Environment Archive

Remember Jumanji? BP Game is Like Living it For Real

July 9th, 2010. By AbiK

This one’s been making the rounds lately—had to share in the event you hadn’t seen it yet. I’m not sure who exactly dug it up—one report says someone at UK Metro found it—but it’s a board game from the 1970’s: BP Offshore Oil Strike. No, you can’t make this stuff up.

Can’t make this up either…tagline is “An exciting game for all the family”. You betcha—particularly if you’re living it Jumanji-style in the Gulf right now. The lead-in line at top is noteworthy, too: “The thrills of drilling, the hazards and rewards as you bring in your own…” Yeah.

It was an actual game where you drill for oil and build platforms and pipelines—all the usual oil biz doings. But here’s the stroke of irony from the benefit of hindsight—it also has “Hazard” cards that players might wind up with. No small hazards either, mind you. These hazards make the game rigs blow up—causing oil spills and major clean-ups (cha-ching!). Sound vaguely familiar?

The thing I’m trying to digest here is that BP apparently marketed this themselves—heck, clearly they at least lent their logo to the thing. And I’m trying to do a little mental flashback to the ’70’s…had no one thought that this might actually be in bad taste? A little brand image no-no? Perhaps because it wasn’t until the later part of the decade when folks turned their focus to more environmental concerns after Three Mile Island and energy sources gone wrong? I don’t know. But even now, the re-emergence of this little gem across the virtual airwaves cannot possibly be a plus for BP’s image—even after some thirty-plus years.

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
Posted in Environment | 1 Comment »

New Pensacola Beach Sign: Swim at your own Risk?

July 7th, 2010. By LucyC

If you’re on the Gulf coast and thinking of going down to the beach to get away from the heat—a heads up. An interesting piece in the Christian Science Monitor last week tells of illness reported by people who visited Pensacola beach in Florida two days after it had been covered in oil from the BP oil spill.

On June 23^rd, thick crude oil washed ashore on what was a pristine beach very—popular among visitors and locals alike. Who hasn’t heard of Pensacola? (For all the right reasons). Consequently, federal health officials closed the beach and wanted it to remain closed. However, two days later local officials reopened it. No doubt, the decision was in part due to economic pressures being felt by local business. Beaches bring people, and people bring money. 

Reportedly, there were no visible signs of oil on the beach when it was reopened. But let’s bear in mind that we are also talking about petrochemicals, toxins, that are being used to disperse the thick black oil, and, as some reports state, send it to the ocean floor where it literally suffocates the seabed. 

Last week health officials in Escambia County, FL, including Pensacola, said they had reports from some 400 people who claimed they felt sick after visiting the beach and Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill, Pensacola
Posted in Environment | 1 Comment »

BP Oil Fix #19 – Git ‘er Done!

June 30th, 2010. By AbiK

If there’s one phrase that has popped up consistently in all the emails and reader comments I’ve sifted through for fixing the BP Oil Spill, it’s “Git ‘er done!” The implication, of course, being that the folks at BP are either moronic at best or consciously avoiding a fix at worst. And now with 12-foot waves pounding the Gulf surf, compliments of Hurricane Alex, the painstakingly slow process of removing oil-soaked sand, bit by bit, from the shorelines will slow down and efforts to contain the spewing oil will be undoubtedly be on hold as well. No gittin’ ‘er done now.

This Git-‘er-Done Fix is from Wade, who sounds like he’s not one to leave comments loosely about—he seems more like someone who’s just fed up with this whole mess—like many of us. So this is what Wade has to say…

Fix the BP Oil Spill Idea #19

“Hi Nancy, I think you could take a deflated baffle, much like the ones they use in oil tankers. Then it could be inserted into the pipe. Once inside you could fill it with air or a fluid that hardens. When the oil stops you could cap it and weld it. You’ve probably heard a hundred suggestions like this but this is the first one from me so consider it a sign “and get er done”.  Thanks, Wade.”

Got an idea you’d like to share? Let us know. Or email our editor at .

Thanks for sharing your idea Wade!

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
Posted in Environment | No Comments »

BP Oil Spill Fix #18 – Like a Punctured Bike Tire

June 28th, 2010. By AbiK

I don’t know what the goop is called that you fill a bike tire puncture with—you know, that green stuff that’s supposed to “fill” the hole and spread and seal to ensure that the air stops leaking out. But when I read the fix for the BP Oil Spill below—from a reader named Michael—I kind of envision the same thing going on. It’s sort of like a get-a-glob-of-goop-to-glom-onto-it fix (did you catch the alliteration attempt there?). And, much like fixing a bike tire puncture, there’s that same sense of “God, I sure hope this holds!” as you swing that leg back over the seat and feel a slight give in the pressure of the tire below—doubly confirmed by a glance downward at its bulging sides.

But hey, as I watch the live video stream showing—still—the oil spewing into the gulf, and I watched the seemingly helpless-looking “hands across the sand” protesters, I’m thinking a fix that requires a bit of prayer along with it is better than a fix that just plain don’t seem to be working. No? So here’s what Michael had to say…

Fix the BP Oil Spill Idea #18

“Why not just pour a few hundred gallons of epoxy through a couple tubes guided by robots over the whole thing? If the rupture manages to get through before it hardens, then at least the hole will be more definite.”

Got an idea you’d like to share? Let us know. Or email our editor at .

Thanks for sharing your idea Michael!

 

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
Posted in Emerging Issues, Environment | 1 Comment »

BP Oil Spill Fix #17 – Take Heart

June 24th, 2010. By AbiK

Today’s reports indicate that the impact of the BP Oil Spill is now reaching not only places like Pensacola, FL, but I even saw a local news report linking the oil spill to some environmental concerns in the Meadowlands region in NJ, just outside of Manhattan. The reach of this disaster now reminds me of some sort of unwanted plaque travelling through the major water arteries of the nation—and as such, it’s sort of fitting how many of our readers have come up with ideas for fixing the oil spill that resemble angioplasty. For example, here’s one that came in to us today from one of our readers, Eddie:

Fix the BP Oil Spill Idea #17

“I think that if they can get a large enough balloon, that they can stuff it down in there and inflate it, that it will stop it long enough for them to weld it shut.”

Got an idea you’d like to share? Let us know. Or email our editor at .

Thanks for sharing your idea Eddie!

Tags: BP, BP Oil Spill
Posted in Environment | 1 Comment »