Oil

[poliphilo]

It's sneaky of President Obama to be harping on about the Britishness of BP, but when you're desperate to divert blame from yourself any old scapegoat will do.  BP itself- keen to promote itself as a Goliath sans frontieres- stopped calling itself British a while back.  Is this ironic? Maybe in an Alanis Morisette sort of a way.

A lot of the anger has been directed at the presentational skills of the BP high ups. Its chairman went on holiday after the rig blew up, its Brit on the ground made that unfortunate remark about wanting his life back. It's not as if either of them could have done anything to make things better- but they could have tried to seem a little less wrapped up in themselves.  In a world ruled by the media appearances go an long, long way- and seeming to give a shit is as almost as good as actually giving a shit.

Our man Cameron is mainly concerned about how the demands on BP are going to hit British pensioners- who have invested in the company- and how maybe next time round they won't vote for him. My sympathy is limited. Investment is a risky business and the higher the returns the less stable they're likely to be. My father was a Lloyds name and when Lloyds had an annus horribilis in the 90s  he suddenly found he was liable to pay out rather than rake in.  He could have sidestepped his obligations, but he didn't. He said he'd taken the divvies when times were good and it was only fair he should take the hard knocks too.

We want the oil- but the oil is running out- so we go looking for it in more and more inaccessible places. Everyone concerned must have known that it was a risky business to exploit the deepwater fields- and everyone concerned had their fingers crossed. It's cheap and unhelpful to say we're all to blame, but there's a level at which it's true.  We want the oil and we want it now- and we collectively turn our eyes away from the costs. The Gulf oil spill isn't the first such disaster. I was reading that it's dwarfed by what we've allowed to happen in the Niger delta. Thing is the shouts of indignation from West Africa don't carry very far. Only when there's a fuck-up in a place where the relatively privileged live are we obliged to pay attention.

I read the other day that BP has been thinking- recently- of rebranding itself as Beyond Petroleum. I hope that's true. If there's any good thing about all this it's that we've been reminded- dramatically- that our stocks of oil are running low and will soon run out- and we really need to be thinking very hard about how we're going to power our civilisation when they do.

Comments

[steepholm.livejournal.com]

He said he'd taken the divvies when times were good and it was only fair he should take the hard knocks too.

Kudos to him. A lot of the people involved took a very different view, if I remember right.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

It is my (I'm sorry to admit) cynical feeling that all the people around me protesting about BP and their evils are driving to their protests in their giant cars.

If they really wanted to do something about the oil spill, they'd be pushing for replacement energy sources.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

He was a straight-up guy, my dad.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Or getting rid of their great big cars. But that would be inconvenient.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I don't think it becomes me- as a Brit- to say too much about America's huge appetite for oil (ours is bad enough) but I heartily agree.

[rosamicula.livejournal.com]

'British Petroleum' is 40% UK owned, 39% US. I've not sen that widely reported in any of the US press.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I suspected something like that was true.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

Indeed.

I am not one of the people vituperating BP, precisely because I need my car and I need my air conditioning and I am fully aware of my complicity in the economic situation that causes companies to do things like haul oil long distances over water or pull it up from strange and dangerous places. I am using this opportunity to think about how I would decrease my dependence on oil (while also being fully aware that as a single person I can do nothing).

I would have hoped that something like this disaster would have been an opportunity for the whole country to step back and say, "Wow. Alternate energy sources. RIGHT NOW." Instead, we seem to be engaged in self-righteous blaming of corporatism, ignoring the fact that corporations give us what we ask for. :/

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Also: we might want to re-think the bans on drilling in places where the containment of a disaster is more feasible. It's an article of faith that one may not even think of drilling in the Alaska National Wildlife Reserve, for example, but the fact is that there would be much less damage to the ecosystem if there were a land-based spill there than if millions of barrels continue to spew one mile underground in the Gulf of Mexico, where the Gulf Stream can spread its influence up the east coast of the United States and then to northern Europe.

A policy that looks at several approaches -- increased drilling where the impact can be minimized; use of more natural gas; increased emphasis on disaster preparedness and prevention/mitigation; research and development to make alternate sources of energy safe, reliable, and affordable; and examination of personal habits to reduce one's energy footprint -- makes a lot of sense to me. And I positively refuse to take another finger-pointing, podium-pounding sermon by someone with an energy footprint the size of Godzilla when I am sitting here with no air conditioning and a bicycle instead of an automobile.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Mr. Obama has had a mad on about England for years. I understand he claimed, erroneously, that his father had been tortured by the English in Kenya somewhere in his book, "Dreams of My Father."

Also, he needs an enemy, and a foreign one is more useful. In early 2008 I wanted to like Mr. Obama, so I started to read "The Audacity of Hope." I learned enough about Mr. Obama's beliefs and his style from the first two chapters to know that I never want to be in the same room with him.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

Yes, we have to get off our petroleum addiction. Even our clothing (polyester) is made of petroleum products. Many years ago Woody Guthrie the folksinger wrote a talking blues song called "Talking Columbia" in which the closing line was, "Everything's gonna be made out of plastic." How prophetic!

Another byproduct of "Shake-the-jar-and-see-if-they'll-fight" journalism.

[jorrocks-j.livejournal.com]

Very few people in the US knew or cared about the Britishness of BP before the press picked up on it.

As for Obama, he doesn't seem to understand how people's emotions work any more than the BP execs appear to: saying you'd be such a myrmidon if, gee, you could only figure out who to fight, does not make you look strong or wise or even sympathetic. It's just two scoops of impotent rage, topped with bravado.

That's what we're all feeling, but it's not what a person in a position of leadership should admit to feeling. Especially when he has the luxury of feigning.

[litchick.livejournal.com]

BP started their "beyond petroleum" re-branding campaign months ago in the US - lots of nebulous earthy-looking images.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Great post, and it's terrible to hear about Africa.

I boycotted Esso for years after Exxon Valdiz, I boycotted Shell because of their involvement in the West African business, and I boycotted Q8 because I really don't have much time for the Middle Eastern sexist culture...

That left BP...

Now I'm in trouble. Sadly, Woman cannot live by bicycle alone. One cannot lug a site kit (cameras, tool box, camera, ranging poles, the works) on the back of a bicycle...

[airstrip.livejournal.com]

In the meantime, the bigger item is whether it will need to be rebranded as "Beyond the Gulf".

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

We've always sort of known that Obama wasn't an anglophile.

Bush beat up on the French, Obama beats up on the English. We can take it. :)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

There were two ways we can do it. 1: by gradually phasing other energy sources in, or 2: suddenly and in a panic when the oil finally runs out.

Re: Another byproduct of "Shake-the-jar-and-see-if-they'll-fight" journalism.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

And - as rosamicula says (above) Britain and the USA have almost equal stakes in the company.

We've bitten off more than we can chew here and nobody knows what to do. At least BP has taken responsibility for the mess- and is trying to sort it out....

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen any of that over here- but it could simply be because I pick up a book whenever the ads come on.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Thanks.

We're all involved in this- because of our dependence on oil- and therefore all a little bit responsible.

All sorts of bad things happen in faraway places (and some not so faraway) to keep us in the comfort to which we've grown accustomed.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Ha!

I suspect they'll drop the initials altogether and choose another, completely unrelated name.

[airstrip.livejournal.com]

They should choose something no one would ever expect, like Sunnydale Childcare.

If you're going to be unrelated, you may as well be galactically far from your business model.

Of course, it's likely that they'd just pick a name that sounds nice and futuristic like Exxon does.

[haikujaguar.livejournal.com]

I have personally never understood the ban against drilling in Alaska. If the need is great, then our choices are to reduce our need or to face that we might have to sacrifice in order to meet it. I see very little of the latter, and very little willingness to do the former. I can only conclude the latter generations of Americans as a whole are about as emotionally mature as my toddler. "BUT I WANT IT!!"

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I've been thinking about getting me one of these:

http://www.bikesatwork.com/bicycle-delivery-service/

There's a guy in our neighborhood who hauls recycled stuff on contract using one of them.

Re: Another byproduct of "Shake-the-jar-and-see-if-they'll-fight" journalism.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I wish they'd been thinking a little more about containment and protection. The stories are starting to seep out here: the stall the governor of Louisiana got when he asked for permission to build artificial barrier islands...the thanks but no thanks we've given to the Dutch and several other countries....the Maine manufacturer of boom who was totally ignored when he said he could supply millions and millions of linear feet of the stuff.

[drox.livejournal.com]

BP isn't British, despite the name. And they're not American, despite absorbing Amoco some years back. They're a multinational, which is far, far worse than either.

Because when you're a multinational, you owe no loyalty to ANY nation, and can pretend to be loyal to all. Your only true loyalty is to the Almighty Dollar. Or Pound Sterling, or Euro, or Ruble, or Yen, or Rupee....

And you'll shaft any and every nation, any and every individual, and of course the environment as well, to demonstrate that loyalty.

This oil spill is just one glaring demonstration of BP's evil. But they're no more or less evil than all the others; they're all more or less equally corrupt. That it was BP's rig that exploded was pure dumb luck. It could have been any of them, and it probably will be, given the number of deep wells out there.

I'm expecting more of the same, and I'm NOT HAPPY about it.

Re: Another byproduct of "Shake-the-jar-and-see-if-they'll-fight" journalism.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

You'd think they'd be happy to accept help from whatever source. I suppose pride comes into it.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

The vogue for rebranding companies with mellifluous, names annoys me.

When British Steel was British Steel you had a goodish idea what the point of it was- and what it made. But then it became Corus- which means nothing whatsoever.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, multinationals don't go to war.

Multinationals or nation states- which is more evil? I'm not sure I have the answer.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

"Drill, baby, drill!!!"

Wasn't that what you and your crazy old people were chanting back in '08 at the Republican love-fest? Or have you conveniently forgotten?

A lack of meaningful oversight, and the gutting of industry regulations, unequivocally supported and implemented by the Republicans, generally, is what brought us this disaster. Not surprisingly, it's what caused our recent financial collapse, too.

Increased oversight and regulation, including not drilling in risky places where disaster looms like this, is exactly the sort of thing that I and other liberals have been advocating for years and years and years.

No one who supported the Republicans in recent memory has any right to lecture anyone on any topic under these circumstances. If you were sincere abuot the suggestions you offer, you would never have supported the Republicans in the first place.

Re: Another byproduct of "Shake-the-jar-and-see-if-they'll-fight" journalism.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

She is only telling you a fraction of the tale she pretends to relate.

Bobby Jindall, governor of Louisiana, is a grand-standing idiot---a politically savvy idiot, like all Republican rising stars, but an idiot nonetheless.

In order to "save the day" like this, Jindall has to get a permit from the Fed, who actually have to talk to scientists, people who, unlike Jindall, are expert at something other than getting the stupid and the ignorant to vote against their own best interests.

The environmentalists are pretty much unanimous: Jindall's plan would kill the tidal marshes and estuaries just as dead as the oil will. The media, of course, is busy crafting a the narrative that this is Obama's Katrina, y'know, so they couldn't care less about the truth.

To be fair, our friend, here, probably doesn't know the truth of the matter. The little people on the teeveee told her that the Republicans would at least try to fix this thing, but that Horrid Black Man(tm) won't let them. This validated her personal prejudices, so there was obviously no need for further enquiry.

Re: Another byproduct of "Shake-the-jar-and-see-if-they'll-fight" journalism.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

All of which is a remarkably clever ploy, when you stop and think about it.

What Blanchard---or her source---is doing is turning reality on its head and indirectly blaming environmentalists for the very disaster those same environmentalists have warned against for years. It's a somewhat clever and sadly effective tactic, one that has become all-to-familiar over the past decade of Republican misgovernment.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Sadly, it's impossible for my line of work, which takes me across much of central Scotland!

When I'm in the office (thankfully, much of the time!), I usually use the train, or a combination of bike and train. It takes me 1hr 40 minutes to cycle home from work carrying just a change of clothes (it's an 18 mile run one-way - I've tried it several times). If I did that each and every day, I'd be dead. Either from exhaustion, or from some motorist mincing me on the road in the depths of winter!

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Ah! That's what happened to Amoco! I was wondering...

And yes, I remember the 'Amoco Cadiz'...

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

I am still chanting drill baby drill. As long as this world insists on running on oil, it's necessary. The cozy mess that resulted in suspension of regulations for BP started back when dinosaurs roamed the earth and perpetuated by the very superior minds in the Obama administration. And still, we need the oil.

As for waving moral superiority around: do you drive an automobile with an internal combustion engine? If you do, then I am your moral superior. I am car free and use a bicycle to do just about everything.

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

A very long time ago, after having a hair-raising 24 mile one way commute on twisty roads with an unreliable vehicle, I decided that my highest priority in organizing my life would henceforth be making sure that I lived within walking distance of my work. It has meant some career choices that may have been less remunerative, but I've had the satisfaction of a certain kind of independence. I realize not everyone wants to privilege their commute in organizing their lives, but that's what I have done.

[drox.livejournal.com]

On the other hand, multinationals don't go to war.

Of course not. Wars are expensive, and would affect the bottom line adversely.

Not sure how it is in Britain, but here in the States, multinationals get the government (which they've bought and paid for) to order the military to fight their wars for them. Someone else dies, someone else pays. What could be better?

Is it legal? The government makes the laws, the government is bought and paid for. What do you think?

[drox.livejournal.com]

Multinationals or nation states- which is more evil?

At first this seems like an easy one. The multinationals are more evil. They've bought the government (or at the very least they're renting it; either way it's paid for) so they're the ones calling the shots.

But looking deeper it becomes a little more complicated than that. They couldn't have bought it no one was selling. We elect these people to represent our interests, and instead they sell out to whoever will pay them the most. So the government is evil too.

If a sale is evil (or criminal), who's the more sinful (or liable)? The buyer or the seller?

The government is, in theory, more democratic than the multinationals. Every now and then all of us voters get to decide who will "run the company" for us. We don't have that kind of voice on BP's board.

That's the theory anyway. But maybe they're not so different in reality. When's the last time the candidate who spent less money running for office won the election? Perhaps we've all sold out, if we keep voting for whoever spends the most money smearing the other guy.

[drox.livejournal.com]

I have personally never understood the ban against drilling in Alaska.

There isn't a ban on drilling in Alaska. Alaska has oil wells everywhere (well, everywhere that has oil underneath, which is very nearly everywhere) both on land and offshore.

The ban is on drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). And I suspect it will remain in place at least in part because there's a refuge on the Canadian side too. And there's a treaty in place between these countries regarding the refuge and its wildlife. If drilling were to proceed in the wildlife refuge on either side of the border, it would be a violation of that treaty.

Migratory wildlife don't respect national boundaries.

[drox.livejournal.com]

The oil won't run out suddenly. It's a finite resource and could, in theory, run out some day, but the reality is that long before it's gone it will become scarce. The bits that remain will be so inaccessible that it will be cheaper (it all comes down to money) to use alternatives.

If that doesn't happen soon enough (i.e. if humans get clever about extracting the remaining petroleum economically before they get clever about developing clean alternatives economically) we might burn enough of that petroleum to turn our planet back into something resembling the one that existed before all those prehistoric plants turned into petroleum in the first place (i.e. much hotter and carbon-rich).

Only we'd be doing it over a few hundred years instead of several million. The microbes might be able to adapt fast enough to such rapid and vast changes, and maybe some of the insects. The rest of us would have a tougher time of it.

Humans are clever, and can survive the immediate crisis. How we apply our cleverness (toward extracting ever-more-inaccessible oil, or toward moving "beyond petroleum") might determine whether we survive the next one.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

We've kind of prioritised it so that we live within an easy commute of the ageing parents! As it is, I'm very close to the nearest train station. When I was offered this job, it was supposed to be very much office based. And that way, commuting by train's easy, though getting rather expensive. Do you know it's actually more cost effective these days for me to use the car???

The whole public transport/green agenda is nuts - people should be financially penalised for using cars, and rewarded for taking public transport. To have it any other way is utterly insane. But hey, when the public transport systems is run by private companies, then no wonder they hike up ticket prices as much as they can. What I find really galling is that I have to pay £1.50 more for travelling at 'peak time', on a train that runs counter to the rat race crowds and is, at best, half full.

Unfortunately, my work's attached to the construction industry. Hence the massive amount of kit. And the necessity of having to commute halfway across Scotland on occasion...

[lblanchard.livejournal.com]

Our regional public transportation system is run by a government agency, and it's ruinously expensive as well. Ours is about to eliminate the peak-time penalty, though, by making all time peak time.

[endlessrarities.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's a clever ruse, that one, isn't it?

Grrr.... Makes my blood boil!!!

Re: Another byproduct of "Shake-the-jar-and-see-if-they'll-fight" journalism.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Ah....

Well....

What I'm seeing here is a whole raft of people- on both sides of the argument- who really don't know what to do next. We've gone in above our heads with this deep-sea drilling, hoping there'd not be an accident- and we've been caught out. The President has been angry and forceful- but actually he's impotent. Nobody has a plan to stop the oil- and it's just going to keep spilling out.

This is beyond politics.

[daisytells.livejournal.com]

I strongly suspect that it is going to be Option #2. That is the only way we will be able as a society to lower consumption of oil -- cold turkey is the best way to get off an addiction.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

After I'd written that line I thought to myself, "ah, but..."

Yes, you're right, the world is run by and for the advantage of the enormously rich- and our politicians are bought and sold exactly as yours are.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

And of course there's a revolving door between government and the multinationals. People move between the two. When British politicians leave politics they almost invariably go and sit on the board of some company or other- often on the boards of several companies. I imagine it's the same the whole world over.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Like you, I have faith in human ingenuity. We've survived all sorts of things- including ice ages- and I reckon we'll survive the hiccup of the oil running out. I suspect there are technologies being developed now- and kept under wraps- that will be wheeled out when the time is ripe.

Re: Another byproduct of "Shake-the-jar-and-see-if-they'll-fight" journalism.

[michaleen.livejournal.com]

A solution to the Deepwater Horizon spill is indeed beyond politics, but coping with the disaster, bringing the culpable to justice, and possibly preventing another such disaster, is most assuredly a matter of politics, at least here in the US. Rational solutions demand that we accept the reality in which we find ourselves, but, as you can see for yourself, reality itself is biased against the Republicans these days and their push-back against it is furious.

The president is powerless to halt this disaster. He is also powerless to halt the endless parade of self-serving stupid---like Jindall's barrier island idea---that is served up by the unscrupulous to sqeeze money and political support out of the gullible and the ignorant. The media of course is just beside itself with joy. They love a disaster.

If I had my way, every one of these greedy or crazy or stupid people that thought "Drill, baby, drill!" was a sound energy policy should be seized by Federal marshalls, transported forcibly to the Gulf, given a roll of paper towels and put to work.