British Petroleum seems to have an eco-disaster of mega proportions on their hands in the Gulf of Mexico. The attempt to drill from the ocean floor at a depth of 5000 feet, and down another 13,000 feet is an unbelievable undertaking. And humans do have the technology and ability to do such things, but apparently they ran into a bit of a snag, one which will cost us all dearly for a decade to come.
People are already talking about how this might affect drilling in Alaska by Royal Dutch Shell, and the future of drilling near the North Pole or issues with China drilling off the coast of Cuba and the Gulf Currents in case of a spill. Now then, under such extreme conditions it will cost a lot more to get the crude oil out of the ground than it does in places like the Middle East where it is very near the surface, and the price per barrel for extraction almost makes it free to bring up, which allows for huge profit margins, and helps keep our price of fuel quite low.
The higher the costs in the future and the less we drill, the greater challenges for price we will have at the top of the supply/demand curve. And don't think there are not financial interests out there to trade that commodity to the hilt.
So what is BP going to do about this oil spill? Well they have all sorts of plans, and they've asked for people to write in suggestions, and they've already gotten 3000 suggestions (in just a few days) from engineers, citizen scientists, and folks with oil industry backgrounds. Even the Russians had an idea; go ahead and nuke the seafloor with a mega nuclear weapons, and that will cave in the drilling hole, and solve the problems?
Yes, that's what I thought when I saw that quote, and even though it might work, that's a scary notion.
Well you know the Russians and their whole "Father-of-all-bombs" attitude, I think they just like to blow things up, and when it comes to nuclear, well you know? I don't feel very safe. Actually, I don't feel safe when it comes to Russia with regards to Hydro Power, Nuclear, Oil, or any other form of energy. i.e. Chernobyl, Submarine Nuclear Accidents on K-8, K-19, K-171; Sayano-Shushenskayah Hydro Plant, or the 1994 Usinsk Oil Spill.
Yes, Russians have one heck of a record when dealing with their own problems, it seems they are solution is always; Wing-it, Blow-it-up, pretend it didn't happen? "Ha ha ha, ah those crazy Russians, heck man, well at least they do something? Obama just votes present!" Said one think tank member at one of our recent meetings - and I suppose it is important to employ at least a little bit of humor considering this overwhelming eco-system disaster in the oil industry.
Please consider all this, and thank you very much for listening. Sincerely, Lance.
Lance Winslow is a retired Founder of a Nationwide Franchise Chain, and now runs the Online Think Tank. Lance Winslow believes in wise choices. http://www.detailguys.com. Note: All of Lance Winslow's articles are written by him, not by Automated Software, any Computer Program, or Artificially Intelligent Software. None of his articles are outsourced, PLR Content or written by ghost writers. Article Source: |  |
