A Gulf Of Expectation
Stuart Nettle June 12, 2010
Twenty years ago it happened. Well, twenty years and two weeks to be precise, May 30th 1990, during lunch time. In Sixth Avenue New York a flatbed truck pulled up outside the headquarters for Exxon Oil and five men got out.
A year prior an oil tanker owned by Exxon Oil, the Exxon Valdez, struck a reef off Alaska and spilt 41 million litres of oil along 2100 kilometres of coastline in Prince William Sound. It was, at the time, the largest oil spill in US waters and Exxon were widely criticised for not doing enough to clean up the spill or to compensate the victims of the disaster.
The five men were the members of Midnight Oil. They jumped onto the back of the parked truck, plugged in their equipment and played an impromptu hour long set to a stunned crowd. The police stood back not knowing what to do, the lunchtime workers danced and sang. Between songs Peter Garrett launched diatribes at the Exxon executives holed up across the road and the images were beamed all around the world. It was audacious guerilla action and perhaps the largest act of monkey wrenching the musical world has ever seen. Midnight Oil, the antipodean agitators pointing the fingers at the powers that be.
Now, let's jump forward twenty years - give or take a few weeks - and take a look at two events that have just occurred yet are closely related to the surprise gig of 1990.
The first event is, of course, the oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico. An oil rig operated by British Petroleum (BP) exploded on April 20th and the well is spilling oil into the sea at the rate of 11 million litres per day. Within five days it had surpassed the Exxon Valdez incident as the worst spill in US waters. At the time of writing it had been 52 days with the spill rate not easing and has dwarfed it's predecessor in terms of volume and spread.
Oil has now washed ashore on the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida, and authorities are worried that it will reach the environmentally sensitive Florida keys. It's a dire scenario, yet with no solution forthcoming it's one that seems all to likely to occur.
The second event is that our federal government, of which Peter Garrett is now a minister, has approved oil exploration leases off the south-west coast of Western Australia, in regions that Garrett himself flagged as marine reserves only months prior. Western Australia had an oil leak recently when the Montara oil platform leaked into the Timor Sea. If that leak were to happen within the new areas of exploration there would be oil making landfall from Cape Leeuwin to Cape Naturaliste. Picture the images you are currently seeing on the nightly news and give them a domestic twist.
It pains me to see that Peter Garrett, the one standing on the back of the flatbed truck inspiring the masses, and this Peter Garrett, ideologically neutered and politically compromised. It's tragic, yet I don't blame him - the artist has liberty while the politician only accountability. But still, I think people have a right to ask what happened; he promised so much yet delivered so little. What happened?
But there's another question and, considering the BP oil spill, it is equally pertinent: where is the next Midnight Oil? Where are the intelligent and socially aware music acts able, as Midnight Oil where, to unite and inspire? Where are the people willing to take a risk and use their position to protest publicly? Because there's a pipe leaking in the Gulf and an empty parking space in front of BP's world headquarters.
Video: Midnight Oil playing outside Exxon's New York headquarters
Comments
Right on, get off your arses and get angry ... the gulf spill is the worse man-made environmental accident ever.
Floyd,
i just watched sixty minutes tonight on tv. And i stil have tears running down my face of the horriffic images i saw of the oil spoil.up until tonight i did not know how the spoil began. but its always the same isn't it another big human error. andnow look at the beaches and the marine life destroy. they said it would take another 50 years for the exon spill to clear up. what that spill was in two weeks, this gulf spill is doing in three days. it wil never be the same as far as i am concerned. must next worry is with tides changes and weather what is to stop it from travelling to other countries. millions of litres a day it gotta go somewhere don't you think.
Peter.
Are you angry enough to stop driving a car, riding a fiberglass board,wearing a rubber wetsuit,or consuming conventionally produced food stuff,s. Cause if you,re not you may as well get over it. These guy,s are like it or not ,going to extreme depth,s and trouble to support your oil based life style. Don,t blame them when it goes to shit , have a look in the mirror. That was a flat bed truck that Garret turned up in.
Ironic is,nt it that the nation that uses the most oil and refused to sign the Koyoto accord is the one that has this mess on it,s door step.
Great article.
The response to this oil spill has been absolutely disgraceful and depressing.
Peter Garret - a sell out and hypocrite. A man with his balls in a vice. His aspirations for political success have led him to go against everything preached 20 years ago.
Here's a quote from someone smart: "We get the politicians we deserve"
Australians are inherently conservative, we're else could a politician espousing 1950's conservatism, a la John Howard, get more than ten years in power? So don't blame the man, blame the people that vote for him. If people were out on the streets shouting or making noises rather than watching Masterchef and ordering thier next thousand dollar flat-screen tele, then politicians like Garrett and Rudd could make the changes we need. We aren't so they don't.
Tangent time...here's a bit of trivia: who released the first (and maybe the only) protest album after the Iraq War began? Neil Young with Living With War.
It took a craggy old rocker thirty years past hi prime to get up and SAY SOMETHING. Young people don't care any more. They are the products of the conservative politicians we put in power.
Very good artcle too Stuart.
PABLO,
This will be the first and last time I respond to any of your crap. Get a job dick head. You seem to have way too much time on your hands filling these forums with bullshit.
I propose that form here on in no one acknowledge this wanna be controversial fuckwit….
Peace
I agree with buddwha - Pablo you need to find something else to do mate. You sound just like a politician - rather than actually do something constructive like make BP (who should have had equipment in place to handle such an oil spill) clean up their own mess you suggest it's everyone else's fault for driving a car and riding a fibreglass surfboard???? WTF! Nice one Pablo - I can see everyone trading in their car for a bike and riding bamboo surfboards by the end of the year then there will be no more oil spills right? No wonder nothings fixed yet with idiots like you around who seem to think it's everyone else's fault except the company that caused it!
Like the global financial crisis has shown us that financial markets needs tighter government control to protect us all from the crude excesses of capitailism the gulf spill has shown a lack of controls around the oil industry that should have been there from day dot, common sense really.
If you do some research on the net you will quickly find that BP in 5,000 feet of water drilled a mega deep well ... some are saying between 25,000 and 30,000 feet deep. Stop ... read that again. It is also being said this horrible accident was caused when the well drilled in to oil that had super pressure behing it (well beyond available man-made technology) and the resulting pressure build up in the pipes blew out all the safety values on that oil rig .... think about that, this hole could be spewing oil and poisonous gas into the gulf for a very long time. Further, there is a grave concern that the explosion also occured under the sea bed and that oil is now seeping out of the sea bed up to 20 kms from BP's hole.
Companies should have corporate values that are consistent with the well-being of its employees and the community. Governments should have legislation to force companies to have these values to protect us all ... if they don't why have governments?
So I am angry with BP & the US government .... but it could all happen here .... how many weeks ago did a bulk coal or iron ore carrier bash into the Great Barrier Reef? What was our governments response .... pretty fucking poor.
Finally, I think Pablo has a point and we should all monitor our carbon footprints and attempt to reduce them as much as possible, as I do by buying greenfleet levies when I fly, driving a car that gets me a 1,000 kms to a tank and by planting native trees each year in road-side and beach reserves. As for Koyoto, what a wankfest ... vote Greens.
Hey don't shoot the messenger folks!
Pablo, you are on the money mate. We'll only get responsible governments and good corporate citizens if we demand it as voters, shareholders and consumers.
Surfers in particular occupy a very murky area in this regard. We love to think of ourselves as tuned-in nature freaks, but base our lifestyle on petrochemical products. Boards and wetties sure, but where'd we be without the motorcar, boat charters, cheap air travel. Uh, dare I mention jetskis?
Another great article, Stunet. Got the makings of a serious journo, me thinks.
I won't defend any big company (like BP) for the problems that they cause, but I think no-one ever thinks stuff ups like this will vere occur when they start out doing stuff like drilling for oil. Not just for the loss of profits this will result in (and loss money for mums and dads shareholders, and the other "flow-ons' affected), but equally for the historic destruction of nature that probably will never be restored. Yes, I'm sure they never meant it to happen but I pray that Obama will go for the jugular and get those responsible to pay - big time.
"The road to ruination is paved with good intentions"
Gee budwha I hope that really is the last time I have to read one of your intelligent response,s.
maddog,Sure most people ar,nt ready to trade in the car for a bike or their fiberglass board for bamboo.That is why nothing is fixed, wer,re addicted to oil, And if you had,nt noticed it,s getting harder and riskier to get. Oil company,s only exist because of demand created by fools,such as you who probaly complain of price,s at the bowser, and think that oil drilling or transporting can somehow be made magically foolproof.
So Pablo, you fool, the way you are preaching I am going to assume you don't own a car or use anything that relies on oil. If you did then you are a hypocrite. You must live in a tent in the forest and eat bark and leaves.
And Pablo - to be taken seriously you need to stop carrying on like you are so high and mighty and moral and everyone else is happy to sell their soul to the devil - it makes you sound like such a complete tool that is so far up himself that no-one can possibly take notice of anything you say. You sound like one of those TV evangelists to me.
People like you really annoy me because nothing ever gets done. Oh yeah right the whole world should stop using oil - that'll fix it. Much easier than getting the company that is drilling for the stuff to do anything about it! Grow up Pablo, get some balls and point the finger where is should be pointed. How old are you anyway? 14? Your comments sounds like they come from someone with no life experience and no grip on reality.
Whats next Pablo - what other global crisis have I contributed to? Go on - enlighten me.
I second the motion from buddwha to no longer acknowledge this wanker.
Hey Spleen,
What type of goose are you mate? Rudd and Garret fix things? With what money? Rudd spent it all and now we as a nation are going to have to pay back the billions of wasted money that prick has caused.
Pablo- Mate what are you on? No fucken way I am going to be held responsible for driving a car. That shit in the gulf should never happen.
Antifroth, that 'wasted' money saved us from feeling the full effects of the GFC.
If money wasn't quickly pumped into the economy we would of come out in a much worse position than we have are right now which is fairing way better than a lot of other countries.
Regarding the oil spill, it's a massive disaster and although we all use the products from these companies every day and can hardly avoid it with the lack of alternatives I still feel that BP has to be held accountable for what they have done!
Floyd,your post got me thinking.With this deep water drilling what happens once these wells are drained.When they build a dam they do a geological survey to see if the rocks of the valley floor can take the weight of the water.This is only a few hunderd feet of water,not thousands.What happens to the sea floor after all that incredible pressure from the oil is removed from the soft porous rocks that hold the oil?Maybe the rocks above the deposit can take the weight,but what about hundreds of years of under sea tremors & earth quakes?These "empty" wells could be time bombs for future generations.Imagine the sea floor cracking or collapsing releasing millions of barrels of left over oil in one massive gush.Im sure Bp's geologists have thought of this & it's perfectly safe, as demonstrated.We need oil yes,but we need the hydogen fuel cell more.Vote for those who will give us what we need,not just what we want.
I think we do need to stop and think about how we all contribute to the worlds ills.
We live in a capitalist society, so we vote with our money every day!
If we stop buying non-recycled paper products and only recycled, prices for recycled paper products come down, and make it easier for more people to buy them. And less trees get cut down. It is really that simple.
I still drive a car to the surf, and buy wetsuits etc. It is not my fault that BP is spilling oil into the gulf. But that doesn't mean that it wouldn't be better for me and millions of others to try to reduce how many petrochems we consume.
Maddog, buddwha and anyone else, do you have kids? Don't you ever wonder what they are going to inherit from us. Doesn't that worry you?
The simple fact is, no matter how much you don't dig what Pablo has to say and how he says it: anyone looking 20, 30, 50 years into the future will see that changes will have to be made.
That's our childrens lifespans.
Humans will need to learn to consume less, particularly fossil fuels, so why not start talking about it now?
Craig, mate we are in a way worse place than you think. Do you think the recession is over for us? We have a stay of execution. As a nation we are financially fucked. Thanks to the great Rudd.
Panic everyone!
PANIC...!!!!
SUMMARY OF EXPECTATIONS
At some point the drilled hole in the earth will enlarge itself beneath the wellhead to weaken the area the wellhead rests upon. The intense pressure will then push the wellhead off the hole allowing a direct unrestricted flow of oil, etc.
The hole will continue to increase in size allowing more and more oil to rise into the Gulf. After several billion barrels of oil have been released, the pressure within the massive cavity five miles beneath the ocean floor will begin to normalize.
This will allow the water, under the intense pressure at 1 mile deep, to be forced into the hole and the cavity where the oil was. The temperature at that depth is near 400 degrees, possibly more.
The water will be vaporized and turned into steam, creating an enormous amount of force, lifting the Gulf floor. It is difficult to know how much water will go down to the core and therefore, its not possible to fully calculate the rise of the floor.
The tsunami wave this will create will be anywhere from 20 to 80 feet high, possibly more. Then the floor will fall into the now vacant chamber. This is how nature will seal the hole.
Depending on the height of the tsunami, the ocean debris, oil, and existing structures that will be washed away on shore and inland, will leave the area from 50 to 200 miles inland devoid of life. Even if the debris is cleaned up, the contaminants that will be in the ground and water supply will prohibit re-population of these areas for an unknown number of years.
(I don't believe this by the way, it's just an excerpt from an email that is being circulated... Thought I'd just throw it on the table for interest)
Hey Maddog,I,am only making an observation.
Hey Maddog,I,am only making an observation.As far as enlightening you goes ,i don,t think thats possible, you,d have to open your eye,s first.
Hey Oldo-Nicho, when that Tsunami hits at least I'll finally get that beach frontage property I always wanted.
Hey Pablo - you may only be making an 'observation' but it's a pretty stupid one. You are saying the oil spill in the gulf is just as much my fault as it is BP's because I want to use a car to get to the surf instead of riding my pushy which promotes BP to dig for oil etc etc.
If i was to use your 'observation' in another scenario you might see the light.
Lets say I was to ask a builder to build me a house, which after a year or two collapsed injuring me or my family. Well according to you that would be my fault and not the builders because I was the one that wanted to live in a house!
I did,nt mean for you personaly to take on all the blame on. Sorry I was speaking colectively of the species in general. Don,t forget the US gave them permission to preform what blind Freddy must have known was damned near impossible and at very least damned risky.It wasn,t that long ago we had disaster on the Nth West shelf.No one can say this can be done without risk.It,s the blame game that worrys me
The fact is that for life to continue as we know it in the short term , we must keep opening up new oil feilds and this Is getting riskier.
As for your analogy.The good book does talk about building your house on a rock...Sorry could,nt help that I,am not really an evangelist,But I have been called All kind of things.
Oldo - nicho your email is technically worse than you think When Krakatoa erupted the main force of the explosion was caused by seawater rushing into the superheated and recently vacated magma chamber, causing the largest explosion in modern history, meaning the whole oil feild could end up in the stratoshere.
Sweet Dream,s
Just heard on the news the ceo of bp saying how sorry he was about the spill and how bp "cared for the little people", titans roam the Earth. Eat the whole lot of 'em.
i don't care what you all say, backwards and forwards but it just doesn't seem to sink in does it.
its a fucken big mess and it was caused by human error.
but the biggest issue is will it ever be fixed, the answer never 100%.
it will never be the same.
peter.
Thoughts with the families of the oil workers killed in the rig explosion at the start of this event.
Theres plenty of oil on this planet, we'll never ever run out of it. Thing is that all of the low hanging fruit is gone. An event like this happens every few years off the african coast, but no one can afford a soft focus lens to get a shot of a pelican covered in crude. Like it or not, we're tied to oil for at least the next 20 years. The GFC showed how pathetic the green / renewable space is at present without constant funding. Things get tight so does funding. Nearshore rigs like the Louisiana group are cheap and offset the vast expense of deepwater rigs which means that petrol stays at around a dollar fifty a litre and Opera doesent have to talk about how expensive it is. The US will keep producing it's own oil to ensure it isnt held ransom to the middle east for oil reserves...hell of a war gentlemen...hell of a war.
Generally agree with you Pablo.. 'Its not what you're selling, its what you're buying' applies here. We live in and rely on an oil/petrochemical- based economy and collectively and individually responsible for any shit that goes down as a result of the way we interact with our world.
So if we suddenly decide to give a momentary shit when something like this goes down, blaming faceless multi-national corporations is all well and good, but in the end its up to us to mitigate our own roles.
Also, ease off Garret.
He's there for the right reasons, he hasn't joined politics for a good time, or because he wants everyone to hate him. Its tough being in politics - you cant just do whatever the hell you want, and you cant say what you feel or you're out. I'd much rather have a few more folks like him in there, who think about more than their own ass when they speak their shit, than some of the fucks that take the bench.
politician are only as good as the people who put them in power!
the problem is us. people have been sold the material world rubbish
and swallowed it. The Gulf disaster is only the tip of the worlds major environmental disasters that's coming.
with a right heart, people not politicians have the power to change things, BUT only God can change a person heart.
With all due respect to the last post can we leave god out of it? As john peck would say heal yourself, heal your family, heal the world and don't forget to go surfing ......
pointing fingers gets us nowhere quickly. remember the people that work for BP have families with kids whose kids are likely to ask themselves why grandpa completely f*#ked the planet.
However, mine and your grandkids, are likely to ask the same question. Heck, I'm asking why my parents didn’t do more to stop me from being born into a civilization that appears to be hooning down a one way street towards collapse. We are consuming the worlds natural resources faster than we can restock them, which considering how "smart" we are, seems pretty f"#*ing stupid to me! Oil is an amazing resource, unquestionably the most valuable to the modern world. Unfortunately the petrochemical industry is one that we've learnt to take for granted and so we exploit the privileges it allows us. The Northern Pacific Ocean has what can only be described as a floating 'island' of plastic which is estimated to be twice the size of Texas and growing!! This reality seems to me more environmentally devastating than any oil spill and what’s worse is it’s not going anywhere, no one will ever take the blame for it or raise there hand to clean it up.
The reality is that we are all (all 6.something billion of us) responsible for the state of our planet and its no secret that she’s in desperate need of little TLC. Individually, and collectively we must reduce the amount of non-recycled paper, single use plastics and petrol that we consume, I hate to say it but it’s the way it is.
BP really F#*ked up this time! It’s horrible, and it’s very, very sad but if there was anything good to come out of this massive disaster perhaps it’s the opportunity to reflect on our habits and try to change our ways. If we don’t, we all know, in the back of our minds what our grandkids will think of us.
Pablo- Good work on makin these conservative fux have a think, maybe in 50yrs their children will be a little more open. You either have to be ignorant or closed-minded to be respected in western society.