Jot America: May 2010

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The foresight of Arizona Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill reveals few heroes in government. But in researching my timeline, I came across one: Arizona Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva.

FEB 24 - Food & Water Watch contacted Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), a member of the Committee on Natural Resources and chairman of the subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. in a Feb. 24 letter, Grijalva and 18 other House Democrats say MMS (Minerals Management Service), which regulates offshore drilling practices, has not done enough so far to ensure worker and environmental safety at the BP Atlantis offshore oil platform, in part because it has interpreted the relevant laws too loosely.(Grijalva)

MARCH 02 - As a result of evidence supplied by a whistle-blower, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva and other lawmakers asked Minerals Management Service (MMS) to thoroughly investigate operation of BP Atlantis offshore oil platform – the largest in the world – without professionally approved safety documents, and to report its findings to Congress. Grijalva ... said the issue requires “a thorough review at the agency level, the legal level and the corporate level. The world’s largest oil rig cannot continue to operate without safety documentation. The situation is unacceptable and deserves immediate scrutiny.” Grijalva said a long record of previous oil spills highlights the need for continued environmental safeguards, however sophisticated drilling technology becomes.... “I look forward to working with MMS promptly to resolve any doubts about Atlantis, because we cannot afford another billion-gallon spill on our watch.”(Grijalva)

It's good to know there is at least one good politician in Washington DC. And his name is Raúl M. Grijalva.

Sec. of Interior Ken Salazar favored offshore drilling

While researching my timeline of the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, this is what I learned about Ken Salazar, Obama's Secretary of the Interior. Salazar's department oversees the MMS. Throughout 2009 MMS not only failed to respond to whistle-blower complaints regarding the safety BP's largest deepwater rig in the Gulf of Mexico, it blocked the release of evidence (see timeline for details):

JAN 2009: President Obama appoints Ken Salazar (photo) Secretary of the Interior, overseeing MMS, the federal government oil industry regulator. Previously, Salazar supported the nomination of Gale Norton to Secretary of the Interior, President George W. Bush's controversial first appointee who preceded Salazar as Colorado Attorney General. Soon after arriving in the Senate, Salazar generated controversy within his party by introducing Attorney General nominee Alberto Gonzales and sitting by his side during Gonzales' confirmation hearings. In August 2006, Ken Salazar supported Joe Lieberman in his primary race. In 2006, Salazar voted to end protections that limit offshore oil drilling in Florida's Gulf Coast. In 2007, Salazar was one of only a handful of Democrats to vote against a bill that would require the United States Army Corps of Engineers to consider global warming when planning water projects.

Why hasn't Ken Salazar resigned already?

BP Vice President: Offshore Drilling Safe

On Nov. 19, 2009, BP's David Rainey assured everybody that offshore drilling is safe. See JOTMAN.COM for a timeline of the oil spill disaster.

David Rainey is testifying that "offshore drilling" is safe because it has been "going on for fifty years."

Rainey's statement is misleading. "Fifty year's experience" applies to shallow-water offshore drilling. Offshore drilling at extreme depths is a new development that involves the use of relatively untested and experimental technologies. As one scientist puts it:

And "everything is bigger and more difficult the deeper you go," said Andy Bowen, a research specialist who works with undersea robotics at the Woods Hole center. "Fighting gravity is tough. It increases loads. You need bigger winches, bigger cables, bigger ships."

An analogy, he said, is the difference between construction work on the ground versus at the top of a mile-high skyscraper.

BP does not have fifty years experience extremely deep wells in very deep water. To assume the challenges of safely undertaking such work were surmounted in the previous fifty years is presumptuous to say the least.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

Photos: Saturday May 1 immigration rally at the White House

My main post on the demonstration is here. These photos give you an indication of the kind of signs people brought to the demonstration.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

1 May immigration protests and arrests ouside White House

Here's a video I took Saturday in Washington DC. My full story is posted here.

Rep. Luis Gutierrez arrested outside White House

I took some photos of Illinois Rep. Luis Gutierrez Saturday. The Congressman was one of 40 protesters arrested outside the White House Saturday protesting the passage of the Arizona immigration bill.

Gutiérrez was first Latino to be elected to Congress from the Midwest. He presently serves as chair of the immigration task force, and is outspoken about defending the rights of immigrants.