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| General Discussion (Everything Else) Discuss anything that doesn't belong in any other forums here. |
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#1
07-02-2010, 12:22 AM
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FYI Guys -n- Gals..Reality ck....
By PAUL H. RUBIN
Destin, Fla. As the oil spill continues and the cleanup lags, we must begin to ask difficult and uncomfortable questions. There does not seem to be much that anyone can do to stop the spill except dig a relief well, not due until August. But the cleanup is a different story. The press and Internet are full of straightforward suggestions for easy ways of improving the cleanup, but the federal government is resisting these remedies. First, the Environmental Protection Agency can relax restrictions on the amount of oil in discharged water, currently limited to 15 parts per million. In normal times, this rule sensibly controls the amount of pollution that can be added to relatively clean ocean water. But this is not a normal time. Various skimmers and tankers (some of them very large) are available that could eliminate most of the oil from seawater, discharging the mostly clean water while storing the oil onboard. While this would clean vast amounts of water efficiently, the EPA is unwilling to grant a temporary waiver of its regulations. View Full Image  Getty Images   Next, the Obama administration can waive the Jones Act, which restricts foreign ships from operating in U.S. coastal waters. Many foreign countries (such as the Netherlands and Belgium) have ships and technologies that would greatly advance the cleanup. So far, the U.S. has refused to waive the restrictions of this law and allow these ships to participate in the effort. The combination of these two regulations is delaying and may even prevent the world's largest skimmer, the Taiwanese owned "A Whale," from deploying. This 10-story high ship can remove almost as much oil in a day as has been removed in total—roughly 500,000 barrels of oily water per day. The tanker is steaming towards the Gulf, hoping it will receive Coast Guard and EPA approval before it arrives. In addition, the federal government can free American-based skimmers. Of the 2,000 skimmers in the U.S. (not subject to the Jones Act or other restrictions), only 400 have been sent to the Gulf. Federal barriers have kept the others on stations elsewhere in case of other oil spills, despite the magnitude of the current crisis. The Coast Guard and the EPA issued a joint temporary rule suspending the regulation on June 29—more than 70 days after the spill. The Obama administration can also permit more state and local initiatives. The media endlessly report stories of county and state officials applying federal permits to perform various actions, such as building sand berms around the Louisiana coast. In some cases, they were forbidden from acting. In others there have been extensive delays in obtaining permission. As the government fails to implement such simple and straightforward remedies, one must ask why. More One possibility is sheer incompetence. Many critics of the president are fond of pointing out that he had no administrative or executive experience before taking office. But the government is full of competent people, and the military and Coast Guard can accomplish an assigned mission. In any case, several remedies require nothing more than getting out of the way. Another possibility is that the administration places a higher priority on interests other than the fate of the Gulf, such as placating organized labor, which vigorously defends the Jones Act. Finally there is the most pessimistic explanation—that the oil spill may be viewed as an opportunity, the way White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said back in February 2009, "You never want a serious crisis to go to waste." Many administration supporters are opposed to offshore oil drilling and are already employing the spill as a tool for achieving other goals. The websites of the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace, for example, all feature the oil spill as an argument for forbidding any further offshore drilling or for any use of fossil fuels at all. None mention the Jones Act. To these organizations and perhaps to some in the administration, the oil spill may be a strategic justification in a larger battle. President Obama has already tried to severely limit drilling in the Gulf, using his Oval Office address on June 16 to demand that we "embrace a clean energy future." In the meantime, how about a cleaner Gulf? Mr. Rubin, a professor of economics at Emory University, held several senior positions in the federal government in the 1980s. Since 1991 he has spent his summers on the Gulf. Jimmy 
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#3
07-02-2010, 12:52 AM
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I see "A Whale Super Tanker" on the news tonight in the N.O. area so something positive must be happening...Testing will be allowed thank God....I pray for the success for the Whale and hope many more type vessels will be deployed to our Gulf waters.....The above article may have help in some lil way to give way to red tape and selfishness of Obama's agenda along with the
Greenies... I'm saddened every day I go to the P-cola beach and see very lil clean up effort outside the main tourist areas...I'm talking about areas of the beach to the furthest most east and west of the attractions but recent storm waves have covered all beaches up in the crude....no denying the affects...but clean up crews in tourist areas are working 24/7 in hope our visiting friends don't cancell their reservations....so pls, give me a shout for a first hand report of our beaches if you have any doubt of visiting...we have so much to offer and hurting because of the negative SOB'S news coverage from yankees that never seen a friggin beach...they just enjoy the hipe like Jim C from the weather channel when the wind blows... I committed just last week to a New York reporter while eating FREE OYSTERS behind the Hampton Inn at the Tiki Hut "Gilligan's"to take him out to catch n release Red Snapper and see the oil first hand if he would be straight up reporting and tell the damn truth...he was a great guy and promised he would....trip planned next week, so I'll be sure to post a report for the Salty Cajun if sea/oil condiions allow.... Thanks for reading my La friends!!!!! I pray for us all!!!!!!!! CHEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Jimmy
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#4
07-02-2010, 06:47 AM
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I received that e-mail 2 weeks ago. That's how long the feds have been stalling and foot dragging. I have to agree with Hebert. They want this spill to be catastophic so they can say "We told you so" to continue their push for 'Cap and Trade' and more goverment control over the oil companies just like they're doing to the banking industry. Thanks for the report and please continue to keep us posted. I hardly know anyone in Louisiana that does not make an annual summer trip to either Gulf Shores, P-Cola, Destin or Panama City. I also know how heavily reliant y'all are on tourism. We will continue to pray for you and the entire Gulf coast...
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#6
07-02-2010, 08:47 AM
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Quote:
__________________
The cops are the experts on the current criminal trends. If they have determined that a “high capacity” semiautomatic pistol and a .223 semiautomatic rifle with 30-round magazines are the best firearms for them to use to protect people like me and my family, they are obviously the best things for us to use to protect ourselves and our families . Last edited by SULPHITE; 07-02-2010 at 08:58 AM.
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#9
07-02-2010, 02:19 PM
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#10
07-02-2010, 02:20 PM
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I believe salty understands the severity of your situation.
__________________
The cops are the experts on the current criminal trends. If they have determined that a “high capacity” semiautomatic pistol and a .223 semiautomatic rifle with 30-round magazines are the best firearms for them to use to protect people like me and my family, they are obviously the best things for us to use to protect ourselves and our families .
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#13
07-02-2010, 02:22 PM
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Quote:
 not that i blame him
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