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"A mile-long oil sheen spread Thursday from an offshore petroleum platform burning in the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana, west of the site of BP's massive spill."

Location of Mariner Energy's Vermilion Oil Platform 380, 09/02/10. (graphic: The Times-Picayune)

Comments

+5 # Guest 2010-09-02 13:59

Oh by all means let us drill in Alaska, now, for poor LA is bursting to full of drilling. It's not just that naughty Sarah who says 'drill, baby, drill.' It is Obama and his people, it is Wall St., it is all of us.

What is our alternative? Sara

+4 # Guest 2010-09-02 16:37

The crossroads we passed cannot be recovered. The environmental movement of the 70's was crushed easily by the industrialist Reaganites who led us down this path of destruction. Issac Asimov and Frederick Pohl produced the book "Our Angry Earth" in the 1980's. The problems are very well known. Denial is not the answer. Neither is capitulation. Future generations to come depend on us standing up and saying the simple word NO. It is very simple, the elitism and corporate corruption is destroying not only our democracy, but our environment. In the words of one near great rock band of the 80's, WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE.

+12 # Guest 2010-09-02 14:29

This is the universe's way of saying "I'm not cooperating with you anymore so STOP the drilling!"

+3 # Guest 2010-09-02 16:38

WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!!! LET'S FIGHT THEM. I am with you.

+8 # Guest 2010-09-02 14:45

How long do Americans have to put up with this happening along our coasts? What does it take to learn the lesson?

+7 # Guest 2010-09-02 15:55

Quoting

What does it take to learn the lesson?

It takes a clear understanding that the US government is owned, entirely, by a handful of huge corporations the management of which really don't give a damn about who or what they destroy. Their sole interest is maximizing their profits, and they'd be happy to kill you if it got them another nickel.

In case you hadn't noticed, our so called democracy consists of our being allowed to vote for one of the two toadies our corporate masters decided are "reliable"

+3 # Guest 2010-09-02 16:40

The threat of structural change must be laid at their feet. Our democracy and environment depend on it wholly. We must not take this anymore. They will destroy the quality of life for the future generations to come.

+4 # Guest 2010-09-02 15:02

Oh boy! Another big boom. Don't you just love the fireworks. They seem so patriotic.

Well, I'd write more, but I've got to go fill my SUV before driving off for the long weekend.

+4 # Guest 2010-09-02 16:15

Gibbs said: "we have assets ready for deployment..." He should have said... we have assholes who are still in the pockets of big oil...when will they ever learn?

+1 # soularddave 2010-09-02 17:55

BooM! goes a rig in the gulf, and UP goes the price we pay ($2.33 - $2.59) - just like that.

(St. Louis, Mo.)

So predictable

+4 # Guest 2010-09-02 18:50

It's deja goo all over again....

+3 # Guest 2010-09-02 20:04

What do we do? What I do is drive less. But in the long run it's better for our children's children if we all back away from dependancy on convenience. Less demand for gas is the best way to make drilling less profitable.

+2 # Guest 2010-09-03 06:40

Get a horse.

+2 # Guest 2010-09-03 07:24

Bicycle is better. Needs just few drops of oil, and doesn't shit.

My cmpliments to the reader who remembers "Our Angry Earth", Isaac Asimov and F. Pohl.
s.

+3 # Guest 2010-09-03 07:25

We need a two track (at least) approach. Step 1 is to do everything you can to stop burning fossil fuels. Next car is a hybrid or a 40+ mpg model, or maybe a diesel. Cut home energy use. Dry your clothes outside, keep the A/C up and the furnace down, get that hi-efficiency appliance. All that stuff. Grow a garden. Change YOUR lifestyle. Step 2 is to pressure all levels of government. Pressure your city to allow urban gardening and promote mass transit, to change zoning to allow more self sufficiency. Pressure the state to stop wasting money on expanded super highways, support rail, allow people to feed electricity back into the grid at retail prices and enforce pollution laws. Pressure the feds to GET OFF THEIR ASSES and be bold, to take the Military Industrial Complex money and use it to create a new energy grid that DOES NOT rely on fossil fuels. But whatever you do, don't wait for the gov't to act. Do it yourself, force them to follow.

+3 # Guest 2010-09-03 07:49

I love when people ask, "What is the alternative?" The oil companies have been buying and hiding all the energy related technology for almost 100 years. There are many alternatives, all hidden by the oil companies. Go do some research into the patents and old patents owned by Mobil Oil and others. There is one in particular that I would talk about. A car can run on a mix of 50/50 water and alcohol. Go here to read about this method to greatly increase the efficiency of an internal combustion engine.
http://notforcapital.com/oil-and-water.htm
http://notforcapital.com/safer-cheaper.htm
Mobil taught me not to be a capitalist.
I am tired of searching patents. I just give it away now. How can Mobil Oil stop that?

0 # Guest 2010-09-03 23:43

Got revolution? Just asking.

0 # Guest 2010-09-04 10:09

"Adapt or die" is an unbreakable rule. Living things, ecosystems, human organizations, and civilizations are all subject to this rule.

What's the alternative to our present and future predicaments? KNOWING THE ALTERNATIVES AND BEING AT LIBERTY TO CHOOSE FROM AMONG THEM.

Revolution will not solve our problem. Our problem is "us", not "them".

The redistribution of wealth will not solve our problem. That would only focus attention and scarce resources on slicing the existing pie. The existing pie cannot continue to be made, and there's not enough of it anyway.

The correct question is, "How can we maximize the sustainable creation of wealth?" We need all hands on deck to answer that question! We need every bit of know-how we have, and no disincentives to using any of it in any combination. NO MORE IMMORTAL INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OR "TRADE SECRETS". Civilization is more important than aggregations of capital, or anyone's "ownership" of anything.

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