Screw the Environment - BP and the Audacity of Greed

[Octafish]

If you like what Big Oil has done to the Gulf of Mexico, you're going to love what's in store for Arctic Ocean.



A pod of Belugas enjoying life in the Arctic Ocean. Image: National Geographic

Screw the Environment

BP and the Audacity of Greed

By DAVE LINDORFF
CounterPunch
May 24, 2010

Even as BP’s blown well a mile beneath the surface in the Gulf of Mexico continues to gush forth an estimated 70,000 barrels of oil a day into the sea, and the fragile wetlands along the Gulf begin to get coated with crude, which is also headed into the Gulf Stream for a trip past the Everglades and on up the East Coast, the company is demanding that Canada lift its tight rules for drilling in the icy Beaufort Sea portion of the Arctic Ocean.

In an incredible display of corporate arrogance, BP is claiming that a current safety requirement that undersea wells drilled during the newly ice-free summer must also include a side relief well, so as to have a preventive measure in place that could shut down a blown well, is “too expensive” and should be eliminated.

Yet clearly, if the US had had such a provision in place, the Deepwater Horizon blowout could have been shut down right almost immediately after it blew out, just by turning of a valve or two, and then sealing off the blown wellhead.

A relief well is ”too expensive”?

CONTINUED...

http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff05242010.html

I know, I know. The empire needs the money.

[SammyWinstonJack]

1. K & R

[Octafish]

12. What people are forgetting...

Once oiled, beaches never really recover -- at least in a normal human lifespan.



Publicity Stunt, Prince William Sound, Alaska, 1989

Exxon Valdez cleanup holds lessons for Gulf oil spill

Oil from the Exxon Valdez spill in Alaska in 1989 may take centuries to disappear, says Exxon. How long will the Gulf oil spill linger?

By Yereth Rosen, / Correspondent / May 13, 2010
Christian Science Monitor

Two decades after the Exxon Valdez supertanker ran aground and ripped open its cargo tanks, the spill still marks Alaska's environment. Pockets of fresh crude are buried in beaches scattered around Prince William Sound and segments outside it, in isolated spots along more than 1,200 miles of coastline that received oil in 1989.

The discovery confounded earlier predictions that remnant crude would quickly weather and disperse as waves washed it into the sea.

"At this rate, the remaining oil will take decades and possibly centuries to disappear entirely," concluded the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, the federal-state panel that administers the $900 million civil settlement struck in 1991 between the governments and Exxon for natural resource damages.

The lingering oil was a revelation to scientists like Gail Irvine of the United States Geological Survey (USGS), who found some still-fresh crude hundreds of miles away from Bligh Reef, along the Alaska Peninsula far outside Prince William Sound. "I was surprised," she says. "It was still goopy and aromatic. It was not asphalt."

CONTINUED...

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2010/0513/Exxon-Valdez-cleanup-holds-lessons-for-Gulf-oil-spill

I know you know, SammyWinstonJack. This is news to many, many others...

[laughingliberal]

2. K & R nt

[Octafish]

5. Side Relief Well

Sounds expensive.



If they buy bulk, maybe they can qualify for a discount.

Engineering: What a concept.

[Vincardog]

3. Fuck BP and the political whores they rode in on

[Octafish]

6. Glad you mentioned that...

BP Ramps Up its Political Influence



PR Watch
Source: Washington Post, May 6, 2010

BP's former chief executive, John Browne, used to brag about his company's relative lack of political involvement and said he purposely shied away from spending too much on lobbying and political donations, but all that has changed. Since Tony Hayward took over as CEO of BP in 2007, the company has greatly increased its spending on American politics. BP has mobilized a massive lobbying machine in Washington, D.C., and since January, 2009, has poured almost $20 million into lobbying the federal government. The company has also hired powerhouse lobbyists like Tony Podesta, former White House chief of staff under Bill Clinton, and Kenneth M. Duberstein, former chief of staff to Ronald Reagan. BP's political action committee has ramped up its contributions to lawmakers of both parties, and especially to representatives from oil-drilling states like Louisiana and Alaska. Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu (D) has accepted over $15,000 in PAC contributions and thousands more from BP employees. Earlier this year, Landrieu said at a hearing that the risks of offshore drilling were "minimal," and even since the spill, she has cautioned against curtailing offshore drilling.

[fascisthunter]

8. ....

[blindpig]

19. You'll have that with capitalism.

All of the incentive in the world...

[flamingdem]

4. BP needs to be TARRED and feathered and then PLUCKED nt

[Octafish]

13. That'd be a cost of doing business.

Fair trade, though, isn't part of Big Oil's vocabulary.

BP and its Environmental Record

Pacific Views
August 11, 2006

EXCERPT...

The annoucement about the Prudoe bay pipeline reminded me of another story I read back in March. Back then, a very large spill was found on the pipeline that indicated not all was well.

The spill was discovered early Thursday morning by BP operators visually inspecting lines, Beaudo said. He was not sure how long it took to respond but said the line was quickly blocked and depressurized.

BP workers also shut down Gathering Center 2 in response. Gathering centers separate oil from water and other materials that come out of the ground during drilling.

The spill was about a mile from the gathering center, which processes about 100,000 barrels of Prudhoe Bay's daily production of 470,000 barrels. That oil is fed into the 800-mile trans-Alaska pipeline, which provides nearly 17 percent of domestic oil production and carries about 850,000 barrels per day from all sources.

The spill was not detected by automated leak detection systems, which are geared to automatically shut down pipelines during catastrophic failures.

"They are not necessarily as sensitive to very small leaks at any one time," Beaudo said.

Air monitors measuring high levels of hydrocarbons kept crews away Thursday morning. Beaudo said there could have been an explosion risk as well as a breathing risk for workers.

Even then back in March, Chuck Hamel, a oil industry critic, indicated that the leak was much bigger than BP had admitted and the problem was poor maintenance.

CONTINUED...

http://www.pacificviews.org/weblog/archives/002130.html

Thank you for caring, FlamingDem. The plucking part may prove interesting.

[Uncle Joe]

7. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Octafish.

[Octafish]

15. Big Oil Misers

Bet that those who opposed the oil depletion allowance probably aren't in favor of nationalizing the energy sector.

Big Oil cleared nearly $600 billion in profits during the Cheney years.

Big Oil Misers

Like other big oil companies, Exxon spends millions of dollars on promoting a clean, green image while spending very little on investments in clean-energy technologies and fuels.

By Daniel J. Weiss, Alexandra Kougentakis | March 31, 2009

It should come as no surprise that last year’s record high oil prices also led to near record profits for big oil companies. The price of oil climbed from January 2 to July 14, 2008, repeatedly setting new price records until it peaked at $147 per barrel—more than twice the price of the previous year. The big five oil companies—BP, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, ExxonMobil, and Shell—made record profits during the first three quarters of 2008 due to these record prices. When oil prices collapsed along with the world’s economies, the oil companies’ profits were reduced, too. However, the big five companies still made a combined profit of $100 billion for 2008 ^ (see note below). The sum is the second-highest combined big oil profit on record, exceeded only by the 2007 combined total of $123 billion.

The 2008 big oil profits bring the grand total under the two terms of the Bush administration to $656 billion, which is nearly two-thirds of a trillion dollars. Given the urgency to restart the economy with clean energy investments, and the need to slash U.S. oil use, you would expect these wealthy energy companies to be taking steps to develop new clean-energy technologies and fuels to address these economic and security concerns. Despite their soaring earnings, the big five companies were very stingy with investments in renewable and low-carbon energy technologies and fuels that would reduce oil dependence. In fact, a CAP analysis of their investments reveals that the big five oil companies invested just 4 percent of their total 2008 profits in renewable and alternative energy ventures. This reality contrasts with their ads that promote greener, cleaner images.

After oil prices hit a record last July, the August unemployment rate hit a five-year high of 6.1 percent and has continued to rise. Some jobs losses were directly related to high oil prices, such as in the aviation industry, which was forced to make major cuts to be able to handle the high price of jet fuel. Further, as households were forced to cut back on spending to keep up with exorbitant gas prices, sectors such as retail also purged payrolls. In June 2008, CNN reported that “many economists say job losses could intensify during the rest of the year due to rising energy prices.”

ExxonMobil, the largest publicly-traded American corporation, accounted for nearly half the 2008 oil profits. With over $45 billion in net income for 2008, Exxon earned the equivalent of nearly $150 for every U.S. resident. Despite being the highest earner of all the oil companies, ExxonMobil invested the least in renewable energy—less than 1 percent compared to its 2008 profits. It also invested the least in absolute dollars.

While oil prices steeply declined in the fourth quarter last year, all but one of the Big Five saw net profits in excess of $20 billion. These enormous profits were primarily due to record prices at the pump, which squeezed the budgets of everyday Americans. The big oil companies were worried about the impact of these huge profits on their images while Americans were bearing the burden of record prices. So to soften the public’s perception, these companies launched a green public relations offensive to convince the public that they were part of the energy solution, instead of part of the energy problem.

CONTINUED...

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2009/03/big_oil_misers.html

PS: You are most welcome, Uncle Joe! Thank you for caring, my Friend.

[H2O Man]

9. 1983 Recommendation

"... oh say can you see its really such a mess
every inch of earth is a fighting nest
giant pencil and lip-stick tube shaped things
continue to rain and cause screaming pain
and the arctic stains
from silver blue to bloody red
as our feet find the sand
and the sea is strait ahead..
strait ahead.....
well its too bad
that our friends
cant be with us today
well thats too bad
"the machine
that we built
would never save us"
thats what they say
(thats why they aint coming with us today)
and they also said
"its impossible for man
to live and breath underwater..
forever" was their main complaint..."
-- Jimi Hendrix; 1983 (A Mermaid I Should Turn to Be)

[Octafish]

11. That's my favorite song.

And that includes the long hair hoo-stuff, too.



"...to salute our last moment ever on dry land..."

PS: I listened to "Machine Gun" to, eh, mark this New Year.

[bobthedrummer]

10. K&R

NGU...

[Octafish]

16. Oil companies have a rich history of U.S. subsidies

Government of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations...

Oil companies have a rich history of U.S. subsidies

Some say the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe can be linked to Congress' policy of oil-friendly tax breaks and financial benefits.

By Kim Geiger and Tom Hamburger, Tribune Washington Bureau
May 25, 2010
Los Angeles Times

EXCERPT...

The royalty waiver program was established by Congress in 1995, when oil was selling for about $18 a barrel and drilling in deep water was seen as unprofitable without a subsidy. Today, oil sells for about $70 a barrel, but the subsidy continues.

The Government Accountability Office estimates that the deep-water waiver program could cost the Treasury $55 billion or more in lost revenue over the life of the leases, depending on the price of oil and gas and the performances of the wells.

Congress had originally intended to provide royalty relief only when oil prices were especially low. But an Interior Department error in the drafting of contracts in the 1990s led the industry to argue against pegging the relief to oil prices.

Oil companies won a lawsuit last year requiring the government to pay back $2.1 billion in royalties from previous years, including about $240 million to BP.

An increasing number of analysts say the waiver program has pushed drilling into fragile and remote areas where emergency response plans were inadequate.

CONTINUED...

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-oil-spill-subsidies-20100525,0,1705123.story

You know it, my Friend. More fun stuff to do with my time than this. NGU's the only reason I haven't quit.

[amborin]

14. K&R

[Octafish]

25. Big Oil knows liability law: First thing for survivors returning to land were drug tests.

Unbelievable:

After a long voyage — punctuated by two stops at offshore facilities for medical supplies, water and “tobacco products” — the vessel carrying the survivors arrived in Port Fourchon, La., at 1:27 a.m. April 22. Officials of Transocean, which owned and operated the Deepwater Horizon, and BP, which leased it, immediately required urine tests of survivors, he said.

SOURCE: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/7000866.html

[laughingliberal]

17. Kick nt

[Octafish]

26. Oil industry lobbying spending triples in decade

Oil industry lobbying, donations may have contributed to lax regulatory climate

EXCERPT...

Just last year, the oil and gas industry reported spending $169 million in lobbying expenses — nearly eight times the $21.9 million spent by the environmental movement. BP spent $15.9 million in 2009, ranking second behind ConocoPhillips, according to the nonpartisan watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics.

Source: Texas on the Potomac (link above)

[inna]

18. K&R

Thanks for this thread.

[autorank]

20. k*r !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[chill_wind]

21. K & R. Unbelievable. A never-ending bad dream!

[DemReadingDU]

22. morning kick

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

23. K&R!

[Starry Messenger]

24. West coast morning kick.

[HCE SuiGeneris]

27. K & R

[Soylent Brice]

28. Error: you can only recommend threads which were started in the past 24 hours

KICK