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Joined: Jul 2000
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+well we can always look at the bright side...those rigs make one hell of a FAD(fish attracting device)


Reality..What a concept!
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Only if you get the blowout stopped

Joined: Nov 2000
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May we hope that GOB will take something away from this? Click here:

'Ridiculous spectacle': Obama
Top officials from BP, Transocean Ltd., which owned the drilling rig, and Halliburton, a sub-contractor that had worked on the well, appeared together during U.S. congressional hearings throughout the week.

President Barack Obama speaks at the White House in Washington following a meeting with senior officials, including Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, on Friday. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Associated Press)Their testimonies were meant to shed light on what might have caused the rig's explosion.

Ultimately, no company took responsibility and each company blamed the other, "falling over each other to point the finger of blame at somebody else," Obama said.

"I did not appreciate what I considered to be a ridiculous spectacle during the congressional hearings into this matter," he said. "The American people could not have been impressed by that display and I certainly wasn't."

Instead, he suggested, blame should be placed on the decade-old, "cozy relationship between the oil companies and the federal agency that permits them to drill."

"It seems as if permits were too often issued based on little more than assurances of safety from the oil companies," he said.

To make sure that "will not happen again," Obama has:

1)Asked Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar to do a "top-to-bottom" reform of the federal agency, the Mineral Management Service.
2)Ordered immediate inspections of all deepwater oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico.
3)Halted all new drilling permits until a 30-day environmental assessment is complete.
4)Announced a new examination of the environmental procedures for oil and gas exploration and development.


Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/05/14/gulf-of-mexico-spill-0514.html#ixzz0nwq3HI5O


A fish and a bird can fall in love, but where will they build their nest?

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Meantime,
Quote
Interior Department Continues to Issue "Categorical Exclusions" for Oil Drilling, Administration Official Acknowledges


http://blogs.abcnews.com/politicalp...dministration-official-acknowledges.html

Joined: Feb 2010
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If you want to know how we in Belize allowed offshore drilling permission to skate through, read this from Candy Gonzalez at BELPO
BELPO ON OFFSHORE OIL EXPLORATION


BELPO has long opposed offshore oil exploration. There is no offset for the potential risks.


We opposed the amendment to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Regulations (2007) that moved the activity of "oil exploration" from Schedule I (meaning there MUST be an EIA) into Schedule II (meaning an EIA MAY be needed).


We pointed to the fact that once oil is discovered, it is too late to do an EIA. A company will immediately go into high gear to pump that oil out of the ground; they will not stop to do an EIA. Even before the Regulations were changed, that is how Belize Natural Energy (BNE) acted. They did an EIA after the fact and the Department of Environment (DOE) allowed it to happen.


How can we trust that other companies will not do the same thing. Even if there are requirements, who will enforce them? The DOE did not act as a true regulator with BNE which is situated within a community where there are many people viewing what is happening. We doubt they would have the capacity, even if they had the will, to monitor something happening in the middle of the Sea.


Regardless of the hope of revenues, the risk is too high. The Belize Barrier Reef System is not only a national treasure and source of pride, income and sustenance for the people of Belize, it is also a World Heritage Site - a world heritage site in danger. To allow offshore oil exploration is to put it in more danger.


The Reef is irreplaceable. No price can be placed on it and its value to the country.

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An oil spill out there would destroy the economy of Belize forever.
Unfathomable that someone wants to chance this that is a Belizean.


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More Objections for Offshore Oil Drilling

The Belize Barrier Reef is currently on UNESCO's list of endangered World Heritage Sites. It now faces another threat, a more serious one at that, since the reef could be permanently removed as a Heritage Site because of licenses granted for oil exploration and drilling.

It is comforting to see that some organizations and individuals have stepped up to the plate and expressed their concerns to the Government of Belize about offshore drilling in respect to petroleum concessions that have already been granted for the territory of Belize.

To begin with, it is difficult to understand how the GOB or the Ministry of Natural Resources could possibly agree with giving out these concessions for offshore oil explorations when we all know how precious and sensitive our coral reefs are. Belize totally depends on its environment and pristine natural surroundings to sustain its tourism industry which is the biggest money maker; every other industry and survival of Belize's residents depends on tourism.

So why allow offshore drilling which definitely poses a threat to our coral reef? We boast the largest Barrier Reef in this hemisphere (the second largest in the world) and the one of a kind "Blue Hole" the largest of its kind in the world. Why put these and many other marine environments at risk?

We can learn so much from the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that has even the experts in the US scrambling for a possible solution that have not yet been found. The negative environmental impact in that area of the US is immeasurable. We just need one small oil spill in front of our coral reefs to send Belize back to the Stone Age. No more tourism, no more jobs, no more income for the country.

We know that other Caribbean countries are now looking at the negative implications of deep water oil drilling in their area and reconsidering some decisions regarding offshore drilling. It is also great to see that organizations like the Association of Protected Areas Management Organizations (APAMO) have issued a declaration on the occasion of its Annual General Meeting, calling on the Government to ban offshore petroleum exploration.

Chairman of APAMO, Edilberto Romero, told the Amandala newspaper that all habitats deemed fragile in Belize should in fact be off-limits to petroleum exploration. Both COLA (Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action) and OCEANA have written to Prime Minister Dean Barrow and gone on record to oppose offshore petroleum exploration. Of course, residents of Ambergris Caye totally disagree with oil drilling that could take place as close to our barrier reef as the Bacalar Chico which is a natural reserve and where Rocky Point is located.

Minister of Natural Resources Gaspar Vega told Amandala on Friday, May 14, that he would consult with his technical staff and submit a paper to Cabinet to formulate a position on offshore drilling in respect to petroleum concessions that have already been granted for the territory of Belize.

While the Minister was non-committal on the issue and did not state a clear position with respect to existing concessions, he did say that the matter should be put under review. Vega said he would leave it up to the experts to decide and that he will have to make certain that the Department of the Environment does everything to ensure that Belize does not take any needless risks.

The Government of Belize has taken the view that the existing contracts have already been sealed; however, the investors would still require permits from the respective government departments, including the Department of the Environment, before they can be permitted to do anything on the ground.

We only hope that these 'experts' realize that, although some good can come from offshore oil drilling, the negative impacts and risks are not worth it for our country. How can we boast Belize as being Mother Nature's Best Kept Secret with the possibility of unsightly oil rigs in our horizon's future? GOB please take note!

Ambergris Today


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OCEANA questions integrity of oil concessions in World Heritage Site

Audrey Matura Shephard

Audrey Matura Shephard

On Thursday News Five spoke to Marc Patry, a programme specialist in UNESCO's Special Project's Unit of the World Heritage Center in Paris. Patry indicated that a de-listing of the Barrier Reef from the World Heritage Site is possible because of the licenses given for oil exploration. He gave an example of the country of Oman, where he personally inspected a World Heritage Site. The authorities in Oman decided that they preferred to drill for oil rather than protect the site, so it was removed as a World Heritage Site. Patry said he would contact the Belize government to see what its intentions are since the entire reef system and surrounding sea have been parceled off in concession blocks for oil exploration. Audrey Matura Shepherd, OCEANA's Vice President in Belize, says that a delisting of the site could make it easier for oil prospectors and the government to do as they please in our waters.

Audrey Matura Shepherd, Vice President, OCEANA Belize

"I'm not surprised of the response from UNESCO. I think that is the response that anyone would expect from a responsible institution like UNESCO. And sadly indeed there is always that possibility that we can be de-listed. My fear is that if we are de-listed, that just removes one more barrier that will allow the government to more freely decide that they will do whatever they want. We have safety mechanisms in place I would believe; our NGO's being one, our people themselves being one, our international partners being one, UNESCO being one of those international partners. If UNESCO throws its hands up in the air and say "well we're going to delist them", that's just one less battle for the government. So we wouldn't want us to be delisted."

Jose Sanchez

"If commercial quantities are found there are other issues that fishermen aren't aware of that will impact them on the seas."

Audrey Matura Shepherd

"I think before it even comes to the commercial quantities, the exploration process itself, people like to say-those who propose-that offshore is a good thing, they like to say that the exploration is not dangerous, that we're exaggerating. But it actually has its negative impact on the marine resources. First of all, the process that is used affects the marine mammals and the technology that is used can also cause some physical damage and can also affect the habitat of our fishes. So I think those people who are saying that are not being fair and open. And then once we reach that stage where they have found oil in commercial quantities, it doesn't mean that area will be accessible to everyone because each person that owns a portion and has to set up an oil rig or whatever platform they decide to set up out there is entitled to put some limit and restrict totally access to certain areas as a safety mechanism because you wouldn't want to be putting a rig out and then people can come and interfere or there could be an accident, others would get hurt. So I think our fishermen haven't really been sensitized to it. They will be giving up a lot again. Already they make a lot of sacrifice by recognizing or accepting that certain areas are protected areas. But once an oil rig is set up they will not be allowed to go into these areas. There’s a certain mileage that is delimited and ensure that it is off limits to everyone except those authorized personnel to deal with the company."

Channel 5

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.Florida Worries About Effect on TourismBy CATHARINE SKIPP
Published: May 19, 2010
NY Times



MIAMI - Off Florida's Gulf Coast, the seas are calm and the king mackerel are running. Capt. Joe Meadows's telephone should be ringing with bookings for his 42-foot sport-fishing boat for the summer season. Instead, the calls are from reservation holders wondering if they should cancel.


.In a state already reeling from foreclosures and unemployment, those whose livelihood depends on visitors lathered in sunscreen are trying to persuade tourists scared off by the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to reconsider.

For now, Florida tourism is living and dying in 72-hour increments. While no oil from the spill - sheen, slick, blobs or balls - has washed ashore on Florida beaches yet, the state's Department of Environmental Protection is guaranteeing such conditions for only three days at a time.

Hotel operators in the Panhandle say they are frustrated by headlines forecasting a "black tide" hitting Florida beaches.

"People are acting like there is a huge oil slick that is going to wash in and cover the buildings," said Dana Powell, general manager of the Paradise Inn in Pensacola Beach. "But right now, we don't have any oil and we are still playing."

Then again, there is cause for concern at her 55-room hotel on a barrier island off the Florida Panhandle.

"We are all terrified because they really don't know how big it is, where it's going to go, how bad it's going to be," Ms. Powell said. "It is a great unknown."

Scientists have warned that crude oil leaking from the blown well off the Louisiana coast is drifting toward an area where it could be swept into the Florida Keys and the Atlantic Ocean within the next two weeks.

The state's Department of Tourism has tried to alleviate any public concern about the beaches by posting information about Florida's destinations on its Web site in real time with beach Webcams, Twitter feeds and photos. Gov. Charlie Crist said he had secured $25 million from BP, which was leasing the oil well that exploded, to finance the tourism advertising campaign after an initial $25 million went to disaster preparation and response.

Still, bookings to destinations on Florida's West Coast declined around 15 percent in the three weeks after the spill, compared with the three weeks before the spill, said Katie Deines Fourcin, a spokeswoman for Expedia.com. She said the trend was slightly worse for the Panhandle region.

Many travelers have already decided to avoid the area for now.

Robert Baldari, 60, and his four brothers had chosen Key West for a week of scuba diving and dining for their annual vacation, but they postponed their trip this week.

"We've been following the oil slick," Mr. Baldari said. "But when it started moving, we decided it was too much money to spend if we weren't going diving."

Under normal circumstances, most hotels in the Panhandle would be fully booked by now for Memorial Day weekend - the traditional start of the peak summer tourism season. This year, plenty of rooms are still available.

"The pace of new reservations is down 70 percent," said Julian MacQueen, chief executive of Innisfree Hotels, which operates four hotels along the Alabama and Florida Gulf Coast.

The same situation is playing out hundreds of miles away at Florida's southern tip. When asked if new reservations were down at her Key West hotel, Carol Wightman, owner of the Marquesa, laughed and said, "Have you heard the phone ringing?"

There is disagreement among scientists, government and industry experts about the potential risk of oil pushing onto Florida's coastline. Peter Ortner, director of the Cooperative Institute of Marine and Atmospheric Studies at University of Miami, said he would be surprised if a surface spill made it to the Florida Keys, Miami and Fort Lauderdale beaches.

"I'm feeling better and better about it," he said. "It's more than three weeks later, and even the leading edge is now older. Older is better, because the most toxic stuff evaporates off and readily disappears."

But the spill could still have a substantial effect on fish populations, Dr. Ortner said.

"I am concerned that a lot of species' larvae - snapper, lobster, blue fin tuna, dolphin, billfish - are out on the edge of the Gulf Stream and loop," he said, referring to the powerful current that carries warm water in a clockwise motion from the Yucatán Peninsula into the northern Gulf of Mexico, then south of the Florida Keys and out into the Atlantic. "Newborns and larvae are much more sensitive that adults. They are vulnerable."

Damage to those populations would be more bad news for Captain Meadows and the $5.2 billion sport fishing industry. "That would wipe out my business for a few years," Captain Meadows said.

There remains one other looming threat: Hurricane season opens June 1.

"All bets are off if a hurricane blows across the shelf," Dr. Ortner said.


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Express your opposition to oil concessions to leaders of both PUP and UDP - bury them in paper about this.

EVERYbody do it - please!

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