06-19-2010, 02:51 PM
A moment of silence is in order for the workers lost on Piper Alpha, Deepwater Horizon, and other casualties in the industry. Huge tragedy. Normal, everyday people who work to provide energy for the rest of us, and paid for their efforts with their lives should not be forgotten so carelessly as has become the norm. Rest in peace, all.
I'm not very informed about that one, GJC, but generally, the two accidents seem similar in result, if not in exact cause. I haven't researched it that thoroughly, but it seems to me the water at that site was MUCH shallower, making the repair/patch more feasible. Some repair techniques have improved and more have been invented since then, but approximately a mile of water overhead makes everything quite a bit more difficult. I'm pretty sure they got the PA leak contained a long time before this one, but perhaps there are other factors/motives at work here.
(Self moderation: I think we should not pursue the motives and political implications, as we'd shortly violate the "modern politics" rule.)
When big catastrophes like these happen, the tangible assets are sold, the proceeds going towards retiring the debt, and the (generally high percentage) unpaid balance simply is written off the ledger, and disappears, leaving someone else to pay the injured parties in some cases, and in others, nobody pays, and the smaller businesses simply fail. You can't collect a debt when there's no money, simple as that.
A very large proportion of some of the US seafoods are harvested from the Gulf of Mexico, and that water is very much in danger of having huge sections "dead" for marine life for decades to come. That means thousands of fishermen, boat maintenance, markets and so forth will go out of business. Prices of seafood from that source will rise dramatically, and the economy of the region will be irreparably harmed.
I'm not very informed about that one, GJC, but generally, the two accidents seem similar in result, if not in exact cause. I haven't researched it that thoroughly, but it seems to me the water at that site was MUCH shallower, making the repair/patch more feasible. Some repair techniques have improved and more have been invented since then, but approximately a mile of water overhead makes everything quite a bit more difficult. I'm pretty sure they got the PA leak contained a long time before this one, but perhaps there are other factors/motives at work here.
(Self moderation: I think we should not pursue the motives and political implications, as we'd shortly violate the "modern politics" rule.)
When big catastrophes like these happen, the tangible assets are sold, the proceeds going towards retiring the debt, and the (generally high percentage) unpaid balance simply is written off the ledger, and disappears, leaving someone else to pay the injured parties in some cases, and in others, nobody pays, and the smaller businesses simply fail. You can't collect a debt when there's no money, simple as that.
A very large proportion of some of the US seafoods are harvested from the Gulf of Mexico, and that water is very much in danger of having huge sections "dead" for marine life for decades to come. That means thousands of fishermen, boat maintenance, markets and so forth will go out of business. Prices of seafood from that source will rise dramatically, and the economy of the region will be irreparably harmed.
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
