The most interesting report I've seen about the oil leak -- oops! I mean oil spill

[Notes_Norton]

 

What do you think about this?

 

Notes

[Flight959]

That woman is talking like everone listening is 5yrs old! Only made in 45% through...

[grampa]

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

[Kimbabig]

Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.

 

 

If you fail history of course you have to take it again next year.

[SGSpecialguy]

I find that video incredible actually,, that they are using technology that FAILED 30 yrs ago in 200ft of water,, they already KNOW that it wasnt going to work,, this is all just a stalling plan, pulling the covers over the publics eyes to make people THINK they know what they are doing when they knew all along that it wouldnt work or that they hadnt made ANY strides to better improve themselves for emergencies such as this,, while like she said they became the RICHEST industry in the world !!! It infuriates me to no end !!!!

[EVOL!]

That woman is talking like everone listening is 5yrs old! Only made in 45% through...

 

That's just her style. Most people like it or hate it. But trust me, she knows what she's talking about.

[Jantha]

Interesting for sure.

 

Other than being a sarcastic ***... I'm not really sure she even has a point. I think it's ludicrous to assume that techniques that failed at one point in time will automatically fail 30 years later under different circumstances.

 

I will say though.. it sure does seem like something fishy is going on. I just can't believe some of the stupid mistakes these guys have made in trying to contain this leak.

[cookieman15061]

But trust me.

[biggrin] [biggrin] [biggrin] [biggrin]

[swleary]

I watched it, still pisses me off about oil leaks...time to find alternatives..just sayin

[Notes_Norton]

<...>time to find alternatives..just sayin

 

I don't particularly agree with her style' date=' she is talking down to the public, but on the other hand, I think a great deal of the public needs baby talk to understand.

 

Yes it's time to find alternatives, "cap and trade" would help, but the politicians sponsored by the oil companies don't want that and have hired a lot of media mouths to tell us how bad this will be for us, and the dittoheads simply repeat it until it seems true. But this is a sure way to decrease our dependence on oil and increase the investment in alternative forms of energy.

 

Not only do we need to invest in alternatives, we need to stop wasting oil and use as little as possible.

 

1) Trade in the Escalade, Hummer, Expedition, or whatever and get either a 4 cylinder car or better yet a hybrid - do it now - and if you can, get one built in the USA

 

2) Accelerate slowly and try to use your brakes as little as possible. I get 100 miles more per tankful by driving this way (see [u']http://www.nortonmusic.com/environment.html[/u] for more details)

 

3) Quit taking those plastic supermarket bags home, plastic is made from oil. If you have an alternative in any product, choose the one that isn't plastic.

 

4) Buy locally grown food when possible. Trucking those cantaloupes from Guatemala or California to Florida uses a lot of gas

 

5) When buying something on the Internet, choose the post office for delivery, they are going to pass your house anyway so you won't be using extra fuel to get your product to you by asking a UPS, FedEx or DHL truck to make the trip.

 

There is a lot more you can do, this is just a start.

 

The three R's say it best, Refuse, Re-use, and Recycle.

 

It's not about saving the Earth, it's about saving ourselves.

[SGSpecialguy]

I don't particularly agree with her style' date=' she is talking down to the public,

[/quote']

 

ya know, I didnt get that impression from her at all,, I think her delivery is was more targeted at the Oil companies not the public

[Notes_Norton]

I missed a couple of very good ways to save oil.

 

I live in Florida where lawn maintenance goes on all year.

 

Best would be to nuke the lawn and plant xeriscape shrubs and trees instead.

 

But if you must

 

1) Do not allow a leaf blower on your property. A broom is actually easier than toting that machine on your back while it roars and harms your hearing, uses precious oil, and emits noxious fumes

 

2) Don't use a riding lawn mower. If you can't push a small engine mower, get a self-propelled one that you need to walk behind. The walking will probably do you good and instead of a 25 or more hp engine, you can do 5hp or less

 

3) Not quite lawn related, but garden related. I see people trimming palm trees with chain saws. This is the equivalent to using a bazooka to kill a fly. It is very easy to use a hand pruner, it weighs much less, and does the job quicker. And in addition, you don't need to trim palm trees, according to the Native Plant Society, it's bad for the tree. They will prune themselves.

 

The only way to minimize both the damage and obscene profits generated by the oil industry is to use less of the stuff. If we can find an alternative, do it. If not, conserve it.

 

Insights and incites by Notes ?

[TommyK]

I missed a couple of very good ways to save oil.

 

I live in Florida where lawn maintenance goes on all year.

 

Best would be to nuke the lawn and plant xeriscape shrubs and trees instead.

Sounds like a good plan

But if you must

 

1) Do not allow a leaf blower on your property. A broom is actually easier than toting that machine on your back while it roars and harms your hearing' date=' uses precious oil, and emits noxious fumes

[/quote']Imagine that. Using technology takes more time and effort. (This is why I watch the evening news on free TV and keep my set of Funk and Wagnals. Faster and cheaper I avoid cordless power tools because I don't use them enough to keep the batteries in good rechargable condition. My wife and I have been using clothes line to dry our clothes since we first bought the place 15 years ago. Our neighbors were astonished that we still did it the old fashioned way. With the right breeze, the clothes dry faster than in the mechanical dryer, and, the clothes smell better and last longer. Now it is 'fashionable' to use a solar clothes drier. Finally! Fashion as caught up to me!

 

]2) Don't use a riding lawn mower. If you can't push a small engine mower, get a self-propelled one that you need to walk behind. The walking will probably do you good and instead of a 25 or more hp engine, you can do 5hp or less

What this world needs is a good battery powered, self propelled lawn mower. A battery that lasts at least 2 hours. I can do my lawn, pushing a 5 hp one lunger in 90 minutes. I think my lawn is average.

Did you know that the lion's share of air pollution in large megalopolises comes from single cylinder engines? The worst polluter? PWCs.

3) Not quite lawn related, but garden related. I see people trimming palm trees with chain saws. This is the equivalent to using a bazooka to kill a fly. It is very easy to use a hand pruner, it weighs much less, and does the job quicker. And in addition, you don't need to trim palm trees, according to the Native Plant Society, it's bad for the tree. They will prune themselves.

They do make electric saws, if you really need them. If the gas power sawyers are 'professional' tree surgeons... I suspect they are just out to make a buck any way they can. Won't be the first time someone's performed an unneeded services for a fee.

 

The only way to minimize both the damage and obscene profits generated by the oil industry is to use less of the stuff. If we can find an alternative, do it. If not, conserve it.

 

Insights and incites by Notes ?

 

 

Ouch! that hurts!

 

 

 

They could probably let that reporter go and just re-run the 1979 tape. Maybe they could call her in once a day to do a voice over, over the name of the Mexican oil well with "Deep Water Horizon"

[Notes_Norton]

We too use the solar clothes dryer. It's free, the sunlight kills unwanted bacteria, and the clothes are fresh smelling without chemical perfumes.

 

We don't use the air conditioner. We have a great insulating roof which is painted white. We open the windows and use fans if needed. We do turn it on for about 10 hours per year just to keep it from locking up and generally either when guests arrive or when we have the hottest afternoons in late August (whichever comes first).

 

We do not buy bottled water in plastic jugs. Instead we distill our well water and add minerals. It costs less than bottled water, less energy is produced in the distillation than to make the plastic jugs or transport the water to the grocery store, and we store them in re-usable glass bottles.

 

I don't use battery operated tools, and use hand tools whenever I can.

 

And then some.

 

Notes

[charlie brown]

We've had the technology, and know how, to be completely energy self-sufficient,

without Oil...ours, or theirs...since the late 1940's! But, when there is so much money,

to be made, in the "Orul Bidness"...we, and our various societies, will be under the gun

(sometimes quite literally), of "Big Oil" and all it's related industies, for some time to

come....IMHO. I live in the center of the "Wind Belt," and JUST now, they're starting to

use wind turbines, to generate energy a bit more. But, it's far from being to the point of

self-sufficient. In fact, a lot of that energy is sold, to other states...not even our own.

It's all about MONEY, and...always has been. Until alternate sources of energy technologies

are the "cash cows" that Big Oil is...nothing much, will change...at least not very quickly.

 

CB

[EVOL!]

... I'm not really sure she even has a point. I think it's ludicrous to assume that techniques that failed at one point in time will automatically fail 30 years later under different circumstances.

 

She does have a point and you missed it. Ms. Maddow is saying that we had the exact disaster decades ago and we are no better equipped to handle it now than we were back then. You also have BP bragging about how advanced they are technologically, but all they are more advanced in is drilling in deeper water. They are no farther in safety measures than they were 30+ years ago.

[EVOL!]

Anyone else been following this on Twitter? - http://twitter.com/bpglobalpr

[TommyK]

I don't twit.

[flyingarmadillo]

Y'all do realize that you're sitting here complaining about oil while using a product that's about 90% petroleum based, right? CB - you said you're in the wind belt - can you explain to me how digging a hole 50 feet across and 50 feet deep then filling it with concrete is environmentally sound? And you do realize that that wind farms are energy sinks - they take more to build and maintain than they save energy produced. Those 135 foot blades are carbon fiber - which is 100% derived from oil - lots of it. Lots' of them are granted exceptions to environmental laws and most are in violation of the migratory bird act/treaty. We're not even going to mention the fact that there are known (bad) enviromental effects from putting up towers that high - the industry and government both refuse to conduct studies to see just how bad the effect is. (I worked for an engineering firm that was siting and constructing wind farms - If you think the oil business bought off people you should hang out with the wind people some time. At least the royalties on oil are reasonably fair (15-25% off the top for the mineral owner) - the wind industry pays about 1% of what oil pays to land owners and oil at least cleans up when they leave (do you really believe the wind farm guys are gonna fix a 50 foot deep hole?) You're not going to get around oil even if we stop burning it - there are no good substitutes for it. Nuke is the greenest technology, but even it has some disposal problems.

[charlie brown]

Y'all do realize that you're sitting here complaining about oil while using a product that's about 90% petroleum based' date=' right? CB - you said you're in the wind belt - can you explain to me how digging a hole 50 feet across and 50 feet deep then filling it with concrete is environmentally sound? And you do realize that that wind farms are energy sinks - they take more to build and maintain than they save energy produced. Those 135 foot blades are carbon fiber - which is 100% derived from oil - lots of it. Lots' of them are granted exceptions to environmental laws and most are in violation of the migratory bird act/treaty. We're not even going to mention the fact that there are known (bad) enviromental effects from putting up towers that high - the industry and government both refuse to conduct studies to see just how bad the effect is. (I worked for an engineering firm that was siting and constructing wind farms - If you think the oil business bought off people you should hang out with the wind people some time. At least the royalties on oil are reasonably fair (15-25% off the top for the mineral owner) - the wind industry pays about 1% of what oil pays to land owners and oil at least cleans up when they leave (do you really believe the wind farm guys are gonna fix a 50 foot deep hole?) You're not going to get around oil even if we stop burning it - there are no good substitutes for it. Nuke is the greenest technology, but even it has some disposal problems. [/quote']

 

Work for the Oil Business, do you?! :>)

 

CB

[flyingarmadillo]

I've worked in all of them - 15 years in oil, 2 years wind, 7 years nuke, 2 years geothermal, 7 years general environmental (mostly atmospheric science and climatology) and I ran a bike shop for 2 years.

[charlie brown]

Cool!!

 

CB

[Notes_Norton]

I'm not wild about large scale wind or solar.

 

They both work best at each person's house. Small non-bird-lethal turbines and PV cells on everyone's roof, with back feed to the grid.

 

See http://www.inhabitat.com/2006/11/15/quiet-revolution-wind-turbine/ for local wind

 

Of course the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow all the time, which is why we will still need the power company. But we can minimize our consumption that way.

 

But the power company does not want us to have power generating at our homes. Why? It cuts into their profits. So instead they want to build giant wind and solar farms.

 

There is a company in the US that designed a Mag-Lev turbine, that will power in 100 acres what a conventional wind farm would in 64,000 acres, plus it isn't invisible to the migratory birds. They work in lighter winds too.

 

Too bad the US companies aren't building one, China is.

 

http://www.inhabitat.com/2007/11/26/super-powered-magnetic-wind-turbine-maglev/

 

The company is based in Arizona.

 

Check it out, it's quite impressive. And send the page to your congress-person.

 

 

Insights and incites by Notes

[flyingarmadillo]

I'll agree with you on the small scale wind, but not PV cells - they're a huge energy minus. They never generate as much as what it takes to manufacture and maintain them. If they could last twice as long, maybe, but the environmental effects of the chemicals involved in making them still make oil look like lemonaide by comparison, plus they still reflect and radiate heat back into the atmosphere if you're worried about atmospheric warming. Mag-Lev is interesting, the technology has been proposed for a long time. I won't comment on what it takes to make neodium magnets since they sometimes get used in guitar pickups...