Another drilling rig has exploded in the Gulf and just days after the House (maybe) overturned the drilling moratorium.
Hmmmm,
We went 31 years without a major oil spill in the Gulf prior to Deepwater Horizon. Now we have a second explosion so soon. Meanwhile, some Greenpeace “direct action” types are attacking an oil rig off Greenland.
Hmmmm,
There’s no evidence of any human agency in either explosion. Still, when you look at the utter frothing hysteria directed against drilling and the oil industry in general, it’s pretty easy to imagine a group deciding that a little violence now will save a lot of lives later. After all, don’t environmental activists always tell us that they’re fighting for the survival of the entire earth and humanity itself? With such high stakes, it would be easy for someone to talk themselves into a “you’ve got to break a few eggs to make an omelet” rationalization.
Certainly, if the situation was reversed, the left would have no trouble using the same level of proof as evidence of nefarious plots by the right wing. After all, they think the right engineered a war that killed hundreds of thousands just to make a few bucks. Blaming the right for something like blowing up an oil rig would be chump change compared to that.
At present, the FBI considers ecoterrorists the most active domestic terrorist groups. It wouldn’t be much of a step from burning down buildings to blowing up oil rigs. With the resources and training that Greenpeace and other environmental groups have demonstrated they possess, they certainly have the physical ability to carry out such an attack.
Hmmmm,
We will have to wait and see I suppose. Even if sabotage was the cause it might be hard to prove with all the evidence thousands of meters below the sea. Still, you know the old axiom: Once is a fluke, twice is coincidence, three times…
[Update (2010-9-3 7:58am): From reading the comments, I think this post came out sounding more serious than I intended. I intended a more of a tongue-in-cheek tone to serve as a reminder of how easy it would be to see human agency in such events especially given the hysterical levels of leftwing rhetoric against the oil companies. We could eventually see the environmentalist version of the Weathermen if the hysteria continues.]
Combine this with the eco-nutjob gunman at the Discovery Channel the other day (I’m sure it wasn’t co-ordinated), and the history of the “Earth First” types, and you start to wonder even more…
I was thinking the exact thing when I first heard of the explosion. I’m not a statistician, but what are the odds? There are more than enough leftist/Algore-Marxist whack jobs out there to create such mischief.
Actually, the answer is simpler. These kind of accidents happen all the time — I think this is Mariners’ ninth in the past ten years — but don’t normally get reported because (unlike Deepwater Horizon) they’re no big deal.
However, because of Deepwater Horizon, the media will now report them as part of the bigger narrative. The opposition doesn’t need to go out and blow anything up — they’ll just make a bigger deal over events than they deserve.
Meiczyslaw,
Accidents happen all the time but the loss of an entire rig is rare. Loss of rig with a breach is very rare which is what happened with Deepwater Horizon. If this results in a breach it will be a very rare event.
But you’re correct. The media can impose the narrative it wishes.
The media can impose the narrative it wishes.
Katrina was an excellent example of that. I have read first person accounts from volunteers who were amazed at the frenzy pf reporters and photographers from major news organizations to see bodies. Even though there were none to be seen.
Funny.
Every time Obama doesn’t get his way on energy, an oil rig blows up.
Legislation is pending to put all farms under federal control, suddenly salmonella pops up everywhere, followed by E. coli.
What a coincidence.
I have read first person accounts from volunteers who were amazed at the frenzy pf reporters and photographers from major news organizations to see bodies. Even though there were none to be seen.
Uh, Mike, even Wikipedia shows there were 1836 deaths due to Katrina. I think there were a few bodies around.
Sheeesh. Opinions are one thing,but facts, dear, are really important. Trying to make a point without them just makes you seem dumb; maybe stupid, it’s hard to tell.
Tom M,
Uh, Mike, even Wikipedia shows there were 1836 deaths due to Katrina.
But most weren’t easily visible in the first few days. He’s talking about reporters like the ones who showed up at the Superdrome expecting to find a chaotic bloodbath. People died but not like the media first reporting they were dying.
Funny.
Every time Obama doesn’t get his way on energy, an oil rig blows up.
Legislation is pending to put all farms under federal control, suddenly salmonella pops up everywhere, followed by E. coli.
What a coincidence.
Yes, yes, yes! It’s a riddle wrapped inside an enigma! Even the shooter doesn’t know who did it!
“Yes, yes, yes! It’s a riddle wrapped inside an enigma! ” – inside a puzzle, wrapped inside a douche named chicagoboyz.
As further information comes in:
This was not a drilling platform, it was a production platform for seven wells. All wells were shut in (presumably at the wellheads on the sea floor), and repair/maintenance work was being done. A fire started (welding going on, maybe?) that was more than the repair crew could handle, so they evacuated.
Monitoring for any oil leakage is ongoing. None so far.
Never ascribe to malice what is adequately explained by stupidity – Napoleon
There are plenty of ways for something to catch fire without arson. Leave the conspiracy theories to the experts. Did you know that 9/11 was done by Hitler’s clones as the start of the takeover by the Bush-Windsor-Illuminati conspiracy?
Auric Goldfinger was onto something.
I wonder how much money a person would make if he massively bought calls on oil futures, then contrived to do sabotage on this scale?
It could be venality rather than politics.
Assuming it was not just an accident.
I think the simplest explanation is the most likely: The media are looking for accidents to fit their narrative. To find more accidents they don’t need more accidents. They need only to notice more of the accidents that are already occurring, which may mean defining more types of events as accidents. Is this what they did here? I don’t know, maybe there really is a conspiracy. But conspiracy is rarely the correct explanation for anything.
Jonathan,
But conspiracy is rarely the correct explanation for anything.
That is true. Most conspiracies require to much competence and large scale secrecy to carry out.
Even the wrecking, fires and (attempted) bombing carried out by ecoterrorist to date have been small scale amateur-hour stuff most likely carried out by teenagers and young adults. There have been several hundred incidents but nothing truly sophisticated.
Hmmm.
Reminds me of the 1953 classic French film, “The Wages of Fear”, and the even better (yes!) American re-make of 1977, “Sorcerer”. Film buffs should watch both, and I’m sure I needn’t remind you that each should be watched without interruption.