Tuesday, April 11
10 a.m.: Hearing on the Deepwater Horizon oil-rig accident, at the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.2:30 p.m.: BP PLC /quotes/comstock/13*!bp/quotes/nls/bp (BP 49.06, -1.27, -2.53%) /quotes/comstock/13*!rig/quotes/nls/rig (RIG 68.01, -1.69, -2.42%) America Chairman and President Lamar McKay, Transocean Ltd. President and Chief Executive Steven Newman and others testify on the Gulf oil spill's environmental impacts, at the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
Wednesday, April 12
10 a.m.: Hearing on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, at the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.May 07, 2010 (click title to entry - thank you)
...In order to properly cap a well, drillers rely on three lines of defense to protect themselves from an explosive blowout: a column of heavy mud in the well itself and in the drilling riser that runs up to the rig; at least two cement plugs that fit in the well with a column of mud between them; and a blowout preventer that is supposed to seal the well if the mud and plugs all fail.
In the case of the Deepwater Horizon, Scott Bickford, a lawyer for a rig worker who survived the explosions, said the mud was being extracted from the riser before the top cement cap was in place, and a statement by cementing contractor Halliburton confirmed the top cap was not installed.
If all of the mud had still been present, it would have helped push back against the gas burping up toward the rig, though it might not have held it back indefinitely....
This is only part of the picture. There is a lot more wrong than that.
The way we think about our natural resources has to change. The fisheries have to come first. Without a food supply the nation is in ruins. That priority has to take precedent over any Wall Street idea of fun.
Norway has a strong cultural fishing influence for its people's existence. While the waters off Norway, and realizing they still value whaling, are very different than any of the characteristics of the Gulf of Mexico, it has a way of thinking about its natural resources that sets priorities to put fisheries first.
We are not Norway, but, we are a people that need protection from exploitation of our natural world and natural resources.
The precautionary principle (section 9)
In other words, if there aren't guarantees to the citizens of the USA to insure their livelihoods, then there is no green light to the Petroleum Industry !
Basically, NOT ONE MORE OIL CONTAMINATION of the USA fisheries and shorelines.
NOT ONE.
Leases get pulled and NEVER reinstated to any company or any 'relative/subsidiary/reorganization' of any company.
When a decision is made in the absence of adequate information on the impacts it may have on the natural environment, the aim shall be to avoid possible significant damage to biological, geological or landscape diversity. If there is a risk of serious or irreversible damage to such diversity, lack of knowledge shall not be used as a reason for postponing or not introducing management measures.
We now know that 'lack of knowledge' is a huge issue and one of national security ! Lack of knowledge is substandard to any policy !
The principle that cumulative environmental effects must be assessed (section 10)
Any pressure on an ecosystem shall be assessed on the basis of the cumulative environmental effects on the ecosystem now or in the future.
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/md/documents-and-publications/government-propositions-and-reports-/Reports-to-the-Storting-white-papers-2/2008-2009/report-no-37-2008-2009-to-the-storting/7.html?id=577947
