I simply can not take any more of this:
In 2007, South Korea suffered a major oil spill off of it’s shores. It was much smaller in comparison with this one, but it is worth investigating the response of the South Korean government in the first 30 days of their disaster as compared to our governments response.
While there were certainly differences in the spill in that the Korean spill was from a ship, and not an on-going situation, the government activated hundreds of thousands of military/government personell, and nearly 1,000,000 civilians were rallied to participate in working to clear oil off of the shore lines, and environmentally fragile areas (all within the first 33 days!).
It is nonsense of incredible proportions to say that our government is doing even a mediocre job in responding to this spill.
Gee. Let’s look at some of what have been described as “differences.” First, the Korean oil spill was just that, a spill. It was a tanker that dumped about 1/3 of the Exxon Valdez. It wasn’t an open gushing hole in the sea floor a mile below the surface. Large amounts of resources didn’t have to be focused on STOPPING the damned continued gushing of oil. Additionally, it directly affected a much smaller portion of theoast that has a highly dense population. It wasn’t rolling all over the gulf coast, all over the place, affecting wetlands and regions that are exceedingly difficult to get to.
On 9 December it was reported that the oil slick was already 33 km (21 mi) long and 10 m (33 ft) wide and 10 cm (4 in) thick in some areas.[5][7][9] It was also reported that at least 30 beaches have been affected and over half of the region’s sea farms are believed to have lost their stocks due to the spill. Sinduri Dune, a South Korean natural treasure, is reported to have been saturated by the spill.[9]
Let’s compare that to the current disaster in the Gulf:
The gusher originates from a deepwater oil well 5,000 feet (1,500 m) below the ocean surface. Estimates of the amount of oil being discharged range from BP’s current estimate of over 5,000 barrels (210,000 US gallons; 790,000 litres) to as much as 100,000 barrels (4,200,000 US gallons; 16,000,000 litres) of crude oil per day. The exact spill flow rate is uncertain – in part because BP has refused to allow independent scientists to perform accurate measurements – and is a matter of ongoing debate.[9] In addition, the proportion of natural gas in the mixture is not known. The resulting oil slick covers a surface area of at least 2,500 square miles (6,500 km2), with the exact size and location of the slick fluctuating from day to day depending on weather conditions.[10] Scientists have also discovered immense underwater plumes of oil not visible from the surface.
Oh hey. Other than both involving oil, there is no comparison. Please, people. Just stfu. There is no comparison to anything else that has happened before, no one knows how to stop this mess, NO GOVERNMENT OR PRIVATE ENTITY ON THE PLANET is designed to handle this mess, and sitting around wanking about how if Obama would just get stern with BP and put on a sad face at a press conference for Maureen Dowd it would fix the mess is going to drive me insane.
And if you think a million god damned people indefinitely tromping around the wetlands is a solid idea, you need your head examined. The porta potties and food deliveries to support these billions of volunteers fatfooting all over the marshes would in itself be an ecological god damned nightmare. Remember, the Korea mess was a finite quantity of oil.
I’m all for constructive criticism, but flailing around over things that no one can control is just driving me nuts. Why hasn’t Obama done more to stop the leak? I dunno. Why didn’t Obama do more to save John Murtha and Dennis Hopper! Why won’t he wave his magic fucking wand and bring world peace! Why is unemployment at 10%? Why are we all going to die one day!
Because sometimes things don’t have solutions or answers, you losers. Try acting like you are a little older than five for a change.
And James Carville and Donna Brazille can get off their fat ases, head to their beloved home, and start volunteering to clean up the mess rather than running their damned mouths on CNN 24/7. You both have two hands. Use it for something other than holding a liquor bottle and a microphone, you jackasses. I’m sure your Louisiana friends would love to see you more often than your annual trip to Mardi Gras, and we could all use a break from listening to your bullshit.
John +3