Qed

‘This could be the worst offshore oil disaster’

What a spineless article! A few local fishermen quoted who really can’t say much anyway because they work for the oil companies and a promise from Obama to make BP pay…meanwhile the oil still flows and directly into the country consuming more oil than anyone else. The Yanks should see the spill as an opportunity to directly collect their own oil by-passing the greedy multinationals who process it into gasoline.

The bit I really like is the line about paying to clean up the mess. It goes without saying that the mess will not be completely cleaned up as demonstrated by the Exxon Valdez. The long term implications are particularly dire for the local fishing industry, something Obama with all the good will in the world can do little about. Tom Leonard does well to consider their plight now but the gravity of the situation is lost amid his homespun sentimentality.

Photo by Jim Brickett

Consider what we know about the Exxon Valdez. Official estimates are that 40 million litres of crude oil escaped after the ship ran into a reef in one of the most remote parts of the world. Almost 20 years on and

the effects of the spill continue to be felt today. Overall reductions in population have been seen in various ocean animals, including stunted growth in pink salmon populations. Sea otters and ducks also showed higher death rates in following years, partially because they ingested prey from contaminated soil and from ingestion of oil residues on hair due to grooming…a team of scientists at the University of North Carolina estimates some shoreline Arctic habitats may take up to 30 years to recover.

At 800,000 litres a day and a possible three months before the well is plugged, Deepwater Horizon could leak twice as much oil into an environment already stressed by significant human activity and at the frontline are the communities that depend on the local environment for their livelyhoods. Will BP pay? Only enough to get the company off the hook, after that it will be spin and PR to hide the fact that man made environmental damage is a cost no multinational company is really prepared to pay for since paying for something irreplaceable would put them out of business.

‘This could be the worst offshore oil disaster’.

Honda FCX Clarity | Hydrogen re-filling station

The hydrogen-electric Honda

The FCX Clarity is a pretty impressive piece of high-techory but why must we wait 10 years or so before such gizmos are generally available when clearly they could have been made before now. The almost inescapable answer is that complementary relationship between car makers and oil companies is determined to wring the last drop of oil out of the planet before they concede the folly of using a non renewable resource for the mundane business of moving people and stuff around. Of course the Honda is still another “made” thing which probably will require considerable amounts of electricity and raw materials to get into your 21st century driveway so Honda’s talk about sustainability only goes so far, still its better than GM’s Hummer…

Honda FCX Clarity | Hydrogen re-filling station.

Key oil figures distorted | The Guardian

It seems the climate “debate” is degenerating while the sceptics representing the status quo are enjoying considerable success on the public opinion front which they in turn refer to as “proof” that AGW is not happening and we don’t need to worry about it. Funny how when public opinion favoured more action on the environment that wasn’t considered relevant to the “debate”, but now that public opinion seems to be shifting, all of a sudden we should be listening.

But what happens when the oil runs out, a question you might think is subject to a lot less scepticism but NO! It would seem that we don’t want news of the true state of oil supplies because it might panic the stock market. OMG well best we forget about it and pretend something will come along. Somehow this planet is blessed with an infinite oil reserve. And global warming isn’t happening.

Key oil figures were distorted by US pressure, says whistleblower | Environment | The Guardian.

Martin Ferguson’s inquiry

So 10 weeks later the operators of the Montara oil rig off the coast of north west WA finally managed to plug the leak but not before it managed to leak 28,000 barrels of oil into the surrounding seas. But never fear because the minister for digging up shit is on the case and he has announced an inquiry into the debacle and given the smelly job of clearing anybody important of any wrong-doing to an economist who used to be a secretary in the department of the environment. The interesting thing about Mr David Borthwick, other than the fact that he is the son of a former Liberal Deputy Premier of Victoria is his stint as Australian Ambassador to the OECD from 1991 to 1993.

But that was then and now, if the Canberra Times can be believed, Mr Borthwick seems more interested in catching trout. Besides time in the environment department, he served in treasury for nineteen years immediately after a stint in the Industries Assistance Commission under Alf Rattigan, considered by the Times to be the father of economic rationalism in Australia. How then does Mr Borthwick view environmental activism, well here’s an interesting quote where he justifies an economic approach to environmental policy – he says

“It’s no use feeling fantastic if no-one’s listening to you. You’ve got to be in the game. If you talk the same language, do the rigorous analysis, engage with the industry departments, engage with the community and get the balance right, you’ll achieve your objectives.”

I think Mr Ferguson has definitely got the right man for the job and I also bet Peter Garrett will call this a win-win for departmental cooperation.

Montara Oil Spill - August 25, 2009 - Photo by Chris Twomey / Australian Greens, courtesy of WA Today.

Bloomberg story
Canberra Times article on Borthwick