GULF OIL DISASTER
U.S. Forms Criminal Task Force on Deepwater Horizon Disaster
BOEMRE to Hold Industry Workshop on Plan Processing
"The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) today announced that it will host a one-day workshop in New Orleans [on March 25] to discuss standards and requirements for exploration and development plans, with an emphasis on the new safety requirements that have been implemented over the past six months."
Gulf of Mexico Oil Rigs
Nice video and graphics
West Coast lawmakers resist call for new offshore drilling
"For Boxer and others from the region, the 1969 oil blowout off Santa Barbara left an indelible mark . "We cannot afford to put California's coastal economy at risk by drilling offshore," Boxer said in a statement, adding that close to 390,000 California jobs and $23 billion in annual economic activity depend on a pristine coastline.
Her cosponsors have similar concerns.
"The Oregon coast supports thousands of jobs - jobs in the fishing, tourism and related industries - that would be put at jeopardy in the event of an oil spill," said Merkley spokeswoman Julie Edwards.
"The negligible amount of oil available does not warrant the threats to Oregon's coastal economy and is so small it doesn't contribute to independence from foreign oil. We also have a long history of protecting our coast, and any effort that might cause harm to those areas goes against that tradition."
"We are not yet so desperate that we must tear down the cathedral for firewood," [Richard] Charter said of the Pacific coastline, calling it "one of the most spectacular in the world.""
Oil spill at Rincon, near Faria Beach
"At approximately 9:30 a.m. (March 8), an onlooker reported an oil spill coming from Rincon Creek onto the beach around one mile south of Seacliff exit at the Ventura County line. Ventura County Fire Department Division Chief Bryan Vanden Bossche said that emergency response officials were trying to isolate the leak up the canyon. Officials were employing a special dam technique that would block the oil while allowing water to continue to flow to the ocean. Vanden Bossche said that around 200 gallons had flowed into the ocean by 10:30 a.m., but admitted it was probably a low estimate."
AUSTRALIA
Shell keen to drill for oil and gas off proposed WA heritage reef
"Global petroleum giant Shell has applied to start drilling for oil and gas less than 50km from the edge of Western Australia's prized Ningaloo Reef, which the federal government has nominated for World Heritage listing.
The move for the deepwater drilling to a depth of 5650m puts Shell on a collision course with environmentalists, who say exploring near the Ningaloo Marine Park is fraught with danger because of the risk of oil spills and the prevalence of rare marine life, including the famed whale sharks."
THE FUTURE
There are No Good Outcomes
"There are no good outcomes, only bad, really bad, and catastrophic. Take your pick. Could gas prices drop below $3.00 per gallon if the world sinks back into recession? Yes. But it would only be momentary. The easy to access supply is dwindling. The medium and long term direction of gas at the pump is up. There is nothing that can be done in the next five years to prevent significantly higher oil prices. A full court press of realistic ideas like converting our truck fleets to natural gas, a major effort to build nuclear power plants, more drilling, greater use of wind, geothermal, and solar would take at least a decade to have an impact. There is no consensus or resolve to undertake such an effort. Therefore, Americans will suffer the consequences."
