[url]http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/05/03/2161105/perry-backs-offshore-drilling.html[/url]
[release]Bucking the wave of elected officials around the country, Gov. Rick Perry and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson maintained Monday that offshore drilling is safe and should be expanded.
They also cautioned against laying blame for the explosion at BP's deepwater rig off the Louisiana coast.
Speaking at a jobs summit in Washington, D.C., Perry repeatedly suggested that the spill was "an act of God." He said he hopes that the huge spill would not lead to a "knee-jerk" reaction to stop new or existing offshore drilling.
"I have concerns about the public being misled," the governor said.
"I have full confidence that BP is doing everything they can," to get the well under control, he said.
Patterson, who like Perry has a long history of touting the safety of offshore drilling, said the accident was isolated and had not changed his views.
"Keep in mind that the last spill of this magnitude was in 1979, and that's 31 years ago," said Patterson, whose office is responsible for oil-spill cleanups in Texas. Patterson was referring to a June 1979 oil platform blowout that spewed millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, causing extensive damage along the Texas coast.
Also Monday, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott announced the creation of the Gulf States Coalition, a coordinated response to the spill by the attorneys general of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida to ensure that BP is held financially accountable for any damage.
"The oil spill in the Gulf is expanding from a significant ecological and environmental disaster into a tremendous economic disaster," Abbott said at an Austin news conference.
"Our top focus is ensuring that BP makes good on its promise to fully compensate individuals, coastal businesses and taxpayers for any expenses incurred during the cleanup effort," he said.
But officials said the spill appears unlikely to affect the Texas coast.
Abbott's office said it is too early to say whether the state will take legal action over the spill.
[B]Expanded drilling[/B]
For years, Perry and Patterson have pushed for expansion of domestic offshore drilling.
Patterson, head of the General Land Office, has derided those who worry about the environmental impact of offshore drilling. In 2008, he told the Star-Telegram, "I follow this debate, and I just shake my head. ... It's amazing how stupid some people can be. There were valid environmental objections to offshore drilling, but they were valid 30 years ago."
In a phone interview Monday, Patterson said the Land Office has been working with officials in Louisiana to contain the spill, including providing equipment and sharing data on coastal currents.
Patterson said his office deals with hundreds of oil spills each year, nearly all of them small and occurring in the state's ship channels.
"Nonoffshore production states think they're safe, when in fact the vast majority of spills are associated with transportation, not production," Patterson said.
The BP spill should not tarnish the entire drilling industry, he said.
Perry said in 2008 that oil exploration off Texas serves as "a shining example of the safety, effectiveness and limited environmental impact of modern exploration technology."
Asked at an impromptu news conference Monday whether he has any reason to describe the spill as "an act of God," Perry said the spill has to be investigated because "we don't know."
"I suspect there was a mechanical failure somewhere," Perry said, adding that Texas oilman Boone Pickens gave him a lengthy explanation Sunday of what may have happened.
Perry also praised BP's record since the 2005 explosion at the company's Texas City refinery, which killed 15 workers and injured 170 others.
"They've got a bull's eye on their back," Perry said of the company.[/release]
What would Jesus spill?
...Really now? That's...
Politics gets more idiotic everyday sometimes.
Governor?
[editline]09:24AM[/editline]
If it was some other minor offical, I wouldn't care, but the Governor of Texas?
Haha, no
This isn't the titanic bub your not getting off that easy.
How the fuck do idiots like this get important jobs
[QUOTE=MisterMooth;21730642]How the fuck do idiots like this get important jobs[/QUOTE]
The voting process.
"Act of God" would be applicable in this case if it was an earthquake that blew it up or something, but this was a known-faulty rig.
Is he saying that god actually caused it, or is he using the term "act of god" (aka force majeure) that appears in contracts etc?
From what I have read about it so far it seems that it was just a freak act of nature that caused it to explode, it was just bad luck that the valve was faulty.
If it was an 'act of God', don't you think maybe God is trying to say 'hey guys, drilling for oil? Yeah, not such a good idea right now'.
Yes I know 'Act of God' is just a legal term.
[QUOTE=Jsm;21730712]Is he saying that god actually caused it, or is he using the term "act of god" (aka force majeure) that appears in contracts etc?
From what I have read about it so far it seems that it was just a freak act of nature that caused it to explode, it was just bad luck that the valve was faulty.[/QUOTE]
"Act of God" is the professional way of saying "thing made an oopsie and nobody is to blame"
[QUOTE=Zeke129;21730734]"Act of God" is the professional way of saying "thing made an oopsie and nobody is to blame"[/QUOTE]
Actually, it refers to natural disasters. An oil rig exploding is not a natural disaster.
Me posting was an act of God.
I'm Texan and I fucking love this state.
Rick Perry is a gigantic retard though. He gives us a really bad name. I have no idea how he got elected, go into any of the big cities here and pretty much everyone hates him.
BP's ignorance was God's wrath upon us. :downs:
That's stupid.
[QUOTE=davidofmk771;21730740]Actually, it refers to natural disasters. An oil rig exploding is not a natural disaster.[/QUOTE]
But the cause of the explosion was not the explosion, if something beyond everyones control happened to cause the explosion it would be caused by an act of god.
[QUOTE=Jsm;21730757]But the cause of the explosion was not the explosion, if something beyond everyones control happened to cause the explosion it would be caused by an act of god.[/QUOTE]
What exactly happened anyways?
Also, I love how everyone is blaming BP, when they infact had nothing to do with the rig, apart from hiring the people to build / run it and owning the rights to the oil. Saying that though they [i]should[/i] have insited on better saftey.
[editline]09:49AM[/editline]
[QUOTE=davidofmk771;21730767]What exactly happened anyways?[/QUOTE]
Not 100% sure but the news etc seems to be suggesting that way too much oil started to come out of the hole.
[QUOTE=Jsm;21730770]Not 100% sure but the news etc seems to be suggesting that way too much oil started to come out of the hole.[/QUOTE]
This just in: vast amounts of water around the hole caused oil to spill into the sea
[QUOTE=davidofmk771;21730767]What exactly happened anyways?[/QUOTE]Apparrently 10 years ago they found a fault in the oil rig. Assholes never got it fixed and apparently it had SOMETHING to do with the explosion and oil spill.
Fuck yeah Texas.
Christians pls go.
[QUOTE=Sparkwire;21731991]Christians pls go.[/QUOTE]
Not this again.
[QUOTE=Sparkwire;21731991]Christians pls go.[/QUOTE]
Are you implying the phase, 'act of god', isn't a recognized Legal Term?
[QUOTE=Broseph_;21732093]Are you implying the phase, 'act of god', isn't a recognized Legal Term?[/QUOTE]
no im saying he used it incorrectly.
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;21730615]...Really now? That's...
Politics gets more idiotic everyday sometimes.[/QUOTE]
What confuses me is how valid concerns 30 years ago somehow stop being valid today :v:
[QUOTE=MaverickIB;21730745]Rick Perry is a gigantic retard though. He gives us a really bad name. I have no idea how he got elected, go into any of the big cities here and pretty much everyone hates him.[/QUOTE]
People always vote for somebody and then hate on him. Who voted Bush 2 times if everyone hated him?
[QUOTE=Johnnsen;21732208]People always vote for somebody and then hate on him. Who voted Bush 2 times if everyone hated him?[/QUOTE]
Rigged Voting Machines did.
He almost makes me ashamed to be Texan.
Sorry, you need to Log In to post a reply to this thread.
