7 June 2010, 4:56 pm
How can "the public", in the form of a poll, possibly feel the "Federal response to Gulf spill rated lower than Katrina efforts."? That was what I read a POLL said today. The reactions to Katrina were all capable of being performed IMMEDIATELY by a wide variety of both public and private organizations. That is NOT the case with the "Gulf Oil Well Disaster", where the ability to even operate at the 5,000 feet below the suface of the ocean is limited to less than a handfull of PRIVATE companies, (and maybe ONLY one). The US Government did NOT, and still does NOT, have any equipment capable of dealing with the problem of a gushing oil well at 5,000 feet below the surface of the ocean. They can, and I am sure they will, bring unrelenting pressure and financial pain to BP, et al, for the spill cleanup. But they can NOT directly perform the TASK! The problems are PRESSURE and DEPTH. The oil is being forced out by the pressure it is under deep within the earth. Until they can relieve that pressure, or in some way overcome it (which they have been unable to do up till now), the oil will continue to gush out, 5,000 feet BELOW the surface of the water. The purpose of the TWO additional wells is to provide a SAFE passage for the oil, which represents an EASIER (less restricted) path and potential for a higher VOLUME of flow which will in turn reduce the pressure at the failed well head. I assume that the hope is that when the pressure is REDUCED, and consequently the flow is diverted away from ocean discharge, that they can then go back and repair / cap the original well. Much as I am sure that stopping the oil spill is high on the agendas of both president Obama (the democrats) and the republicans, the well is SO DEEP that only the private sector actually has the capability to do the work at that depth. One could better ask, "Who was pushing to allow drilling at that depth in the first place?", and "Why did they not have better safe guards?". I suspect that off shore drilling will get a LOT of regulation and preventative planning requirements in the future. 30 years in the hose & coupling industry... Read More »
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