On 6/1/2010 9:02 AM, Stu wrote:
> On Mon, 31 May 2010 23:07:30 -0400, "J. Clarke"
> > wrote:
>
>> On 5/30/2010 12:02 PM, Ed Pawlowski wrote:
>>>
>>> > wrote
>>>>
>>>> Woulda been easy, the rig is a mile from the leak... shoulda been
>>>> plugged automatically/instantly, same as how automatic fire control
>>>> systems operate. The plugging apparatus should be in place before
>>>> they begin drilling, same as there are brakes on a vehical before it
>>>> needs to stop, same reason fighter pilots wear a parachute before they
>>>> take off.
>>>
>>> It "supposedly" was in place but did not work. It will be interesting to
>>> find out the details and who was dumb, who was paid off, who made the
>>> bad decisions, who was asleep at the wheel.
>>>
>>> Once that is determined as fact, criminal charges should be brought
>>> about. The reality is the effects of this spill will be decades long,
>>> maybe centuries.
>>
>> Yeah, good policy--anytime something breaks, even if it was nobody's
>> fault, put somebody in jail.
>>
>> You don't know what went wrong. It might have been something beyond
>> anybody's control.
>
> I think the whole premise of his argument is that BP talked the
> government out of forcing them to install a $500,000 automatic oil
> shutoff valve, the same shutoff valve that all other drilling rigs had
> to have installed. This was not brought to light until the BP drilling
> rig had a fire and subsequent catastrophic oil spill which is on
> going.

That may be his argument but if so his argument is bullshit. The valve
was present. It didn't work. Sending sound signals at it, which is
what the 500,000 buck gadget does, would have done as much good as
clicking your remote at the TV when the power's off.

The valve went bust. Nobody knows why the valve went bust, but it did.
They sent a submarine down to work the manual controls and that didn't
work either--if that didn't work then what makes you think that making
noise at it would have worked?

If anybody is at fault, it's not BP for using an industry-standard
valve, it's the manufacturer of the valve.

> Remember I said this here... BP will go bankrupt soon and not be able
> to continue the well capping or cleanup.

Why would the company with the fourth largest revenue in the world
suddenly go bankrupt?