Thread: Hemi guys, need your advice.

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This isn't aimed at anyone in particular, just a general rant against parrots.

The first major off shore drilling spill in over 40 years! What a horrible record!! Those EVIL oil companies!!! Those thousands of other rigs that aren't a problem should definately be ignored............move along, nothing to see here.

I wish there were a way to isolate the outcomes of all these silly notions of banning oil production, chasing windmills for energy, and the rest of the suggestions from the uninformed or deceptive charlatans to those who embrace them. If you're in favor of eliminating oil production then you (not those of us with a more realistic view) should be put on gasoline rationing. You think wind is the way to go? Great! You'll be rationed 1% of the electricity you use now, your rates will be trippled, and you'll be burdened with the tax load caused by the federal subsidies that make these jokes possible. Oh, and you'll be subject to the brown/black outs when the wind don't blow. And of course we're concerned about all the birdies those vicious oil companies are killing, so we'll back up the truck loads of dead birds caused by windmills and dump them in your front yard.

It's a shame this platform had a failure. And since it gets virtually no mention in the day to day news, it's a bigger shame that 11 families have suffered the loss of a loved one. Accidents happen. We've had several rod accidents posted on here the last week or two. Does that mean we should ban hot rods immediately? Of course not..........that would be foolish! What we should do is find out what we didn't know that contributed to the accidents and fix the actual problem. Learn from our experiences. Why shouldn't the same rationale apply to deep water drilling. Has the question of why we do deep water drilling while we forbid shallow water drilling that is less technologically challenging occurred to you folks who buy into the elitest rant?

Reasonable priced and readily available energy is essential to our current society to survive. The US oil companies have done a very good job when you take a rational look at price and performance, of keeping our economy moving over time. They take hits when the world market pushes up the price of crude oil (of course if you're uninformed you believe that their control of less than 6% of the worlds oil production allows them to "control the market"). But all those ready to heap criticism are completely silent when prices go down............hmmmmm! Well, that's human nature.

Just so there's no misunderstanding. I'm not a big fan of BP. I'm sure they've made some serious errors in trying to deal with this enormous disaster. After all, nobody has any experience with dealing with exact kind of failure. As for the cause, I don't think anyone really knows yet. BP runs some commercials that I find offensive. Those supposed "man on the street" interviews that highlight ignorant people who are clueless about how much energy we need day to day, much less where it comes from. While they're entitled to their opinion, the persistent airing of ignorance fosters more ignorance. Sadly, BP has gotten involved in programs for "alternative energy" that put them on the government dole for subsidies. Cynical? Yeah, you bet! There are some technologies that might pan out in time, but does anybody with a brain think that anyone in the government has a clue as to what really makes sense? Just like it takes ignoring all the safely operated platforms to fit the narrative, so does ignoring the post office, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Amtrak, and on and on...........

Never mind........those that think that private enterprise is the problem and the government is the answer must be unaware of Greece.............and certainly won't let reality change their mind.

One oil spill is way too many Bob. The other problem with this is that the oil company support systems tend to use up every inch of waterfront property they can get their hands on. They need places to dock their boats, offload oil and supplies, etc. Down here in S. Florida we have some pretty pristine beaches from which a huge chunk of our yearly economy comes. If the oil companies get serious about drilling here you can bet that in future years Florida will not be the vacation destination it is today.

Didn't mean for this thread on hemis to turn into one on Big Oil vs the planet, but at least we can agree to disagree.

Don

Originally Posted by Bob Parmenter

This isn't aimed at anyone in particular, just a general rant against parrots.

I'm a bit late jumping into this thread, Uncle Bob, but as is always the case, your contribution is a good one.

Regarding the "parrots" among us, they gripe the devil out of me, too, and they are particularly annoying when the subject of oil (or any other form of energy, for that matter) comes up.

A couple of current "parrotisms" are "Drill, Baby, Drill!" and "Drill Here, Drill Now!". I hate the fact that these particular parrots are of the same political inclination that I am.

A few politicians, of course, have knowledge about oil production but most don't, and they, like the general public, seem to think that if restraints were lifted, the oil companies would rush right out and start poking holes tomorrow.

Whoopee! Immediate energy independence! 50 cent gas is right around the corner!

It ain't that easy.

In a recent Ed Wallace column (and I don't have it handy) he explains that if somebody wanted to put a platform in the Gulf he would be put on a wait-list for a drill ship for at least four years. Then he'd wait for the platform to be constructed and put in place, and that's not an overnight procedure either. Ed says that oil companies have to look years into the future for a well to go into production.

The present administration wants to rid the world of the curse of coal.

Nuclear, of course, will make us all glow in the dark, so that's out.

Comparatively, solar cells and wind are ineffectual.

We're in deep doo doo.


Jim