afghanistan war. The worst has already happened and it has been with you for the last 2 years......OBAMA baby!

reply to post by EarthCitizen07


Regardless of what is done about the crisis as it stands, there does need to be a thorough examination of other rigs and the practices they use to ensure site and ecological saftey . If this can happen once then it can happen again, because as we know its almost impossible to regulate an industry which owns as much of the world as big oil does, and its even harder when the industry provides all the motor vehicular power to run governments and wars and get the product (thats "powerful person " for ordinary workers) to and from thier jobs.
Personaly I think nuking the well shut is a measure which should never be required. Way before the rig exploded , hell way before it was ever built ,BP and or one of the affiliates with responsibility for the running of the rig, ought to have had equipment built to cap the well in the event of a blowout, or better yet,an emergancy pipeline made of carbon nanotubes or some half indestructable stuff, running to the nearest shoreline not home to some serious wildlife. If there was ever a chance of a blowout...DONT DRILL HOLES IN THE DAMNED PLANET would be an ideal choice. The only reason we still rely on oil is because better, cheaper safer cleaner engines and power sources have been buried by powerful oil barrons anyway ! Remember the electric car of the eighties, ran on water? NO ? Thats because oil bought it and stamped on it. Halted the research with money , and now the inventor has copped it anyway .