The Cost of Progress

As I type, up to 25000 barrels of oil per day are gushing into the Gulf Of Mexico. The explosion which destroyed the Deepwater Horizon oil platform also claimed 11 lives. Already we are looking for someone to blame as it becomes clear that the flood of oil from the sea floor is proving difficult to stop, and that contingency plans for a spill were inadequate or non-existent. At this point, it will probably turn out to be the worst oil disaster in US history since the volume of oil is not limited to the contents of an oil tanker.
Last week, the main proposal was to burn off the oil. Not surprisingly, this has had little effect. Even if it had, the fire would have produced an airborne cloud of toxins while the most dense chemicals would have dropped to the sea floor. You can read about in-situ burning here. The best clean up technique appears to be rapid containment and removal, but this has not happened.
What could have caused this catastrophe? This is central to the topic of blame. Obama sent SWAT teams to inspect similar rigs, suggesting to the public that terrorism could have been suspected. However, industry insiders and educated observers suspect a more logical cause.
"The problem is that when you drill into these formations, and then try to inject cement into the hole/gaps to prevent leakage, the curing process for that creates heat. That heat can, if not controlled, cause the gas to escape the frozen crystals. If a lot of gas is released all at once, as could happen during the cement/curing process, it can cause a blowout where the cementing is occurring, or force gas and/or oil up the pipeline to the drilling rig on the surface."
Our friends at Halliburton were involved in the construction of the well. There is an article here which covers their role. Halliburton is a "world leader" in cementing well heads.
"Halliburton performed a variety of services on the rig, including cementing, and had four employees stationed on the rig at the time of the accident. Halliburton's employees returned to shore safely, due, in part, to the brave rescue efforts by the U.S. Coast Guard and other organizations.
Halliburton had completed the cementing of the final production casing string in accordance with the well design approximately 20 hours prior to the incident. The cement slurry design was consistent with that utilized in other similar applications."
In 2007, the U.S. Minerals Management Service noted that over 14 years, around half (39) of the well blowouts in the area were due to cementing problems. Halliburton's cementing was blamed for an Australian blowout last year (the well leaked oil for 10 weeks).
Interestingly, Halliburton announced that it would acquire an oil and gas well fire control company less that a month ago. At the very least, this is disaster capitalism at it's finest.
So, who is to blame? It certainly looks like Halliburton had a part to play. The BBC asked a similar question here, where a point was made which most of us like to ignore. Many corporations operate with little concern for anything other than profit. We see that all the time. Would they continue to take such risks if the potential profits declined? In other words, if we consumed less, we would see fewer disasters. We have to accept at least a small portion of the blame.

You may remember the documentary, Who Killed The Electric Car. The answer to the question posed in the film explores similar issues. Real change has to come from the top and the bottom.

The Living Dead

The topic of consumerism has been on my mind again recently, and I discovered an interesting (and short) film which i thought I'd share:



This topic of consumerism and indoctrination has been discussed on the big screen for decades. When we watch the classic, Network, it feels so relevant today because little has changed! Freedom of choice, when it is between 100 brands of fabric softener, is no choice at all. If our lives are centered on consumption, we enter into an endless cycle of work, shopping, and debt. We are complicit in the destruction and pollution of our natural resources. We are ignorant of what happens 'behind the scenes' while we are busy buying things we don't need.

I have been challenged to add something positive, and to give some resources for those who want to make a change.  I'll start with a couple of great websites. The first is Adbusters , and the second is Mother Earth News .
A positive step which anyone can take is, after reading a blog or watching a film or just drawing your own conclusions, to pass the message on. After all, consumerism is about illusions. Free (and truthful) information is a sign of true freedom, not the disease of mindless consumerism.

I've posted this before, but it fits this topic perfectly - The Story Of Stuff:

More Inconvenient Truths

Sometimes the truth is obvious, yet most of us refuse to acknowledge it's existence. The last taboo - population control - appeared in the news again today:
"Contraception is almost five times cheaper as a means of preventing climate change than conventional green technologies, according to research by the London School of Economics."
You can read the full article here.
"Every £4 spent on family planning over the next four decades would reduce global CO2 emissions by more than a ton, whereas a minimum of £19 would have to be spent on low-carbon technologies to achieve the same result, the research says."
I'm not suggesting we should focus less on other efforts, but the best and most obvious method of tackling our planet's problems is to reduce the quantities of resources that we use. Less people, less comsumption and less waste.

Another fitting article appeared today:
"The collapse in Britain's bee population is being made worse by pesticides that are banned in much of EU, according to a new study."
You can read the full article here.
Apparently much of the EU has already reached the same conclusion, hence the bans. Of course, the chemical manufacturers will be able to tell you why this is not true, or where the data is flawed or inconclusive, but they always have a product to sell and investors to please.

Check out some of my shirt designs if you're looking for a way to spread your message - click here!

Day 0

Finally, I make the switch to a 'real' blog! I've been thinking about an opening post for a while but I'm going to have to save those for another time. I'll at least go with something current for you.
Getting The Truth Out - The Liberty
Here's an excellent documentary which details the events of that day:



So what can you expect from me? Well, more of the above, I guess. Stuff you might not have seen anywhere else, but always 'a mixed bag'! I'm in a state of transition. My online presence is in a state of transition too, so you'll have to bear with me.
I've spent way too many hours on here designing unique shirts for the masses, and now I'm branching out to here (this one is very much under construction).

I'd like to end this initial post with a great little story for you - The Story of Stuff...