SINthysist
Rural Racist Homophobe
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Offshore Oil Drilling: An Environmental Bonanza
Humberto Fontova
Friday, April 12, 2002
Greenie-Weenies oppose offshore oil drilling anywhere off the U.S. coast.
As usual, here in Louisiana, the genuine "northernmost banana republic" (I was born in Cuba: I know one when I see one), we see things differently. Of the 3,739 offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico nowadays, 3,203 lie off our coast. We love offshore oil drilling, and not just for the loot extorted from oil companies for the privilege.
Most oil spills occur from tankers, not production platforms or pipelines. Tankers are used to transport foreign oil here. We'd use less foreign oil if restrictions on offshore oil drilling were removed. Never mind that with the Mideast mess and Chavez in power in Venezuela we'll soon have less to transport here anyway.
But forget cheaper oil and less pollution for a second. All fishermen and scuba divers out there should plead with their states to open up offshore oil drilling posthaste. I'm talking about the fabulous fishing – the EXPLOSION of marine life that accompanies the offshore oil platforms.
"Environmentalists" wake up in the middle of the night sweating and whimpering about offshore oil platforms only because they've never seen what's under them. This proliferation of marine life around the platforms turned on its head every "expert" opinion of its day.
The original plan, mandated by federal environmental "experts" back in the late '40s, was to remove the big, ugly, polluting, environmentally hazardous contraptions as soon as they stopped producing. Fine, said the oil companies.
About 10 years ago some wells played out off Louisiana and the oil companies tried to comply. Their ears are still ringing from the clamor fishermen put up. Turns out those platforms are going nowhere, and by popular demand of those with a bigger stake in the marine environment than any "environmentalist."
Every "environmental" superstition against these structures was turned on its head. Marine life had EXPLODED around these huge artificial reefs:
· A study by LSU's sea grant college shows that 85 percent of Louisiana fishing trips involve fishing around these structures.
· The same study shows that there's 50 times more marine life around an oil production platform than in the surrounding mud bottoms.
· Louisiana started a "Rigs to Reef" program, which pays the oil companies to keep the platforms in the Gulf. Neighboring states like Alabama and Florida stand in line to buy old rigs from the oil companies to dump off their coasts to enhance fisheries.
· Japanese concerns are buying them from Shell Oil for aquaculture projects.
· Commercial fishing vessels from Taiwan and Japan fish Louisiana's waters.
· Louisiana produces one-third of America's commercial fisheries (because of, not in spite of, these platforms).
· Most of the nation's spearfishing records were winched aboard around these oil platforms.
· And not one major oil spill! Not one!
In 1986 Louisiana started the Rigs to Reef program, a cooperative effort by oil companies, the feds and the state. This program literally pays the oil companies to keep the platforms in the Gulf. Now they just cut them off at the bottom and topple them over as artificial reefs; 58 have been toppled thus far.
Louisiana wildlife and fisheries officials were recently invited to Australia to help them with a similar program.
Yes, Australia. Yes, the nation with the Great Barrier Reef, the world's biggest natural reef, the world's top dive destination – they're asking for help from Louisiana about developing exciting dive sites by using the very structures that epitomize (in greenie eyes) environmental disaster. In Louisiana we know better.
You could cover the Great Barrier Reef with a huge oil spill and radioactive waste; spear every last one of its fish, including the angel and butterfly fish, during a mega-spearfishing rodeo featuring 10,000 drunkards blasting the fish with power-heads; purse-seine, trammel-net and long-line the area until there was nothing left but three half-starved butterfly fish.
Do all this, then drop three oil platforms nearby and in three years you'd have more and bigger fish than the total of those photographed by the enviro-yuppies around the Great Barrier Reef.
The panorama under an offshore oil platform staggers the most experienced divers.
I've seen divers fresh from the Cayman's Wall surface from under an oil platform too wired on adrenaline to do anything but stutter and wipe spastically at the snot that trails to their chins.
I've seen an experienced scuba-babe fresh from Belize climb out from under a platform gasping and shrieking at the sights and sensations, oblivious to the sights and sensations she was providing with her bikini top near her navel.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/4/12/132638.shtml
Humberto Fontova
Friday, April 12, 2002
Greenie-Weenies oppose offshore oil drilling anywhere off the U.S. coast.
As usual, here in Louisiana, the genuine "northernmost banana republic" (I was born in Cuba: I know one when I see one), we see things differently. Of the 3,739 offshore oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico nowadays, 3,203 lie off our coast. We love offshore oil drilling, and not just for the loot extorted from oil companies for the privilege.
Most oil spills occur from tankers, not production platforms or pipelines. Tankers are used to transport foreign oil here. We'd use less foreign oil if restrictions on offshore oil drilling were removed. Never mind that with the Mideast mess and Chavez in power in Venezuela we'll soon have less to transport here anyway.
But forget cheaper oil and less pollution for a second. All fishermen and scuba divers out there should plead with their states to open up offshore oil drilling posthaste. I'm talking about the fabulous fishing – the EXPLOSION of marine life that accompanies the offshore oil platforms.
"Environmentalists" wake up in the middle of the night sweating and whimpering about offshore oil platforms only because they've never seen what's under them. This proliferation of marine life around the platforms turned on its head every "expert" opinion of its day.
The original plan, mandated by federal environmental "experts" back in the late '40s, was to remove the big, ugly, polluting, environmentally hazardous contraptions as soon as they stopped producing. Fine, said the oil companies.
About 10 years ago some wells played out off Louisiana and the oil companies tried to comply. Their ears are still ringing from the clamor fishermen put up. Turns out those platforms are going nowhere, and by popular demand of those with a bigger stake in the marine environment than any "environmentalist."
Every "environmental" superstition against these structures was turned on its head. Marine life had EXPLODED around these huge artificial reefs:
· A study by LSU's sea grant college shows that 85 percent of Louisiana fishing trips involve fishing around these structures.
· The same study shows that there's 50 times more marine life around an oil production platform than in the surrounding mud bottoms.
· Louisiana started a "Rigs to Reef" program, which pays the oil companies to keep the platforms in the Gulf. Neighboring states like Alabama and Florida stand in line to buy old rigs from the oil companies to dump off their coasts to enhance fisheries.
· Japanese concerns are buying them from Shell Oil for aquaculture projects.
· Commercial fishing vessels from Taiwan and Japan fish Louisiana's waters.
· Louisiana produces one-third of America's commercial fisheries (because of, not in spite of, these platforms).
· Most of the nation's spearfishing records were winched aboard around these oil platforms.
· And not one major oil spill! Not one!
In 1986 Louisiana started the Rigs to Reef program, a cooperative effort by oil companies, the feds and the state. This program literally pays the oil companies to keep the platforms in the Gulf. Now they just cut them off at the bottom and topple them over as artificial reefs; 58 have been toppled thus far.
Louisiana wildlife and fisheries officials were recently invited to Australia to help them with a similar program.
Yes, Australia. Yes, the nation with the Great Barrier Reef, the world's biggest natural reef, the world's top dive destination – they're asking for help from Louisiana about developing exciting dive sites by using the very structures that epitomize (in greenie eyes) environmental disaster. In Louisiana we know better.
You could cover the Great Barrier Reef with a huge oil spill and radioactive waste; spear every last one of its fish, including the angel and butterfly fish, during a mega-spearfishing rodeo featuring 10,000 drunkards blasting the fish with power-heads; purse-seine, trammel-net and long-line the area until there was nothing left but three half-starved butterfly fish.
Do all this, then drop three oil platforms nearby and in three years you'd have more and bigger fish than the total of those photographed by the enviro-yuppies around the Great Barrier Reef.
The panorama under an offshore oil platform staggers the most experienced divers.
I've seen divers fresh from the Cayman's Wall surface from under an oil platform too wired on adrenaline to do anything but stutter and wipe spastically at the snot that trails to their chins.
I've seen an experienced scuba-babe fresh from Belize climb out from under a platform gasping and shrieking at the sights and sensations, oblivious to the sights and sensations she was providing with her bikini top near her navel.
http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2002/4/12/132638.shtml
