BP Oil Spill

[Typhoid]

The reality is all he's doing is hurting good people.

Opposed to the oil spill itself, which only hurts good and innocent animals and devastates ecosystems and plant life.

But you know, people will get to keep their jobs - so all is well.
Gotta keep the economy strong etc.


It's not about the likelihood that it will happen again, it's the fact it has already happened. Even if t doesn't happen for another 40 years, that's still bad. The point isn't to space out man-made disasters, it's not to have them in the first place. If your pinto blows up and kills you, that sucks - But if your pinto blew up and took 20 city blocks with it [Or ruined the environment to the point everything near the car dies], I'm sure there would be a recall on pintos. This oil spill isn't exploding one person. It's ruining a lot more than that.

But explain to me why this moratorium is wrong, aside from 'People will lose jobs'. There are more important things in this world than a handful of people [in the scheme of things] and their having or not having jobs. The well-being of the environment, for one. I can understand people don't want to lose their job, ever. But if they work it into a way where once there are good safety regulations in place so that this type of thing doesn't happen again - they should get precedence for their jobs back if they want them.

But I mean hey, if 17% of the Louisiana population [who are employed by oil-related work] would rather not look for a new job, and continue to contribute to the growing devastation to their local area; nobody can convince them otherwise.

[TheSlyMoogle]

Originally Posted by Typhoid

But I mean hey, if 17% of the Louisiana population [who are employed by oil-related work] would rather not look for a new job, and continue to contribute to the growing devastation to their local area; nobody can convince them otherwise.

Well said sir.

[Professor S]

Originally Posted by Typhoid

Opposed to the oil spill itself, which only hurts good and innocent animals and devastates ecosystems and plant life.

But you know, people will get to keep their jobs - so all is well.
Gotta keep the economy strong etc.

So putting people out of working and needlessly shutting down drilling will magically fix the spill?

It's not about the likelihood that it will happen again, it's the fact it has already happened. Even if t doesn't happen for another 40 years, that's still bad. The point isn't to space out man-made disasters, it's not to have them in the first place. If your pinto blows up and kills you, that sucks - But if your pinto blew up and took 20 city blocks with it [Or ruined the environment to the point everything near the car dies], I'm sure there would be a recall on pintos. This oil spill isn't exploding one person. It's ruining a lot more than that.

But explain to me why this moratorium is wrong, aside from 'People will lose jobs'. There are more important things in this world than a handful of people [in the scheme of things] and their having or not having jobs. The well-being of the environment, for one. I can understand people don't want to lose their job, ever. But if they work it into a way where once there are good safety regulations in place so that this type of thing doesn't happen again - they should get precedence for their jobs back if they want them.

But I mean hey, if 17% of the Louisiana population [who are employed by oil-related work] would rather not look for a new job, and continue to contribute to the growing devastation to their local area; nobody can convince them otherwise.

You want to see devastation? Put 17% of the local population out of work. That would do FAR more long term damage than this spill ever could. Want proof? Travel to Detroit sometime...

Again, explain to me why the moratorium will keep a spill from happening again. No one seems to be able to answer this question. The moratorium will be lifted even if reinstated and we will drill because we have no real alternatives and it will eventually happen again. I don't need to explain why it's wrong, you need to explain why it's RIGHT.

In the mean time, all we did was hurt a lot of good people. But at least the moratorium made us feel better for a while, right? Or more accurately, it makes Pres. Obama look like he's doing something about the spill.

[Professor S]

Well we have our answer as to whether or not it is within the power of the executive branch to mandate a moratorium on oil exploration

New Orleans, Louisiana (CNN) -- A federal appeals panel on Thursday upheld a district judge's order to block the Obama administration's six-month ban on deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.

In a brief ruling just a few hours after the hearing, the three-judge appellate panel denied the government's request to reinstate the moratorium while the full appeal of the case continues.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman issued a preliminary injunction against the ban, which halted all drilling in more than 500 feet of water and prevented new permits from being issued. The government appealed the ruling and asked for an emergency stay of Feldman's decision while the case continued.

On Thursday, the appellate panel of the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals rejected the government's request, saying it had "failed to demonstrate a likelihood of irreparable injury if the stay is not granted."

Apparently the government is unfazed and I believe Salazar stated they would just issue an additional moratorium rather than attempt to reinstate the existing one (that will then be overturned in all likelihood).

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/07/08/oil...ex.html?hpt=T2