Success! The Arctic is open for drilling!

[Luminous Animal]

Obama accomplishes what Bush could not:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/24/science/earth/shell-arctic-ocean-drilling-stands-to-open-new-oil-frontier.html?_r=2&hp

The president’s preoccupation with the Arctic proposal, even as the nation was still reeling from the BP spill, was the first hint that Shell’s audacious plan to drill in waters previously considered untouchable had gone from improbable to inevitable.

Barring a successful last-minute legal challenge by environmental groups, Shell will begin drilling test wells off the coast of northern Alaska in July, opening a new frontier in domestic oil exploration and accelerating a global rush to tap the untold resources beneath the frozen ocean.

It is a moment of major promise and considerable danger.

Industry experts and national security officials view the Alaskan Arctic as the last great domestic oil prospect, one that over time could bring the country a giant step closer to cutting its dependence on foreign oil.

But many Alaska Natives and environmental advocates say drilling threatens wildlife and pristine shorelines, and perpetuates the nation’s reliance on dirty fossil fuels.

[Autumn]

1. Well that's going to be a fucking disaster

k/r

[sellitman]

2. How very sad

No words.....

[lonestarnot]

3. Wow. Black Polar bears.

[Auntie Bush]

35. You mean...DEAD black Polar Bears. I cry thinking about it.

If or when there is a spill...I think I'll have a nervous breakdown.

[Luminous Animal]

4. What could go wrong?

The president’s own Deepwater Horizon commission, while not recommending against Arctic drilling, urged the administration in 2011 to exercise the “utmost caution.” In a follow-up report last month, it gave the administration a barely passing grade on preparations for this summer’s drilling, saying that there is still no proven method for cleaning oil spilled in ice and that the Coast Guard lacks an adequate response capability in the region.

[Blecht]

5. Now we can all enjoy lower gas prices!

Because we all know that Exxon and others always share their good fortune with the rest of us!



(This is sarcasm, by the way.)

[patrice]

6. Insanity. Prepare for the end. nt

[progressoid]

7. Now, now, now, let's not get our undies in a bunch.

This is different because, um, this is complicated government stuff, and he's gonna keep an eye on those oil guys, and this is a win for the economy, and, uh, would you prefer McCain/Romney?!? Etc.

[obxhead]

9. Pony!

Apologists in 3...2....

[Luminous Animal]

34. I was hoping that SOMEBODY would show up to defend this. (n/m)

[SammyWinstonJack]

57. heh.

[paulk]

67. they won't bother

their main focus now is just shutting people up (see deleted post above)

[woo me with science]

8. DU Rec

Every damned day there is a new one.

[TheKentuckian]

10. Decades of fending off the barbarians and one of our own just hands it over

Irresponsible, stupid, shortsighted, and no excuse.

[lark]

20. I'm not convinced Obama is one of our own

He's sounded and acted much more Repug than Dem during his first term. He didn't become a Dem again until electin season started. If he wins, will he be a full blooded Repug since he doesn't need to fool us Progressives anymore, or a moderate or a lib? I really don't know? However I do know I don't want Mittens, so will definitely vote Obama, though I don't trust him.

[xchrom]

11. Du rec. Nt

[OnyxCollie]

12. It's rope-a-dope!

President Obama's got the oil companies right where he wants 'em. Another brilliant chess move from a master player. I'm so proud of my President!

Fired up for 2012! Whoo hoo!















Not working. Still can't convince myself. Maybe if I ate paint chips while huffing gas...

[Dragonfli]

28. The paint chips must be old to be effective, I suggest from the peak or dormers of an old

Victorian era home, turn of the century exterior paint never skimped on lead as they liked the richness it added to the color.

Also, there are more effective chemicals to huff, but I will refrain from listing them because the half of the time it doesn't help you to "understand how to move beyond drilling by drilling more" they tend to cause Coma and death.

I am thinking of a surgical approach, I believe an awl tapped through the corner of my eye and into my frontal lobe will allow me the clarity needed to vote for a lesser of two evils that has managed to cause more evil than the more evil choice in at least this one issue regarding arctic plunder.

First I try to visualize how our candidate is a liberal and will seek proven progressive solutions to problems that are only made worse by a Hoover approach, once that becomes untenable;

I try to visualize how a neo-liberal is really much better than a neo-con even tho many of them were/are involved in the same organizations, when that becomes an obvious misinterpretation of what are really very minor differences;

I try to imagine how our party will at least be on board to try to stop the suicidal approach to the environment preferred across the aisle, once that becomes a quixotic task to believe (even under heavy drugs and hypnosis)

I must then admit it doesn't matter who screws us, we should just pick the team that wears our favorite color and enjoy the ride that ends in the same destination only with a differing view along the way, I am saving the awl for this last bit, I am almost there,

I will vote for a full ticket of Democrats thereby getting the Republican policies we all want but with the added value of us doing it to ourselves, in order to smile in a droolingly happy fashion.

It is for the drooling smile at the outcome that the bit of surgery is needed.

Your idea sounds good as well, just remember the quality of the lead in the chips is more helpful than the quantity one can find around new housing, also they taste good with a little brown mustard.

[OnyxCollie]

29. Self-administrered trepanning with a hammer and punch.

Old school.

[chervilant]

14. Bend over,

grasp your ankles, and kiss our species' future goodbye.

[dixiegrrrrl]

18. I did that after all the bad news about Fukishima this month.

Now it is a race to see which ecological disaster is going to do us in first.

[raouldukelives]

15. Investors cheer!

Hopefully they won't feel so bad about Facebook now. This little pick me up should make all the Wall St supporters pleased as punch.

[tawadi]

16. Our environment is for sale to the highest bidder. eom

[sofa king]

17. I am so effing tired of this canard.

"Industry experts and national security officials view the Alaskan Arctic as the last great domestic oil prospect, one that over time could bring the country a giant step closer to cutting its dependence on foreign oil."

There is no way the United States can cut its dependence on foreign oil by using domestic oil. Domestic oil production peaked forty years ago and no new find is going to provide the unlimited supply of light sweet crude our refineries require. We'll have to sell more of our shitty oil to get less good oil from the same damned foreign sources, and then one day, we won't have either of them.

Furthermore, it is strategic folly to exploit our own shitty oil reserves for short-term profit when they are best kept right where they are while we use the oil reserves of our potential enemies, like, oh, the guys who flew planes into a couple of our buildings.

Notice also that the very next paragraph translates to, "But minorities and liberals say drilling is bad!" No, dammit! It's a goddamned national security issue that plays with the lives of hundreds of millions of future Americans.

USING OUR OWN OIL RESERVES IS A THREAT TO OUR FUCKING NATIONAL SECURITY, YOU ASSHOLES AT THE NEW YORK TIMES!

[Auntie Bush]

40. I've been wondering the same thing! WHY don't we save our oil for when there is no

other foreign source. Don't use it till we HAVE to! Then we can consume it ourselves and not sell it to China...plus we'll get a lot more money for it in the future when there's a shortage. But, unfortunately for the Polar Bears and other Arctic creatures... we have too many greedy politicians.

[bhikkhu]

53. That would mean using less

...and as energy is at the foundation of economic growth, it would mean less economic growth and less jobs. Not to mention higher prices for gasoline and fuel oil.

Its easy to oppose oil drilling, but using less oil (and especially the consequences) is a pretty hard sell. The only "good" part is that it is inherently very expensive to operate in the arctic, and like much of the oil on the market now, the price is guaranteed to be pretty high. High prices are one thing that reduces consumption, and we are on a slightly downward trend now:

[sofa king]

64. I don't think domestic production influences prices at all.

I'm not going to try to prove it, but I would not be surprised to learn that even if the US tapped its entire oil production infrastructure, including wells that are too expensive to run, it would not be able to significantly influence the price of oil per barrel.

That problem is compounded by the generally low quality of the crude left to us. As I believe I noted above, most US refineries don't even process US crude; we sell that crap to the Chinese.

So the system is already--and very intentionally--set up to rely on foreign oil production while we keep our own reserves safe for, say, a war in some hotspot area in which international crude shipments can be strangled. If domestic production had been controlled as a strategic asset instead of a vein of profit to be converted into cocaine and snorted by George Bush, we wouldn't be in a position where our own production is powerless to influence the market.

We keep a strategic petroleum reserve sufficient to run the country in wartime for a few weeks or months, but our domestic production and refining capability won't allow us to fight for much longer than that. So in any war where our imports are cut off, we'll have to consider nuking the living shit out of whomever we are fighting in order to keep the war short. Want to guess how that's going to turn out?

That is the kind of national security issue that I'm talking about.

[bhikkhu]

68. Lead time between "discovering" the oil and seeing it at the pump is about 10 years

So this is much more about the long-term, when we know existing wells will be depleted.

As far as the war argument, it would line up more in favor of what is being done now, which is exploration. It takes about 10 years to develop an oil field, and until you explore you don't even know if you have any oil. Not much security in that.

[awoke_in_2003]

19. When will they kill social security?

Saving it for the second term?

[KoKo]

21. SS won't be killed...just wounded to die a very slow death. It will be called "reform to save it."

[Egalitarian Thug]

26. +1

Here's hoping we're wrong.

[stillwaiting]

46. Agreed. They will "Strengthen it". nt

[polichick]

22. Sometimes it seems that right-wing insanity is designed to make...

...moves like this acceptable to Dems.

Compared to them Obama seems almost angelic - even while he continuously pushes right-wing policies.

One corporate party - two faces in order to fool the people.

[woo me with science]

45. *********FINALLY THE ANSWER***********

It SEEMS that way, because it IS that way. That is exactly what they are doing.

That is the beauty, for the one percent, of purchasing into both parties. It is so easy to get people to vote for corporate/right-wing/neocon policies, when the only other option is someone who is even more extreme.

This is the game. They've figured out how to rig it. And this is why we must occupy, get the damned money out of politics, and take our party back.

[stillwaiting]

47. Agree with both of you. It's a shame that we have so many Americans that are motivated by hate...

...to allow this scam to be perpetrated against us.

Without the haters in this country, the Republican Party would not be a viable political party.

[polichick]

52. Yes, the Republican party has been brilliant at playing on...

...the fears of different groups of people - hatred is really just fear in disguise. Through the use of think tanks and fake news networks, they're able to keep stoking the fears and paranoia that enable the powers that be. It's truly EVIL.

[polichick]

51. After decades of activism...

...I'm no longer affiliated with the Democratic party because imo it's really all one big corporate party.

The occupy movement makes me feel hopeful - that and the organizing power of the internet/social media. It's very cool that people all around the world are waking up to the corrupt inequalities that threaten us all. There's hope in numbers!

In the U.S. there seems to be a growing awareness of the fact that we absolutely must get the money out if we are to save this so-called democracy - even Dylan Ratigan has launched his version of this movement.

We'll see...

[Blue_In_AK]

23. Many, many people here have been trying and will continue to try to stop this.

Unfortunately, the Big Oil boys are very powerful, and our governor is a former Conoco-Phillips lobbyist and worked on the legal team that represented Exxon during the VALDEZ lawsuits. Drilling up there is a horrible idea.

[Luminous Animal]

25. I found this petition....

http://act.alaskawild.org/sign/shell_no/?source=home

via here: http://www.alaskawild.org/

Other than the big environmental groups, do you know of any other local orgs that we can amplify?

[dana_b]

36. thank you

I signed the petition although at this point it seems too little too late. I guess it's better to try than to give up. I'll call/e-mail them too (President, my congress people) but from what we are reading here, it doesn't seem too hopeful.

[Blue_In_AK]

38. Several of the Native villages and organizations up there are opposed.

Here's a little info that might help.

http://www.adn.com/2012/02/22/2330982/environmental-native-groups-challenge.html


http://www.adn.com/2012/05/16/2467373/groups-appeal-air-quality-permit.html

http://www.adn.com/2012/04/15/2424853/inupiat-tribal-leader-wins-large.html



among others.

As you can tell from the comments, people here are extremely divided on the issue. Our state runs on oil, unfortunately.

[Luminous Animal]

39. Thanks so much!

[KoKo]

44. Yes...we try ...we've been trying and I have some faint hope that "The People" will succeed.

Those of us in Purple States..(in question going forward) are fighting back as hard as we can ....but given the Sports Fanaticism and the lack of Prosecutions...the minds of most Americans are in the mode of: "Just let me get by and live one day longer to take care of my family and have a break watching whatever takes my mind off the HELL I'm Living through."

We are in a sad state of things these days. It' ain't ever going to be easy, though.

We do what we can do whatever way we can with whatever ability we have as individuals to contribute to the CHANGE ...that will have to come from US...and NOT the TOP DOWN.

We know that know... the rest are just "trying to get by however and by whatever means they have to survive."

We all wished this wouldn't be so....but it is....what it is. Every little act can and will lead eventually to something bigger. There is always that hope. It's been done before through civilization in other times and other places... it needs to be done again. imho.

[Fumesucker]

24. Clearly the oil rigs are just the right height.. n/t

[Auntie Bush]

42. LOL n/t

[Odin2005]

27. Insanity.

[DLevine]

30. Sickening. n/t

[quinnox]

31. so when the inevitable huge oil spill happens (and it will)

and destroys a large chunk of the pristine environment and wildlife up there, we will have a Democratic president to hold responsible and to thank, unbelievable.


Bush must be smiling right now, "I was right all along, I told you so, we need to drill for oil anywhere we can, fuck the environment!"

[stuntcat]

41. and it will

you are right.

Whole world, mark my word, arctic oil spills will happen, and someday a big one.

This is the stuff that makes me sicker than anything.

The only thing I can be happy about anymore is the fact I'm 41.. my time watching this shame is half over.

[Auntie Bush]

43. I've had that thought too. One of the only things that makes me glad to be old is

I don't want to have to witness the future and the pain humans and animals will have to endure. I don't want to see Polar Bears go extinct. I don't want to see the ravages of global warming etc. etc. etc.

[SammyWinstonJack]

58. I wonder how Obama looks at his daughters and then justifies doing something like this?

It's their future he is screwing with.

[Uncle Joe]

32. Make no mistake about it, the few environmental protections, restrictions and trade-offs

that the Obama Administration negotiated for in approving this will be watered down or eliminated with future Republican and to a lesser extent Democratic Administrations coming to power.

The power of oil money lobbying will not stop for quite some time.

This reminds me of the endless number of 19th century treaties negotiated for and then broken by the U.S. government with the Native Americans; as their lands continued to shrink with either every new discovery of mineral wealth or just from the continuous desire for their land and water.

Thanks for the thread, Luminous Animal.

[Fire Walk With Me]

33. ...

[dana_b]

37. and with the methane seeping out, it sets up an

even worse scenario for a potential disaster.

http://news.discovery.com/earth/arctic-sea-methane-leaking-120521.html

[Zorra]

48. Hurrah! The system works! Earth first!

We'll kill the other planets later.

[teddy51]

49. I can't think of a more stupid idea than opening drilling in Alaska! n/t

[felix_numinous]

50. Why can't there be a green initiative

instead of drilling? OK the Earth is heating up and we are being held hostage by oil and nuclear energy money. Money is not life.

[Egalitariat]

54. Drilling in the Arctic is fine with me. But I would suggest a policy that for every well

they sink near a polar bear family, they need to remove 3 wells that are next to an elementary school.

I have spent a lot of time in the Rocky Mountain states and California, and I've seen oil wells in McDonald's parking lots. Those seem like a bigger deal to me than drilling in places where only polar bears live.

Don't get me wrong; I'm not for drilling in untouched, pristine environments. But I do care more about kindergartners than caribou, and I also know that we're always going to drill for oil. Until it's gone.

http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20120518/NEWS/305180028/Windsor-schools-leasing-oil-gas-rights-beneath-elementary-school

[Meiko]

55. where are they drilling at exactly

Does anyone know? I can't find anything.

[Luminous Animal]

61. Camden Bay in the Beaufort Sea about 100 miles from the Canadian border...

http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/infopage/beaufortsea.htm

[Meiko]

63. Thank you so much

I appreciate the link.

[DeSwiss]

56. K&R

[SammyWinstonJack]

59. Money talks....bullshit walks.

[DeSwiss]

60. ''Home, home on the range,

where the debts and derivatives reign.
Where all's seen and heard,
every one of your words,
Cause the Clouds©™ are bugged by NSA.......''

There are two ways of cutting a deficit: raising taxes or reducing spending. Raising taxes means taking money from the rich. Cutting spending means taking money from the poor. Not in all cases of course: some taxation is regressive; some state spending takes money from ordinary citizens and gives it to banks, arms companies, oil barons and farmers. But in most cases the state transfers wealth from rich to poor, while tax cuts shift it from poor to rich.

So the rich, in a nominal democracy, have a struggle on their hands. Somehow they must persuade the other 99% to vote against their own interests: to shrink the state, supporting spending cuts rather than tax rises. In the US they appear to be succeeding. ~ from A Billionaires' Coup in the US by George Monbiot ~

[joshcryer]

62. Another campaign promise kept.

[Karmadillo]

65. Don't worry. If there's a disaster, the president go can on TV to pray for it to come to an end.

http://www.examiner.com/article/president-obama-s-solution-for-the-bp-oil-spill-let-us-pray

<edit>

The biggest thought left in the mind of the listener was the president's repeated calls for prayer and his invocation of god's name. The word 'god' was mentioned three times and the word 'pray' or 'prayer' was mentioned five times at the end of his speech. If the disaster was caused by an act of nature at least one would have understood the motivation of the believers to pray. But, when the oil spill is caused by incompetence of humans, it was totally inexplicable.

While MSNBC is usually a supporter of President Obama's policies, the following video from that cable news organization gives a most incisive and critical analysis of the president's speech. In particular, as mentioned in the video, the health hazards faced by cleanup crews are not being addressed properly.

more...

[hatrack]

66. Now, if we can just get Pebble Mine approval, we can run the table!