Obama not mad at Brits

[Jiro]

It'd be better to actually meet with the BP execs as soon as possible to discuss needs and have a better understanding of what's going on. It'd be better to actually have the audacity to act first and show that the govt is serious in trying to contain the soil spill a few days after the incident rather than wait 40 or 50 days to make a decision. Instead, why not Obama just admit that their govt is not equipped to handle these sorts of catastrophic oil spills? He said the "buck stops with him." And he'll certainly earn that since it's now his oil spill to deal with.

let me ask you something. You are/were a forest firefighter. We've had some worst forest fires in Western area. Couple years ago - we had a really bad one that ravished millions millions millions of acres that spanned few states.

Why? why take so long to quell it? Is it cuz our government is not equipped to handle these sort of catastrophic forest fire?

 

[jillio]

let me ask you something. You are/were a forest firefighter. We've had some worst forest fires in Western area. Couple years ago - we had a really bad one that ravished millions millions millions of acres that spanned few states.

Why? why take so long to quell it? Is it cuz our government is not equipped to handle these sort of catastrophic forest fire?

Maybe it is because the firefighters were not well trained, and needed to be trained for these emergencies proactively.

 

[TXgolfer]

let me ask you something. You are/were a forest firefighter. We've had some worst forest fires in Western area. Couple years ago - we had a really bad one that ravished millions millions millions of acres that spanned few states.

Why? why take so long to quell it? Is it cuz our government is not equipped to handle these sort of catastrophic forest fire?

Just a guess here.......

It is impossible to employee enough firefighters full time to fight a large fire. Too expensive. And when theses fires do strike the issue is water/chemical distribution. Near impossible to apply water/chem as fast as a fire can spread.

The difference with this spill is we have tools to work with already and we had offers of help from others, people with proven tech and experience. But, BP and Obama have been slow to act and in certain cases our environmental regulations have gotten in the way...... (see the Dutch offer)

 

[Jiro]

Just a guess here.......

It is impossible to employee enough firefighters full time to fight a large fire. Too expensive. And when theses fires do strike the issue is water/chemical distribution. Near impossible to apply water/chem as fast as a fire can spread.

The difference with this spill is we have tools to work with already and we had offers of help from others, people with proven tech and experience. But, BP and Obama have been slow to act and in certain cases our environmental regulations have gotten in the way...... (see the Dutch offer)

but they should have been able to tackle it quickly in the first place before it becomes an uncontrollable monster gobbling up trees from state to state. For heaven's sake - we're in 21st century - they have everything at their disposal - jumbo jet retrofitted with firefighting equipment, dozens of helicopters, satellite, National Guards, firefighters from all over states, etc.

 

[jillio]

Just a guess here.......

It is impossible to employee enough firefighters full time to fight a large fire. Too expensive. And when theses fires do strike the issue is water/chemical distribution. Near impossible to apply water/chem as fast as a fire can spread.

The difference with this spill is we have tools to work with already and we had offers of help from others, people with proven tech and experience. But, BP and Obama have been slow to act and in certain cases our environmental regulations have gotten in the way...... (see the Dutch offer)

Still can't deny that much of the help that was offered...the Dutch just for an off the top example...was not a proven tried and true method. In fact, that method in the past was shown to be largely ineffective.

In the areas that wildfires are common, they have the tools and technology to contain them quickly. Not to mention experience that predicts which ones will rage out of control if not contained immediately.

 

[Jiro]

Still can't deny that much of the help that was offered...the Dutch just for an off the top example...was not a proven tried and true method. In fact, that method in the past was shown to be largely ineffective.

In the areas that wildfires are common, they have the tools and technology to contain them quickly. Not to mention experience that predicts which ones will rage out of control if not contained immediately.

and yet... we still can't quell forest fires quickly enough. I suppose this means our government is still not equipped to handle this catastrophic event? and that we are still too slow?

 

[jillio]

and yet... we still can't quell forest fires quickly enough. I suppose this means our government is still not equipped to handle this catastrophic event? and that we are still too slow?

Yep. And it is Obama's fault!:P

 

[kokonut]

Just a guess here.......

It is impossible to employee enough firefighters full time to fight a large fire. Too expensive. And when theses fires do strike the issue is water/chemical distribution. Near impossible to apply water/chem as fast as a fire can spread.

The difference with this spill is we have tools to work with already and we had offers of help from others, people with proven tech and experience. But, BP and Obama have been slow to act and in certain cases our environmental regulations have gotten in the way...... (see the Dutch offer)

Yep. Be proactive with what we have and move ahead with the Dutch offer instead of waiting 50 some days later to make a decision.

 

[Jiro]

Yep. Be proactive with what we have and move ahead with the Dutch offer instead of waiting 50 some days later to make a decision.

from what I read - BP ultimately makes the decision in deciding which help to accept and which technique to use... not the fed since BP is footing the bill. So basically - it is BP who waited 50 some days.

White House left the discretion in deciding the procedure to BP as long as BP foots the entire bill.

 

[Jiro]

After delays, U.S. begins to tap foreign aid for gulf oil spill

"We'll let BP decide on what expertise they do need," State Department spokesman Gordon Duguid told reporters on May 19. "We are keeping an eye on what supplies we do need. And as we see that our supplies are running low, it may be at that point in time to accept offers from particular governments."

"We're clearly behind the curve because BP did not have the game plan to deal with this spill," said Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin (D-Md.), who visited Louisiana on Friday. "I don't know if the federal government has the capacity it needs at this point."

Anthony H. Cordesman, a national security and energy analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said the administration has been hampered because the spill is "a rare case" where the traditional emergency response routine does not apply.

"Most emergency relief is based on proven technology and precedence," he said. "We are now confronted by something that doesn't match any of the models."

Crowley said the Obama administration is well aware of what happened after Hurricane Katrina, when the U.S. government failed to capitalize on an unprecedented amount of foreign aid offers. Allies offered $854 million in cash and in oil meant to be sold for cash. In the end, only $126 million in cash from 40 donors was received.

"This is different," Crowley said of the oil spill. "We are and will be drawing on the foreign assistance."

In many cases, this equipment is being provided by private companies -- at BP's expense. And like other elements of the joint response, decision-making has been complicated because federal officials must consult with the oil giant before signing off on any offer.

A plan by Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) to create sand berms to keep oil from reaching the coastline originally came from the marine contractor Van Oord and the research institute Deltares, both in the Netherlands. BP pledged $360 million for the plan, but U.S. dredging companies -- which have less than one-fifth of the capacity of Dutch dredging firms -- have objected to foreign companies' participation.

Garret Graves, who chairs Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, wrote in an e-mail that state officials "have made it clear to our contractors from the beginning that we want to use American dredges to complete this sand berm as quickly as possible . . . Ultimately, any effort to expedite these berms will be fully considered, but we remain committed to our American companies."