BP's behaviour in the Gulf is appalling. But our thirst for oil is the real issue [Guardian]

[flamingdem]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/may/30/bp-oil-spill-gulf-mexico

As this piece is written, act one of the Gulf of Mexico tragedy continues, agonisingly, to unfold. We, the people of the region, keep hoping to leave behind the terrifying explosions and ghastly loss of human life, the dread invoked by black jets billowing endlessly from below and the floating oil spreading over an ever-growing area.

We want to move on to act two, which will feature many dirty shovels, corpses of birds and people crying over the loss of a landscape they love. Act three has yet to be written; it will employ an enormous cast of lawyers and last for decades, but in that time there will be some healing, we hope. That's what we need to happen as soon as possible, but we can't seem to get the damned thing plugged up.

I am told that Britons like to measure areas by comparison to the size of Wales. The oil spill stretching across the Gulf is now far bigger than Wales; it's about the size of Scotland and growing by more than 1,500 square kilometres (580 square miles) a day. It was my observation, in satellite images of this inexorable spread, that led me to conclude in early May that the rate of release being cited by BP and repeated by our coastguard – 1,000 barrels a day – was preposterous.

After initial pressure, the rate was upped to 5,000 barrels per day – still too low by my estimation by at least a factor of five. BP, however, refused to make any effort to estimate the flow, claiming this could jeopardise its response efforts, which could not possibly be any greater, it avowed. (MORE)

[MadHound]

1. Actually it is the thirst for energy.

Energy can be generated in a number of ways, the thing is moving the corporations and government towards supporting those alternatives. That is what is the impediment in this, not people.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

2. A real demon no one is talking about

http://www.calrecycle.ca.gov/UsedOil/OilChange/


Used Motor Oil
Debunked: The 3000 Mile Oil Change Is a Myth

Needing to change your car's oil at 3,000 miles is a myth. Many cars today can go longer without affecting engine wear. Automakers are regularly recommending oil changes at 5,000, 7,000 or even 10,000 miles based on driving conditions.

Yet research conducted by the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) shows that nearly three-quarters of Californian drivers change their motor oil more often than automaker recommendations. Following the 3,000 mile myth generates millions of gallons of waste oil every year that can pollute California's natural resources.

Do your part to help keep California green. Always check your vehicle's user manual for guidelines on when to change your oil. It will save you money, time and help the environment too. And that's a change we can all get behind.

[flamingdem]

3. Thank you. I always wait to do that, now I feel less guilty! nt

[HysteryDiagnosis]

5. Just a thought.... how many oil changes will the fully electric vehicles

require??? ZERO.

[napi21]

4. AFAIK it's the US Military that uses the majority of oil

products attributted to US usage. Bwtween the military use & that used by the aairlines, I think you could remove all the cars from all the highways & still be the biggest users of petroleum products in the world.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

7. Well howdy then, I wish we could use our military to protect us from

corporate terroristas... they exist you know. There's been one on my telly quite a bit lately.

[Kievan Rus]

6. And yet, so many cities (mine included) are looking to cut transit

Hell, even New York City...the most transit-friendly city in the nation...is cutting public transit service. In Pittsburgh, where I'm from, they're looking to undertake drastic service cuts since they couldn't toll I-80. God forbid we make the rich pay their fair share in taxes.

Cutting transit is the worst thing you could do at this time. Great idea -- let's put EVEN MORE cars on the road. Let's make those that drive to the park-and-ride drive all the way into the city; let's make those like myself that could drive if they wanted to but have elected not to go out and add to traffic and oil consumption in order to survive; and it'll just screw the poor, but it's not like they even matter in this country. As long as the top 1% have theirs, who cares about anybody else (:sarcasm:)?

Peak oil is inevitable, and forcing more people to drive is only going to make it come even sooner. People are just so shortsighted so often anymore.

[napi21]

8. I rode the Port Authority but to work EVERY DAY for quite a few

years. I lived in the North Hills, in Glenshaw, and I loved riding the bus. I had time to read, snooze, and make a number of friends who also rode every day. It's a damn shame that Pgh. is cutting service. They built the first link via what they called a subway from DT to South Hills not too long before I moved. I was hoping they would be able to convert all those unused rail tracks to increase mass transit, not reduce it! I know much of Pa. is now seniors and the tax base has eroded badly.. I just wish they'd be able to get some new main industry (instead of health care) to replace all those lost steel jobs. It's a nice State to live in, but I can't blame all the young for leaving either. There'a very few decent jobs reamining there.

[w4rma]

9. The lack of regulation and the lack of the enforcement of regulations are the real issues. (nt)