Forget Hunters' Feeble Rationalizations and Trust Your Gut Feelings: Making Sport of Killing Is Not Healthy Human Behavior
“The Santa Barbara shoreline—the oil-drenched birds, the blackened sands, the hundreds of crews in rain slickers battling vainly against the advancing ooze.”
3 thoughts on ““The Santa Barbara shoreline—the oil-drenched birds, the blackened sands, the hundreds of crews in rain slickers battling vainly against the advancing ooze.””
Isn’t this upsetting? And to have to suffer through listening to the company spokescreeps reciting from the same script about how they are concerned, will do everything they can, blah blah blah. Well, I’m sure a judge will ensure that they do. The obviously didn’t do whatever they could beforehand to prevent a spill, and therein lies the problem with all energy operations. They are inherently prone to disaster and human error, or the human tendency to ignore anything that can go wrong or obstacles in their way. I can’t imagine what’s going to happen in Alaska.
“Plains Pipeline, the large Texas-based company responsible for the pipe that ruptured in Santa Barbara County, has accumulated 175 safety and maintenance infractions since 2006, according to federal records.
A Times analysis of data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration shows Plains’ rate of incidents per mile of pipe is more than three times the national average. Such incidents may include problems with pipelines, storage tanks and drains, among others. Among more than 1,700 pipeline operators listed in a database maintained by the federal agency, only four companies reported more infractions than Plains Pipeline.
The company, which transports and stores crude oil, is part of Plains All American Pipeline, which owns and operates nearly 18,000 miles of pipe networks in several states. It reported $43 billion in revenue in 2014 and $878 million in profit.
The company’s infractions involved pump failure, equipment malfunction, pipeline corrosion and operator error. None of the incidents resulted in injuries. According to federal records, since 2006 the company’s incidents caused more than $23 million in property damage and spilled more than 688,000 gallons of hazardous liquid.”
“The pipeline that leaked thousands of gallons of oil on the California coast was the only pipe of its kind in the county not required to have an automatic shut-off valve because of a court fight nearly three decades ago, a county official said.
The original owner of the pipeline skirted the Santa Barbara County requirement by successfully arguing in court in the late 1980s that it should be subject to federal oversight because the pipeline is part of an interstate network, said Kevin Drude, deputy director of the county’s Energy and Minerals Division. Auto shut-off valves are not required by federal regulators.
“It’s the only major pipeline that doesn’t have auto shut-off,” Drude said. “For us, it’s routine.””
What was that again about being better prepared for oil spills since the BP disaster? Auto shut-off valves are not required by federal regulators.
This is another reason drilling will never be safe – scumbags and their bought politicians and backroom deals to circumvent laws will never change.
Exposing the Big Game 
Isn’t this upsetting? And to have to suffer through listening to the company spokescreeps reciting from the same script about how they are concerned, will do everything they can, blah blah blah. Well, I’m sure a judge will ensure that they do. The obviously didn’t do whatever they could beforehand to prevent a spill, and therein lies the problem with all energy operations. They are inherently prone to disaster and human error, or the human tendency to ignore anything that can go wrong or obstacles in their way. I can’t imagine what’s going to happen in Alaska.
“Plains Pipeline, the large Texas-based company responsible for the pipe that ruptured in Santa Barbara County, has accumulated 175 safety and maintenance infractions since 2006, according to federal records.
A Times analysis of data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration shows Plains’ rate of incidents per mile of pipe is more than three times the national average. Such incidents may include problems with pipelines, storage tanks and drains, among others. Among more than 1,700 pipeline operators listed in a database maintained by the federal agency, only four companies reported more infractions than Plains Pipeline.
The company, which transports and stores crude oil, is part of Plains All American Pipeline, which owns and operates nearly 18,000 miles of pipe networks in several states. It reported $43 billion in revenue in 2014 and $878 million in profit.
The company’s infractions involved pump failure, equipment malfunction, pipeline corrosion and operator error. None of the incidents resulted in injuries. According to federal records, since 2006 the company’s incidents caused more than $23 million in property damage and spilled more than 688,000 gallons of hazardous liquid.”
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-oilspill-pipeline-20150521-story.html
“The pipeline that leaked thousands of gallons of oil on the California coast was the only pipe of its kind in the county not required to have an automatic shut-off valve because of a court fight nearly three decades ago, a county official said.
The original owner of the pipeline skirted the Santa Barbara County requirement by successfully arguing in court in the late 1980s that it should be subject to federal oversight because the pipeline is part of an interstate network, said Kevin Drude, deputy director of the county’s Energy and Minerals Division. Auto shut-off valves are not required by federal regulators.
“It’s the only major pipeline that doesn’t have auto shut-off,” Drude said. “For us, it’s routine.””
What was that again about being better prepared for oil spills since the BP disaster? Auto shut-off valves are not required by federal regulators.
This is another reason drilling will never be safe – scumbags and their bought politicians and backroom deals to circumvent laws will never change.
http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_28180067/santa-barbara-oil-spill-no-auto-shut-off