Are You Kidding Me?

After the horrendous tragedy that happened in the Gulf, and continues to spill oil out daily, BP is proclaiming liberty 3 miles off the coast of Alaska.  While Obama has managed to halt other projects, this one is forging ahead, since the project has already received "state" and "federal" funding.  

While there are a few other things that still need to be approved, if "all" goes as planned, the Liberty Project will begin in the fall.  “The whole process for approving Liberty was bizarre,” one of the federal scientists said.

The scientists and other critics say they are worried about a replay of the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico because the Liberty project involves a method of drilling called extended reach that experts say is more prone to the types of gas kicks that triggered the explosion on the Deepwater Horizon.

(As well they should be worried!  This should NOT be happening)

“It makes no sense,” said Rebecca Noblin, the Alaska director for the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental watchdog group. “BP pushes the envelope in the gulf and ends up causing the moratorium. And now in the Arctic they are forging ahead again with untested technology, and as a result they’re the only ones left being allowed to drill there.”

BP has defended the project in its proposal, saying it is safe and environmentally friendly. It declined to respond to requests for further comment (oh gee, how odd...).

BP officials say that by accessing the Liberty oil field from far away, the project reduces the chance of impacting the North Shore area.  

But there's still a chance.  Why mess with this? 

They need to fix what they've done in the GULF and NOW!

The Liberty field lies about five miles from land under the shallow waters of the Beaufort Sea in an area populated during the winter by seals and polar bears and covered by thick floating ice.

However, according to the NY Times (article below), this type of drilling is riskier and more complicated than "traditional" drilling.  

Let's look at the highlights:

• Risker and more complicated
• Relatively new (uncertain)
• Gas leaks are more frequent and harder to detect
• More powerful machinery required for this type of drilling
• More pressure on pipes and casings
• Islands are so small, that if a leak occurs, it will RAPIDLY spill over into surrounding waters

ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY IS THIS EVEN BEING CONSIDERED?

 Further Reading:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/24/us/24rig.html?WT.mc_id=US-SM-E-FB-SM-LIN-TMO-062410-NYT-NA&WT.mc_ev=click