A federal judge in New Orleans has blocked a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling projects that was imposed in response to the massive Gulf oil spill.
Several companies that ferry people and supplies and provide other services to offshore drilling rigs had asked U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman in New Orleans to overturn the moratorium.
President Barack Obama’s administration has halted the approval of any new permits for deepwater drilling and suspended drilling at 33 exploratory wells in the Gulf.
Feldman says in his ruling that the Interior Department failed to provide adequate reasoning for the moratorium. He says it seems to assume that because one rig failed, all companies and rigs doing deepwater drilling pose an imminent danger.
More at the Washington Times. How much play do you think this will receive in the tingling leg media?
“Much to the government’s discomfort and this Court’s uneasiness, the summary also states that ‘the recommendations contained in this report have been peer-reviewed by seven experts identified by the National Academy of Engineering.’ As the plaintiffs, and the experts themselves, pointedly observe, this statement was misleading,” Judge Feldman said in his 22-page ruling.
Barry lost?
I am sure this was anticipated, now the administration will just have to file an appeal. Too bad Obama didn’t seek an indefinite moratorium on off shore drilling. Look at the fed. judge’s past and you’ll likely find links to big dirty oil.
T, you really are pathetic. Why don’t you find out if that is the case, and report back.
Now, which Democratic Senator from Illinois was on the receiving end of BP campaign contributions? What was his name . . . .
The moratorium was on drilling wells deeper that 1500 metres (5000 feet).
PetroBras is currently planning to drill wells that are 14,000 feet deep.
Curiously, the Obama administration recently lend PetroBras, the state-owned Brazilian oil company, $2 billion dollars.
Can you make any sense of these facts, T?
The original order was initiated by the Interior Dept. It was for 1 (One) month. On May 27th Obama extended it to a 6 month moratorium. It is the White house (Obama) that is appealing this Fed. Judges order. He wants at least 6 months.
Is this the first rift between branches of government, under Obama’s watch?
George Soros is heavily invested in PetroBras. Now is it making sense to you, T? It is the Chicago Way.
“He says it seems to assume that because one rig failed, all companies and rigs doing deepwater drilling pose an imminent danger.”
Note how Leftists are against collective punishment when it comes to one of their politically correct identity groups, but are so willing to dole it out to any group they consider to be one of their political whipping boys.
Sounds like profiling to me.
Excellent point Set you Free…In fact what you are saying was exposed far and wide by Glenn Beck on his show last night. Beck exposes the money trail and it points at Cap & Trade among things.
George Soros is part of the scheme too.
Beck said: “My car is now bulletproof, George…”
A damning report indeed. Just Google FOX news and link to Beck. A must see.
Warning: The video image was all screwy but the audio was OK.
Is it just me, but I seem to get alot of results like this when it’s a really hot links exposing the left? It does’nt work or it’s booby trapped with viruses.
Ummmmm!
…or more like blocking out the competition?
like my old guv said…”there are more horses’ asses than horses.”
oops….that last post was meant to be appended in the NEXT subject of discussion….my apology.
I think a moratorium isn’t too bad an idea, IF and only IF it is to sort out both the incompetence of government/regulation and safety bodies, and to perform up to date and proper safety evaluations of all rigs…prior to the moratorium there should be a plan of action as to how, where, when, why this is to take place. It should be industry wide with no exceptions. Of course that’s not the goal of Obama, there’s always some personal/political agenda to be found.
T accuses without evidence.
Here is evidence of something Obama is guilty of, and it explains why in an address to the nation about an oil spill he took time to mention energy efficient windows.
What do energy efficient windows have to do with anything ?
Just watch this »old» video…
http://stossel.blogs.foxbusiness.com/2010/01/14/a-little-company-praised-by-president-obama/
BTJ:
Number of wells drilled in the Gulf in the past 40 years — 35,000.
Number of accidents — two.
First one was Ixtoc1 in 1979, drilled by state-owned Pemex
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ixtoc_I_oil_spill
Does the wheel have to be reinvented because of an ACCIDENT?
This moratorium had no technical basis in reality. Can you imagine Oblameya having a six month moratorium on flying after an air crash?
From one commenter at HotAir:
” Feldman agreed, saying in his ruling that the Interior Department failed to provide adequate reasoning for the moratorium.
That’s a nice way of saying they misrepresented their experts and issued a fraudulent report.”
According to Judge Feldman, the president’s name was “Normal” …
“Does the wheel have to be reinvented because of an ACCIDENT?”
I’m not suggesting the wheel be reinvented, only that the MMS and all rigs that they have been regulating be ‘reassessed’. It is clear that the MMS is in bed with oil and gas, and that their work cannot be trusted. If you are to gut and re-establish the safety and regulation body, you’re gonna have to put their duties on hold…which means that the oil rigs will have to be on hold.
Calling the current BP disaster an ‘accident’ is like calling someone who gets loser drunk, gets in their car and starts driving, gets stopped by the cops but bribes them, and then smashes their car into someone’s house ‘an accident’.
“This moratorium had no technical basis in reality. Can you imagine Oblameya having a six month moratorium on flying after an air crash?”
If it was found that the plane crashed because the people who are responsible for safety checks were completely negligent in all respects, and had a history of ignoring major safety regulations. And so the safety of planes was dependent on incompetence, I’m pretty sure a temporary grounding would be in order…or would you be the first to line up for a flight?
or would you be the first to line up for a flight?
On a different airplane type operated by a different airline? Absolutely.
BTJ:
One incident in 35,000 wells in the US Gulf.
Can you figure out the odds?
Interesting how the drilling ban didn’t extend to the relief wells.
BJT/T deliberately miss the point.
The US is a REPUBLIC with a CONSTITUTION and the PRESIDENT of that REPUBLIC is not an absolute ruler. OBOZO is not a “sun-king” with the privilege of ruling by whim.
“On a different airplane type operated by a different airline? Absolutely.”
Who’s planes were regulated and checked for safety by the same organization?
“One incident in 35,000 wells in the US Gulf.
Can you figure out the odds?”
Low..but the potential for damage is off the chart (as we’ve witnessed).
Here’s a similar risk assessment situation.
There is an area up for potential development, it lies on an area that has a risk of natural disaster. The risk is a slide from a neighboring peak…the chance of that slide occurring is only once in a million years…but the severity of the slide would mean total destruction 8 square km’s buried under 10 metres of debris. You find a land developer that is willing to take that risk, and who can find someone willing to insure that risk.
“The US is a REPUBLIC with a CONSTITUTION and the PRESIDENT of that REPUBLIC is not an absolute ruler. OBOZO is not a “sun-king” with the privilege of ruling by whim.”
What would the constitutional mode of action be then?
Fascinating – how the legislature and the people are turning against a dictator, Obama.
Something else fascinating is that when the left gets in power, freedoms disappear. Interesting – after all, the left is constantly promoting ‘freedom’ and yet, each and every action of theirs represses freedom. Whether it’s health care or education or wages or pensions ..whatever..when the left moves in, freedom moves out.
The G20 are coming to Toronto. Notice, that no matter what you think of the leaders of these nations, they were democratically elected. But who else is going to Toronto? Thousands of so-called activists, the left, all out to rant and scream for ‘freedom’.
Freedom? Because of their violence, their thuggist rejection of due process and valid argumentation – the city is being shut down, barricades set up, zillions of cameras, police, businesses and offices closing. Complete loss of freedom of movement and business. Not because of any threats from the governments. No, it’s the leftists, the activists, who vandalize, attack people and shops – all in the name of..heh.
My own view is that the majority of these vandals haven’t a clue about real governance but are delighted to have a domain and time when, under the cover of ‘political expression’ they can break windows, burn cars, loot stores and attack police and civilians..and have a great old time.
If the MMS is in bed with ‘big dirty oil’ Obama is in bed with BP. BP stands to make a huge fortune on Cap and Trade legislation the minute it passes. So do certain Wall St. firms, now famous for ‘questionable’ practices. BP ‘voluntarily’ pays into a 20 billion fund. The CEO ‘knows nothing’ in Congress then flies home to go yaghting. Hmmmm.. there’s a whole lot more to this bed and it is getting bigger every day.
When George Soros is involved ( and where is he NOT?) It is time to change the sheets and maybe buy a new bed. The governors of the gulf states know this and anybody working with this mess know this is a deal struck to ensure Cap and Trade gets a pass in Congress.
If it was found that the plane crashed because the people who are responsible for safety checks were completely negligent in all respects, and had a history of ignoring major safety regulations. And so the safety of planes was dependent on incompetence, I’m pretty sure a temporary grounding would be in order…or would you be the first to line up for a flight?
~BTJ
Refining your analogy, it would be best to ground flights of a particular “accident” prone company because their maintainence was shoddy and their was a possibility that the “accident prone” airline many have been bribing a few inspectors out of the cohort of inspectors operating at a particular airport.
There would be no need to ground all aircraft at all airports operated by all airlines.
Especially if the new head of the FAA was known to be a radical Leftist environmentalist who was on record as saying, before he became FAA head, that he wanted to eliminate all travel by conventional aircraft and replace it with Star Trek type transporters which haven’t even been invented yet or, failing that, glider transport that is more eco-friendly but has the shortcoming of not having the speed or carrying capacity of wide-body jets.
BTJ:
If you care to do a scientific study, what are the long-term effects of the Ixtoc spill in 1979?
Some basic starting points:
The blowout lasted 10 months until it was finally stopped by drilling a relief well.
The area the blowout happened was just west of the Yucatan peninsula.
I’ll give you a clue to how long it took the area to regain its original flora and fauna … less than six years.
Politics cannot plug the well.
All this incident proves to me is there’s a limit to what governments are capable of doing.
Pass another law? I laugh in your general direction.
ET: I think you’d like this book ‘The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution’ by Ayn Rand. It’s a series of her essays, some of which hit on your point. She writes about the misguided activists of the 60’s and 70’s.
“BP stands to make a huge fortune on Cap and Trade legislation the minute it passes.”
How so?
“bribing a few inspectors out of the cohort of inspectors operating at a particular airport.”
The incompetence and negligence of the MMS goes far beyond ‘bribing a few inspectors’…the entire organization needs to be gutted from top down.
The risk is a slide from a neighboring peak…the chance of that slide occurring is only once in a million years…but the severity of the slide would mean total destruction 8 square km’s buried under 10 metres of debris. You find a land developer that is willing to take that risk, and who can find someone willing to insure that risk.
~BTJ
I’ll wager that all the people who live in the shadow of Mount Ranier would disagree.
correction -Mount Rainier
BTJ:
“There is an area up for potential development, it lies on an area that has a risk of natural disaster”
Yes, it is called Squamish, British Columbia. This rapidly growing small city sits on a floodplain.
“the chance of that flood occurring is only once in a million years…but the severity of the flood would mean everything gets washed into Howe Sound.”
Insurance companies don’t have to price century risks of specific events, even when assessments are done. What insurance company wouldn’t call the century flood that destroys the town an ‘act of God’ or ‘force majeure’?
Sometimes lying just to keep in practice is not a good thing. Something Bill Clinton also took a long time to figure out.
Libel and slander are always the tools the left first brings to bear to deal with those with the “wrong” perspective. Wonder how many reporters the NYT and WaPo have assigned to dig up dirt on this “crazy” judge who says Obamugabe has tried to violate the constitution yet again. More than they assigned to Climategate or the Acorn meltdown, no doubt
“I’ll wager that all the people who live in the shadow of Mount Ranier would disagree.”
There is a HUGE zone around mt ranier that is not developed and never will be. In the case of a volcano, there are advanced warning systems. In the event of an eruption, there would more than likely be an evacuation and I doubt lives would be lost.
In the case I presented, there is no advanced warning system, and a slide would incur immediate death and destruction. It is based on an real area, which has yet to be developed for the very reason I outlined.
Climategate and the tactic by the Obama administration use one common tactic.
Collective guilt.
Marxism 101.
“Yes, it is called Squamish, British Columbia. This rapidly growing small city sits on a floodplain.”
That’s the one! The Cheakamus River fan is the evidence left by the last major slide…it is km’s in area.
Sorry, it’s the Cheekye River.
And the fan covers an area of 25 square km’s with a mean depth of 100 m
BTJ says “It is clear that the MMS is in bed with oil and gas,….”
What is clear is that BP was in bed with Obama. And they were caught together and now Obama is trying to pretend otherwise.
BTJ says “There is a HUGE zone around mt ranier that is not developed and never will be. In the case of a volcano, there are advanced warning systems. In the event of an eruption, there would more than likely be an evacuation and I doubt lives would be lost.”
Hahahahahaha….now THAT’s funny!
“If you care to do a scientific study, what are the long-term effects of the Ixtoc spill in 1979?”
So your argument is that oil spills are nothing to worry about, and have no real long-term effect? (you haven’t mentioned the fact that it ruins people’s livelihoods, on or two years of no shrimp = bankruptcy).
Lets look at it like this…if you had a glass of water, and you put one drop of poison in it…probably wouldn’t make a difference…but if you kept putting drops in the effect would accumulate. We dump so much garbage and waste into the ocean it’s absolutely retarded…and meanwhile we fish the hell out of it. The oceans are in very poor shape.
For BTJ
The largest mudflow in the world was the Osceola Mudflow. It originated atop Mount Rainier 5,600 years ago. Its deposits are estimated to be 10 billion cubic meters and cover an area of 212 square miles. Many small cities are built on these deposits including Orting, Buckley, Sumner, Puyallup, Enumclaw, and Auburn. At least six other large lahars have come down the valleys of Mount Rainier in the last 5,600 years. The Electron Mudflow occurred about 600 years ago. The flow was more than 30 meters deep where it entered the Puget Sound lowland at the community of Electron. Its deposits at Orting are as much as 6 meters thick and contain remnants of old-growth forest. The Electron Mudflow destroyed the mature old-growth forest that covered the Puyallup River flood plain. It is predicted that if the same size mudflow occurred here now, it would cover 40% more area due to the now deforested plains.
When Mount Rainier erupts the effects will be much more devastating than Mt. St. Helens. With the amount of ice and the shape of Mount Rainier, lahars will be the biggest danger. With large cities nearby and numerous smaller cities built on deposits of great mudflows many more people will be affected.
Google Frank Slide, BTJ, Naples and Mt. Vesuvius. The San Andreas and it’s sister faults.
The world is full of risk and people have short memories.
Surprise, surprise. Judge Feldman, a Reagan appointee, so obviously a republican is also considered very pro-business. Chances are big dirty oil won’t be so lucky at the appellate level. Have to research his previous decisions regarding big dirty oil.
Posted by: BTJ at June 22, 2010 4:33 PM
I see you continue to spout without the benefit of doing any scientific research.
Two years is long-term? How old are you? 12?
“The world is full of risk and people have short memories.”
I understand that, but choosing NOT to manage those risks and saying ‘phuck it’ is not exactly a feat of human intelligence.
“Two years is long-term? How old are you? 12?”
Take a little more time to read. I didn’t say two years was long term, what I implied is that you are completely ignoring the short term effects…as in two years of no shrimp = people losing everything they have and everything their families for generations have built.
Posted by: BTJ at June 22, 2010 4:44 PM
Yeah, and tens of thousands of workers in the buggywhip industry are no longer employed in the industry.
You have to play the hand that’s dealt you.
How long are you going to cry over spilt milk?
Save this for future reference because this is the way things will play out.
As of today, 25,000 barrels of oil are being captured. That’s according to Thad Allen.
Skimmers are capturing some of the loose oil. If the feds would release other skimmers around the USA, it could be skimmed even faster. So, why are all available skimmers not in the Gulf? In case of another blowout (see 35,000 to 1 odds).
Eventually, the flow will be stopped.
Whatever oil that can be recovered will be recovered.
Cleanup efforts will continue.
Flora and fauna will return to normal levels in five years, just like they did after Ixtoc. See how easy it is to make scientifically-backed statements of fact.
Oh, yeah. And oil will continue to naturally seep into the ocean off the California coast. Why, there oughta be a law.