Those who know me know that I’m no tree hugging hippie…sorry greenie, but there are things you do, and things you don’t do.
Like let oil spill into the Timor Sea for 2 months before plugging the hole.
Where was Rudd during this time? Surely if the inept operators couldn’t have fixed it with X number of days, the army, navy and anything else we could have thrown at the problem should have been called on to fix it.
Still, with his poll numbers heading south, the image of Sri Lankan boat people covered in oil might make for some interesting imagery 🙂
Unlike the Americans, our military does not have an engineering corps. But still, you could declare an environmental emergency and send in the fixers. Of course you would have to bill the company later, otherwise they would just expect a free ride.
I don't like Rudd much either, but plugging a deep sea oil well isn't easy. You have to hit a narrow hole 2km under the surface of the earth through several kilometres of mud & rock and hundreds of metres of water. Like trying to hit a straw with another straw at 500m, in the dark.
@Duncan: Agreed, there does seem to be a confusion of threat levels here. However I'm not sure what, exactly the government could have done, at least not directly. Maybe more pressure on the owners to fix it fast — but would they have the legal power to do so? I have no idea, myself.
@yewenyi Perhaps you might like to revise your comment in light of the existence, since 1902, of the Royal Australian Engineers?
@Duncan: Agreed, there does seem to be a confusion of threat levels here. However I'm not sure what, exactly the government could have done, at least not directly. Maybe more pressure on the owners to fix it fast — but would they have the legal power to do so? I have no idea, myself.
@yewenyi Perhaps you might like to revise your comment in light of the existence, since 1902, of the Royal Australian Engineers?