[fauve]

Originally Posted by BurntStoreResident

I'm not meaning to incite, but I have a serious question: Can an oil rig like that be sabotaged?

Ive been wondering a lot about that. The reporter at the LA Times wrote this:

"We are all very curious," said an industry source who asked not to be identified because he worked for a rival oil company. "What happened that all that equipment, all the computer power, all the automated systems and manpower in place, could not be invoked to stop this?"

The assumption is that an oil-rig perfect storm occurred, very quickly. "There would have been a dozen barriers that had to fail in order for this accident to happen," said Tim Robertson, an oil-spill consultant with Nuka Research and Planning Group in Alaska.

Perhaps the biggest question, to experts, is why the blowout preventer valves didn't shut. The huge device, which caps the well, is equipped with emergency systems, including a "dead man's switch," a device of last resort that is supposed to be fail-safe."

BP’s oil containment problem is unprecedented - latimes.com

[rusty78]

Originally Posted by BurntStoreResident

I'm not meaning to incite, but I have a serious question: Can an oil rig like that be sabotaged?

After 911...I think anything in the world can be sabotaged...especially an oil rig that sits in the middle of a body of water...just waiting for someone to visit...but unless people are willing to do without electric...gas for their vehicles...and the other many uses for oil...the drilling will go on...

[jambo101]

Maybe if every one got serious about energy conservation a lot of these oil rigs would become unnecessary.

[Coconut1]

Originally Posted by Wack-a-Mole

Where's all this Electricity going to come from????

If you say 'Wind', your knowledge of Wind Generation is lacking.

Wind, and solar for the most part and I'm willing to think about expanding nuclear, hydro and geothermal.

But, if you're a wind expert, tell me why my knowledge is lacking

[matchpoint]

This isn't a useful poll.

I'm not for any offshore oil drilling anywhere. We need to get back on the track of finding a bridge fuel (maybe biodiesel) in order for us to get to a truly sustainable fuel source--like sugarcane ethanol or something like that in 15 years.

I believe the Gov't should rip up all BP oil leases that exist and kick BP out from drilling in the U.S. for 10 years. If we kicked BP out of the U.S. market until the time the Louisiana coast returned to normalcy they might never be back....think about it

This has the potential to be the most catastrophic hazardous waste tragedy in the history of the nation. Someone's gotta pay for it...

[lotus_sutra]

I voted no, as I have always been and always will be against the damage we do to our beautiful oceans...I cannot even stand when I read about our Navy increasing submarine sonar due to the effect that it has on our innocent sea mammals!

[ChrisA70]

They should NOT drill off the coast, NO WAY, NO HOW....... Look at what happens.....

[ChrisA70]

We put people in space... Have cars that park themselves... But they can't stop this leak, come on!!!!

[LABART]

No. I am still against it.

[LABART]

Originally Posted by southernnaturelover

Electric heat up north is a lot different than electric heat down here, we are fortunate that we can use heat pumps that are WAY more efficient, but heat pumps don't work very well when the outside temp drops below about 25F. If every home up north used a traditional electric furnace it would quickly overwhelm the power grid, especially in ice or snow storms.

I live in TN and we use natural gas. If our power were to go out we could not heat our house because it runs on the fan (a/c unit). We had a wood stove in our last house and plan on getting a stove for our current home by next winter.

Also I used to live in FL and cannot figure out how their electric is different from the electric I use now. Really the only difference is I use the heater more than I use the air conditioner.