Lost Lake Tribune May 1, 2010
THE LOST LAKE TRIBUNE returns to fugate2020.blogspot.com
Indianapolis Considering Pedestrian Mall Downtown
The city of Indianapolis, Indiana is considering turning Monument Circle into a pedestrian-only walkway designed to draw more people to Downtown businesses. Starting in August, the Circle will be closed to vehicles to test the idea, Jen Pittman, the city's marketing director said today. Community input will help determine whether it's carried out long-term. The concept is based on models in European cities, where pedestrian plazas drive economic development. "We think it will have the same kind of effects here," Pittman said. Information gained from http://www.indystar.com/article/20100430/NEWS05/4300401/City-to-test-banning-vehicles-from-Monument-Circle
Kelliher Wins Minnesota’s DFL Nod for Governor
DULUTH - Inside a humid, messy Duluth convention hall, DFL activists cheered in harmony Saturday, April 24, for gubernatorial candidate Margaret Anderson Kelliher, who won an unusually civil fight for endorsement. Outside the arena, disunity reigned as the promise of a discordant primary loomed ahead for Democrats.
Fresh off besting Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak and other power players for the DFL nod, Kelliher now will contend with even bigger names -- and wallets -- for an August primary victory. Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton, former state Rep. Matt Entenza and Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner all hope to topple the House speaker for the nomination. Gaertner promptly rescinded her primary bid on Monday, April 26.
They have the political might, campaign cash and competitive power to fracture DFLers and hurt their chances against Republicans in the fall. They've been courting those potential voters for months, while Kelliher has had to woo delegates first, and the three, now two were quick to make their voices heard over the weekend.
Before the party made its choice, Dayton was telling reporters in Duluth about what he called the DFL's "petty" choice to keep him off the convention floor. Within an hour of Kelliher's jubilant victory speech, Gaertner said she looked forward to a "vigorous primary." By Sunday, Entenza was flying around the state on "a primary campaign kickoff tour" and was planning to run TV ads this week to get his name in front of voters.
Entenza said he personally likes Kelliher, his former colleague in the Minnesota House, and looks forward to discussing his "positive vision for Minnesota." But he is also pitching his leadership over hers.
"Unfortunately, Democrats have often lacked a clear vision and message about what we will do to improve our economy and build a strong future for Minnesota," he said in a statement announcing his primary push.
Party backers were keenly aware of the imminent challenge, even as they unified behind Kelliher.
"I am withdrawing from the race, but I am also publicly calling on Mark Dayton and Matt Entenza and Susan Gaertner to do the same," Rybak said Saturday night to loud cheers from the tired but exultant convention crowd. He was the last of five Kelliher rivals to drop from convention contention.
Although some DFL rivals' backers voiced worries that Kelliher might not be the best candidate against Dayton or Republicans, and some of her own supporters murmured that she lacks the ability to electrify a room, power Democrats were ready to pull for their newest candidate.
On Monday, she will be the star of a DFL-organized fly around the state, with stops in Bloomington, Rochester, Moorhead and Mankato. The party, which will throw its might behind the speaker, will try to show its harmony. Kelliher will have the party's heavy hitters on her side. U.S. Sen. Al Franken and U.S. Reps. Tim Walz, Betty McCollum and Keith Ellison are expected to join her at a Monday morning stop. McCollum and Ellison previously supported other candidates. A Franken spokeswoman said he's "ready and willing" to do whatever she needs to ensure victory.
Kelliher said she'll win the primary because she, the party and her backers will, "work our tail off." The DFL gubernatorial primary is in August. Information Gained From http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/92064364.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU
British Petroleum Didn't Plan for Major Oil Spill
Associated Press
As the mile-deep BP well continued to spew an estimated 200,000 gallons of crude a day, the seas were too rough and the winds too strong to burn off the oil, suck it up effectively with skimmer vessels, or hold it in check with the miles of orange and yellow inflatable booms strung along the coast.
MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER -- British Petroleum downplayed the possibility of a catastrophic accident at an offshore rig that exploded, causing the worst U.S. spill in decades along the Gulf coast and endangering shoreline habitat.
In the 52-page exploration plan and environmental impact analysis, BP repeatedly suggested it was unlikely, or virtually impossible, for an accident to occur that would lead to a giant crude oil spill and serious damage to beaches, fish, mammals and fisheries.
BP's plan filed with the federal Minerals Management Service for the Deepwater Horizon well, dated February 2009, says repeatedly that it was "unlikely that an accidental surface or subsurface oil spill would occur from the proposed activities."
And while the company conceded that a spill would "cause impacts" to beaches, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas, it argued that "due to the distance to shore (48 miles) and the response capabilities that would be implemented, no significant adverse impacts are expected."
"Clearly, the sort of occurrence that we've seen on the Deepwater Horizon is clearly unprecedented," BP spokesman David Nicholas told The Associated Press on Friday. "It's something that we have not experienced before ... a blowout at this depth."
Robert Wiygul, an Ocean Springs, Miss.-based environmental lawyer and board member for the Gulf Restoration Network, said he doesn't see anything in the document that suggests BP addressed the kind of technology needed to control a spill at that depth of water.
"The point is, if you're going to be drilling in 5,000 feet of water for oil, you should have the ability to control what you're doing," he said.
Amid increased finger-pointing Friday, high winds and choppy seas frustrated efforts to hold back the oil spill seeping into Louisiana's rich fishing grounds and nesting areas, while the government desperately cast about for new ideas for dealing with the growing environmental crisis.
President Barack Obama halted any new offshore drilling projects unless rigs have new safeguards to prevent a repeat of the disaster
The seas were too rough and the winds too strong Friday to burn off the oil, or suck it up effectively with skimmer vessels, or hold it in check with the miles of orange and yellow inflatable booms strung along the coast. The floating barriers broke loose in the choppy water, and waves sent oily water lapping over them.
"It just can't take the wave action," said Billy Nungesser, president of Louisiana's Plaquemines Parish.
The spill -- a slick more than 130 miles long and 70 miles wide -- threatens hundreds of species of wildlife, including birds, dolphins and the fish, shrimp, oysters and crabs that make the Gulf Coast one of the nation's most abundant sources of seafood. Louisiana closed some fishing grounds and oyster beds because of the risk of oil contamination.
Many of the more than two dozen lawsuits filed in the wake of the explosion claim it was caused when workers for oil services contractor Halliburton Inc. improperly capped the well. Halliburton denied it.
As of Friday, at least 1.6 million gallons of oil have spilled, according to Coast Guard estimates. However, only a sheen of oil from the edges of the slick was washing up at Venice, La., and other extreme southeastern portions of Louisiana. But several miles out, the normally blue-green gulf waters were dotted with sticky, pea- to quarter-sized brown beads with the consistency of tar.
High seas were in the forecast through Sunday and could push oil deep into the inlets, ponds, creeks and lakes that line the boot of southeastern Louisiana. With the wind blowing from the south, the mess could reach the Mississippi, Alabama and Florida coasts by Monday. "These next few days are critical," Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal warned.
For days, crews have struggled without success to activate the well's underwater shutoff valve using remotely operated vehicles. They are also drilling a relief well in hopes of injecting mud and concrete to seal off the leak, but that could take three months.
At the rate the oil is pouring from the sea floor, the leak could eclipse the worst oil accident in U.S. history -- the 11 million gallons that spilled from the supertanker Exxon Valdez off Alaska in 1989 -- in just two months.
U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said he pressed the chief executive of BP to "work harder and faster and smarter to get the job done." He said the government will not rest until BP seals the well and "they clean up every drop of oil." As for the cause of the accident, he said: "I am confident we will get to the bottom of what happened here. Those responsible will be held accountable."
In the search for creative solutions to the problem, the state of Louisiana opened gates built into the Mississippi River levees in hopes that the rush of fresh water would drive the oil away from the coast. But the tactic did not appear to work. "The diversion can't compete with the wind right now," said Garret Graves, the governor's adviser on coastal issues.
With the government and BP running out of options, Salazar said he asked other companies across the oil and gas industry "to bring their global expertise to the situation to make sure that no idea worth pursuing is not pursued."
BP likewise sought ideas from some of its rivals and planned to use at least one of them Friday -- applying chemicals underwater to break up the oil before it reaches the surface. That has never been attempted before at such depths.
More than 1,900 people, some 300 vessels and dozens of aircraft took part in the effort to contain the slick, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said. The Pentagon authorized two massive Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo planes to join civilian craft that have been dumping tens of thousands of gallons of oil-dispersing chemicals.
An animal rescue operation at Fort Jackson, about 70 miles southeast of New Orleans, had its first patient Friday, a bird covered in thick, black oil. The bird, a young northern gannet found offshore, is normally white with a yellow head.
President Obama, who recently announced plans to open large swaths of the U.S. coast to offshore oil exploration, ordered Salazar to report within 30 days on what new technology is needed to tighten safeguards against spills from deepwater drilling.
"Let me be clear: I continue to believe that domestic oil production is an important part of our overall strategy for energy security," Obama said. "But I've always said that it must be done responsibly for the safety of our workers and our environment." Information Gained from http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/04/30/conditions-worsen-halting-oil-spills-advance-gulf-coastline/.
Editorial.
Oil and natural gas are the energy sources of the future. Yes, that’s right. Oil is plentiful in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) and according to the Interior Department of the United States the OCS produced 530 million barrels of oil in 2009 alone. This production has stayed relatively the same during the past decade. Natural Gas production totaled 2.26 Billion barrels in 2009 from the OCS alone (Department of the Interior).
Yet we have many global warming and environmental enthusiasts who say that America has to go to other sources of fuel. I ask them: HOW? How does America replace billions of barrels of oil of annual domestic production and demand with thousands of wind turbines and solar panels? How does America produce the power needed to drive electric cars? How does the U.S. move to a green economy without moving towards a culture similar to the days of the mid 1800s? The answer is that it is impossible to make the economy “green” without sending the entire nation into a pre-Rockefeller era. I don’t see any need to go backwards in our energy production and use.
I see our entire U. S. government, Republicans and Democrats, as very dangerous to the American economy. The EPA regulations that were passed a year ago must be repealed by the next Congress (See May 27, 2009 Lost Lake Tribune, CAFE Standards). If the EPA’s CAFÉ standards are not repealed and the American Recovery Act, the Federal health care law and TARP bailouts are not repealed then America will go down a path that will bring itself to major ruin. Even Dr. Roy Spencer, a scientist at University of Alabama-Huntsville, believes that regulations on carbon use should be curbed (Dr. Spencer’s Blog). He sees ‘cap and trade’ legislation as dangerous to our economy and way of life.
As far as domestic oil production and energy independence goes, I am a moderate on this topic. Canada imports the largest amount of oil to the U. S. (Source). Canada imports more oil annually to the US than Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and Iraq combined. Last I knew Canada is a major ally with the US. What needs to be done is for America to use its own sources of oil to replace Middle East and African sources that come from nations hostile to the States. Then the US should have oil platforms and oil drills ready for production if there are major oil issues in nation(s) that import to the US currently. Oil importing s not as bad as some will tell you.
Finally, when it comes to oil spills, consider this: 45 per cent of oil spilled into the ocean annually is from natural oil spills (Source). This means that manmade oil spills add up to about 210 million gallons per year around the world. Oil spills are not a major issue. Exxon Valdez and now BP Louisiana are exceptions to the normal calm and efficient oil industry. Crude oil will save this planet and its human inhabitants. Green energy will not. Oil is great for the present and it is great for the future of energy production and consumption. Drill Baby Drill!
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