Six people I know were laid off today as a direct result of the moratorium on drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. That number is a drop in the bucket compared to what lay offs and furloughs are going on in the rest of Louisiana and other southern states, but it hits you even harder when it’s people you know.
I completely understand that these things happen in every industry and in every state and in many various forms of unfairness, but this moratorium is a clenched hand slowly choking the life out of Louisiana. Every day that this moratorium continues is crucial. If the companies that own these rigs send them to South America, which is likely to happen, then two or three year long leases could be signed, leaving little to nothing for Louisiana drilling. Even if Obama lifts the moratorium it could easily be too late. And it will be a slap in the face to this entire country if he uses this action as political maneuvering to make himself look good for re-election when it is a completely bogus deed because everything Louisiana needs to drill has already been contracted elsewhere.
I am admittedly unqualified and not educated enough to fully assess this moratorium situation fully. I have no qualms about confessing that I hardly have a right to have just explained to you the possibility that rigs, which are usually in the Gulf of Mexico may be in South America for two or three years. I would be the last person you would want to quote on this topic. But I do have eyes and ears. I see lives being turned upside down and I hear a lot of disdain and disapproval. I read and hear news stories all with the same sentiment that this moratorium is wrong. I think we can all agree, regardless of any differences one may have with another politically or ideologically, that Barack Obama is one of the richest hues of green there is and that he is obviously very much against coal and oil as an energy resource. But this moratorium is an abuse of power similar to what a juvenile bully might use as a tactic to get what he wants as quickly and as unfairly as possible. I don’t know much about the coal industry, except for Obama’s dislike of it, but I know a bit about oil and how much of a vital resource it is for Louisiana. Phasing oil out would take a long, long time in a civilized world if the ones doing the phasing actually cared about the wellbeing of the people it was trying to help by not destroying the lives they had previously known in a matter of months.
I ran 3.2 grueling miles again today fueled only by pure frustration and an utter sense of helplessness. In my head all I could think to say over and over again as a mantra to keep me going was “Don’t stop. Don’t stop.” Left, right, left, right. “Don’t stop. Don’t stop.”
2,056.5 miles to go.
I completely understand that these things happen in every industry and in every state and in many various forms of unfairness, but this moratorium is a clenched hand slowly choking the life out of Louisiana. Every day that this moratorium continues is crucial. If the companies that own these rigs send them to South America, which is likely to happen, then two or three year long leases could be signed, leaving little to nothing for Louisiana drilling. Even if Obama lifts the moratorium it could easily be too late. And it will be a slap in the face to this entire country if he uses this action as political maneuvering to make himself look good for re-election when it is a completely bogus deed because everything Louisiana needs to drill has already been contracted elsewhere.
I am admittedly unqualified and not educated enough to fully assess this moratorium situation fully. I have no qualms about confessing that I hardly have a right to have just explained to you the possibility that rigs, which are usually in the Gulf of Mexico may be in South America for two or three years. I would be the last person you would want to quote on this topic. But I do have eyes and ears. I see lives being turned upside down and I hear a lot of disdain and disapproval. I read and hear news stories all with the same sentiment that this moratorium is wrong. I think we can all agree, regardless of any differences one may have with another politically or ideologically, that Barack Obama is one of the richest hues of green there is and that he is obviously very much against coal and oil as an energy resource. But this moratorium is an abuse of power similar to what a juvenile bully might use as a tactic to get what he wants as quickly and as unfairly as possible. I don’t know much about the coal industry, except for Obama’s dislike of it, but I know a bit about oil and how much of a vital resource it is for Louisiana. Phasing oil out would take a long, long time in a civilized world if the ones doing the phasing actually cared about the wellbeing of the people it was trying to help by not destroying the lives they had previously known in a matter of months.
I ran 3.2 grueling miles again today fueled only by pure frustration and an utter sense of helplessness. In my head all I could think to say over and over again as a mantra to keep me going was “Don’t stop. Don’t stop.” Left, right, left, right. “Don’t stop. Don’t stop.”
2,056.5 miles to go.
