Gulf Coast Deja vu!

If there is one thing that we have learned it is that history repeats itself. Over the past thirty some odd years the oil companies have made exactly zero progress. They continue to use the exact same primitive technology which produces no results. We should think that a multi-billion dollar operation would have the best and brightest minds at work, or at least on standby in case of catastrophe. Not even close!

In June of 1979 we had our first major spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil company (now Transocean)  attempted to prevent further disaster with "Operation Sombrero". Sound familiar? After this failed, they proceeded to try several other methods including shooting metal spheres into the damaged pipe, plugging it with mud and cement, etc. They also used the same non-environmentally friendly chemical dispersants to break up the surface oil and move it further down in the water column, producing fatal results for any marine life unlucky enough to reside there.

It's almost comic relief to watch the BP executives come on the television every day and provide more excuses for their failed experiments. Word to the wise, it didn't work then in 200 feet of water, it's definitely not going to work now in 5000 feet of water. The only solution that worked was the relief wells which we are still months away from. It would make sense that oil companies would spend a hefty sum of money on research and development to avoid looking like clowns when disaster strikes. Once again not the case.

I'm not naive enough to think that offshore drilling is somehow going to stop tomorrow. I happen to agree with the current administrations plan of making oil part of our long term solution while spurring progress in renewable energy technology. It is the only long term solution. Period.

Gulf Coast Oil-Spill: No Methods To the Madness

If you are anything like me, you couldn't help but laugh when you saw this picture. However, the reality is that we are in the middle of a major environmental crisis. Everyone seems to be playing the blame game, pointing the finger at someone else. At this point it doesn't really matter who's at fault.  The only thing that really matters is getting the oil out of the Gulf of Mexico.

What's not funny, is the lack of technical expertise on the part of everyone involved. Most of the methods I have seen to clean up and contain the spill are primitive at best. From golf balls and rubber tires, to alpaca fur and hay. The latest reports say that they are willing to accept ideas from anyone who has one. My intuition tells me that you probably shouldn't be drilling a mile beneath the surface if you have no clue as what to do if something should go wrong. But then again, if you have billions upon billions of dollars you can probably sidestep a little red tape dealing with safety measures.

On top of an already horrible accident, they are now spraying  dispersants onto the surface to further pollute the environment. I was under the impression that human-kind and technology had come along way over the past 100 years or so. Apparently I was wrong!