“And then, Joe, the House Democrats told me to go do something to myself that, quite frankly, is anatomically impossible…”
Y’all seldom have much to say on a Friday afternoon, but here are some things to chew on just in case:
- House derails trade deal in a blow to Obama — I’ve never known Democrats to be particularly sensible on trade in the past (unless they happen to be president, in which case they tend to have a broader outlook), so why should they start now?
- Graham says he once dated a stewardess named Sylvia — Our senior senator lets some details of his private life out, in response to burning interest on the part of national media.
- Why this NAACP official isn’t talking about her race — Because she is apparently white. At least the people who say they’re her parents are. This is causing a lot of buzz, but it’s weird that this is such a big deal, since whites had a big role in starting the organization. And even today, the organization says, “One’s racial identity is not a qualifying criteria.”
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California Unveils Sharp Cuts in Water for Agriculture — This situation in our largest state is worrisome, and another reason to be glad we live on the East Coast, where all sensible people stayed…
Or whatever interest you…
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Indeed, we’re on the east coast, where sensible people stayed. However, soon the number of corporate farms seeing our water as a virtually unregulated freebie is going to rise, and the migration from the west coast back here to our coast will consist of corporations meeting the demand for potato chips and other foods that are essential to our nutrition. Unfortunately, getting ahead of this issue is one of those many areas in which the General Assembly made little progress this year.
Yup, like the potato farm that wants to drain the beautiful Edisto!
But then DHEC okayed seismic testing off our beautiful coast, too….
What’s the harm in finding out what is below the SC continental shelf?
Aren’t we all better off knowing what we have? It’s hard to make rational decisions without information.
From a geologic standpoint, we already know what’s out there, and it’s not much that economically recoverable. Oil companies drilled exploratory wells up and down the Atlantic from the 1940s until the 1980s, and even when they had the leases, gave up drilling of their own accord.
Disturbs wildlife habitat, including several endangered species.
Is “disturbs” a term of science or an artful twist?
The same kinds or explorations have occurred across the earth’s oceans…
I didn’t memorize the article, nor check the footnotes….
Nat Geo has an article that presents a balanced look at the impact of air cannons on marine life.
Long-term, we’d be better off investing in offshore wind farms to produce energy off South Carolina’s coast. Oil and gas, being commodities, are sold to the highest bidder. The profit from any reserves found would go to oil companies. The oil and gas itself would go to whatever country pays the most for it. SC might get some jobs out of it, but little else. Wind farms would create jobs and produce energy for our little corner of the world.
Norm,
It depends. We know what the wind is offshore; but we don’t know what is under the Atlantic seabed.
It’s interesting that when someone proposes wind power, some people who protest on behalf of the birds of the Atlantic flyway who will be battered by the turbine blades of an offshore windfarm. There are no perfect solutions; and we do need long-term options for energy conversion that is economically scalable to humankind’s needs.
Personally, I’m not so sure that we have a full understanding of the implications of fracking on aquifers. However, the idea of fracking under the sea to recover oil and gas is an intriguing concept. Surveying the oceans – since this is done all the time all over the world – just seems like the prudent thing to do.
You’re absolutely right. Wind power is not without its impact as well. I’m thinking long term. Wind is a permanent solution; recovering more oil and gas is temporary. I believe it’s prudent to pursue the more permanent solution.
Instead of “disturbs,” how about “ticks them off?”
As in, studies have shown that sonic cannon produce a reaction in whales akin to my reaction when I’m at a stoplight next to an SUV with its blackened windows all close, yet emitting a bass vibration that shakes MY vehicle…
If you had a sonic cannon, you could return fire to the offending SUV.
Wouldn’t it be great to have a button, say in the gearshift lever on my truck (where Q would put the eject button), that would send an energy pulse that would just push the SUV over on its side — gently, of course; don’t want to hurt anybody. Like cow-tipping.
Then I could drive off when the light changed, and the SUV would be there spinning its wheels uselessly and going “Boom! Boom-boom! Boom! Boom-Boom!,” with the sound fading behind me…
Ooh, I want one! Crowdfunding!!
Spoken in jest, but probably not a bad analogy, except that whales can hear the sound as much as 100 miles away. The sound antagonizing you dissipates after a few hundred feet.
Something tells me that today’s technology might, might, produce more conclusive research. Certainly economic viability is an evolving calculation for both sources sought and cost structures of recovery and refining.