BP: If the cap fits…
What might otherwise be regarded as an incredible feat of engineering has been achieved a mile under the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico.
As of this moment, it LOOKS as if BP has finally managed to lower and secure a completely sealed cap on to the three month old gush of oil.
The more we learn about ‘deep sea, off shore’ drilling, the more miraculous the entire saga becomes.
Miraculous that man, without line of sight and with the vicissitudes of currents and ocean swirls, can so direct remote robotic actions that a seventy ton cap can be dropped upon so active a volcano of oil, secured and sealed to a flexible outflow to conduct the gush in a controlled flush to boats anchored on the surface.
Yet it is today’s ‘miraculous’ engineering capacity that got BP into trouble in the first place – a conviction that they had a fail-safe mechanism to explore and retrieve oil from depths never plumbed before.
As America struggles to break its previously unquenchable dependence upon countries with questionable regimes in the Middle East, let’s make no mistake, BP represented to the archangel of hope.
‘Drill baby drill!’, was Sarah Palin’s cry which I heard for myself at the last Republican Convention.
Barack Obama’s unease about coastal drilling bowed in the face of the post Iraq War need to slash those Arab oil imports.
But what we never knew was that all this drilling depended upon one ‘fail-safe’ piece of technology which had ‘never previously failed’.
Had we known then that we were one valve, one washer, one O ring from disaster would we have drilled baby?
When Channel 4 News was reporting from Brazil at the end of last year, we devoted much attention to the new and potentially life changing finds of oil off Rio.
They are two thousand feet DEEPER than the reserves off Louisiana.
At what point will the world conclude that seven thousand feet, five thousand feet, any thousand feet below the sea’s surface is too deep?
That in effect those stocks are non-stocks and that the need to find an alternative right now, is with us?
Presumably only when demand outstrips supply, will our drugged dependence on oil ever be broken, by science coming up with a more sustainable alternative.
The question now is whether that moment could be artificially fixed by a globally agreed moratorium that draws the line on deep sea drilling.
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There are 7 comments on this post
When we were travelling in America last year we simply found them much more aware of the environment than we are here. But they have yet to make all the right links; reduce their driving and go for much smaller cars, for a start. But in matters of recycling, and thinking and talking about alternative technologies, they are ahead. They were also discussing building new rail lines and train links to reduce domestic flights. Now they have to think about turning off their air-conditioning and all the gadgetry which has amused them so much over the years…..
All around us are examples of Victorian and Edwardian engineering (bridges, tunnels, sewers) doing much more work than originally designed for, and well past their original design life. Nowadays, those designs would be rejected as expensive, “gold-plated”, or inefficient, but they’ve delivered fantastic value for money. At the risk of displaying my prejudices – engineers can do wonderful things. Problems do seem more likely, though, when accountants make engineering decisions.
We need to cut our dependence on the deadly polluting substance straight away!
There is plenty of alternative energy on our planet but man has to spend/loose a lot of money to change us all from oil guzzling, to clean green energy. Will the men in charge of the power help us during their life times? I find it hard to believe they will infact I know they will not but hope for the future life of this beautiful world will never die.
adzmundo The Venus Project,ZM & CND
Might this disaster have alerted middle America to the folly of their addiction to the black stuff or have they been taken in by the twaddle spouted by the dumbass of all dumbass politicians Sarah Palin? (Shouldn’t it be Sarah Appalin?’) The BP disaster will change nothing. It will soon be forgotten and they’ll be drillin’ away like crazy in no time. I agree with you that there is unlikely to be any change until demand outstrips supply, but that may not be too far off. China’s ever increasing thirst for oil is going to bring that day much closer. What should we be doing? Doubling, tripling even, our investment in nuclear fusion and fuel cell technology. Where’s the money going to come from? Well, how about having a bank transaction tax and putting the proceeds towards this noble purpose? A hypothecated tax that could even help us to like banks again and at the same time give them the opportunity to demonstrate some social responsibility.
Very interesting article – but why has the print on your blog suddenly got so small?
Why can I not get the ‘thumbs’ to respond?
…A good Blog Jon – have you sent it to the relevant people like Palin, oil engineers, policy makers, political leaders and Armed Forces heads so they think twice about Afghan and the death and injuries occurring for the West to have minerals.. and yes I think so, oil. As we did not think anything worth the loss of army personnel gunned down by an Afghan colleague last year .. I am no more convinced today on hearing of the loss and injury of more British troops. Afghanistan -it is evolutionarily impossible for hundreds of years be squeezed into a few years. Many ‘fronts’ must rethink policy or we will continue to stumble from one conflict to another for oil,as we have for 50+ years using other reasons as subterfuge.
I’m suspicious of the Senatot’s and President Obama’s attack on BP. Do you think it is a lot to do with forcing down BP stock and forcing the company to sell off it’s ‘oil assetts’ at a low price!!