At the same time, I'm trying to be a little pragmatic - with anything mechanical, there is always a risk of failure. Frankly, I think the oil industry has done very well in cleaning up its act. How many wells are in the gulf? How many hurricanes have they weathered? I can't remember another major disaster like this. Folks refer to the Exxon Valdez - but that was a ship - and that was wholly a result of human error. We don't know what caused the Deepwater Horizon explosion yet, but I think we're talking apples and oranges here.
The biggest thing that jumped out at me as I watched President Obama this weekend - and it was reinforced by subsequent news reports - is that we're not addressing the larger issue.
No doubt we need to clean up this spill and hold the oil companies - not just BP - responsible. But what about seizing the day? What about taking this opportunity to draw a line in the oil sheen-coated sand and say, "Enough is enough." Wind, solar, battery, fuel cell, even nuclear (or nucular, if you like George). We have plenty of energy alternatives that can be developed. We've already got several companies producing road-ready, fully-electric cars.
I would so drive this car
Granted, models like the Tesla S (pictured above) are still expensive, but how much would it take to bring this technology to the masses? It's reported that BP is spending $6-7 million A DAY on the oil spill in the Gulf - and that's going to go on for some time.
Can you imagine what we could accomplish in terms of alternative energy technology if we spent $6-7 million a day in a concerted effort?
I don't mean to minimize the tragedy of the Gulf spill and the ongoing risk to a huge natural habitat along the Gulf coast - but I think we're missing a larger opportunity. Let's take those broken eggs and make an omelet, people.
What do you think?
X
I think we need to drill into Gulf even more, But to prevent this from happening again, Enforce STRICT safety codes. Meanwhile i think companies that use fossil fuels, should be taxed to help support the cost of moving away from Fossil Fuels.If every company that does use fossil fuels pay more of their paychecks then that added money can be put to research on stronger batteries and other technologies that we lack at the moment.
ReplyDeleteAnd to deal with the Oil Spill i think we need to burn it all. The air pollution can have a harmful effect but burning it keeps the oil off the beach which would have more of an impact if it lands. And you think of it as a punishment for BP, If all that gas is burned that is gas that BP can't recover as sell, plus they are already spending loads of money to stop the oil leak.
Interesting points..thanks for posting!
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