The Cleanup That Wasn't
May 6, 2010 7:19 AM Subscribe
"[C]ontaining spilled oil is really quite simple and easy [...] but not at all cheap. And BP is cheap. Deadly cheap." Investigative journalist Greg Palast (wiki), who investigated the Exxon-Valdez spill, on how it and the Gulf spill could have been managed:
"Slick Operator: The BP I've Known Too Well"
And in a related bit of ick from Wired: "Toxic Oil Dispersant Used in Gulf Despite Better Alternative"
"Slick Operator: The BP I've Known Too Well"
And in a related bit of ick from Wired: "Toxic Oil Dispersant Used in Gulf Despite Better Alternative"
This post was deleted for the following reason: Maybe add this to the thread from a few days ago? -- cortex
To contain a spill, the main thing you need is a lot of rubber, long skirts of it called "boom." Quickly surround a spill or leak or burst, then pump it out into skimmers or disperse it, sink it or burn it. Simple.Uh, how is that supposed to help if the the leak is 5,000 feet underwater? After all, I've seen tons and tons of photos of booms setup around shorelines. But being so deep underwater I would think that it would be difficult to contain the whole area of leak, which could come up anywhere over a wide area.
And the other problem is that the booms don't work very well in choppy waters, so they might not last.
posted by delmoi at 7:41 AM on May 6, 2010
. . . US politicians of all stripes love to attack "the little bureaucrat with the fat rule book." It began with Ronald Reagan and was promoted, most vociferously, by Bill Clinton and the head of Clinton's de-regulation committee, one Al Gore.
Can anyone provide more detail about this? I've heard Clinton & Co accused of a lot of stuff, but this one is new to me. I've always had a soft spot for Gore and Clinton, so it interests me to hear what exactly he's on about.
But yeah, the rest of the accusations in the article fit with my understanding of how corporations work.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 7:45 AM on May 6, 2010
Can anyone provide more detail about this? I've heard Clinton & Co accused of a lot of stuff, but this one is new to me. I've always had a soft spot for Gore and Clinton, so it interests me to hear what exactly he's on about.
But yeah, the rest of the accusations in the article fit with my understanding of how corporations work.
posted by Salvor Hardin at 7:45 AM on May 6, 2010
Also, couldn't this go in this open thread? There is a lot of news about this leak, but this op-ed isn't really a huge new development.
posted by delmoi at 7:51 AM on May 6, 2010
posted by delmoi at 7:51 AM on May 6, 2010
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posted by warbaby at 7:26 AM on May 6, 2010