Boycott BP Solar.

[solar_dave]

The oil spill is another way of showing the real cost of a carbon based economy. As unfortunate as it is, I think that people are starting to realize that there are huge hidden costs in continuing down the road unabated with a carbon based energy systems. Do we really think the BP will be forced to cover all the economic impacts of the spill? How could you even measure that?

Problem is the alternatives are not cheap either for the average Joe trying to put food on the table and pay the rent. Really the only way to get progress on the problem is to unhide all those hidden costs. This is a big conversion in how we view the economic impact of our energy sources. If we did that it would become obvious that we waste lots and that conservation alone could have a big impact. Not conservation in the sense of a cold dark house, but increases in efficiency. Then the incremental costs of conversion to other sources would pay off even bigger.

If the Exon Valdez is any indication, BP can never put the genie back in the bottle and make it all OK. But that said, boycotting BP is the the wrong attitude IMHO. Make them pay through the nose as best we can for their stupidity, then drive the economy away from the problem altogether. As long as we continue to drill, mine, burn and transport this will just happen again and we are doomed to repeat history.

[russ]

@ rimpa001 - You are asking people to think for themselves - something most are not comfortable with as they have never had to do it.

The post that started this thread is one of those - what I refer to as 'green mafia' methods.

Current politics are somewhat the same - you don't have to be for anything but just be mad at someone. More fools than ever will be elected to go to Washington by the 'mad' types come November.

Though greens are a very small percentage of the population they have outsized influence due to their screaming and misrepresentation of facts.

The current loony scheme is for CA to change the state stone from serpentine to something else as serpentine contains asbestos. The congressman that dreamed this up must be a real loony. CA has many other problems that do need attention - I am not at all sure why a state needs a 'state rock' to begin with!

[ionized]

I thought Arnold was the Cal state rock. I guess he has gone soft.

[russ]

Could be Arnie I suppose!

Isn't there some pro wrestler called 'The Rock' - maybe they could name him though I suppose he would be full of toxic substances as well.

[Sunking]

Isn't there some pro wrestler called 'The Rock' - maybe they could name him though I suppose he would be full of toxic substances as well.

Former college football star at Miami when he suffered a knee injury ruining his pro football chances and turned pro wrestler for a short period of time. His name is Dwayne Johnson and he is now a movie actor doing movies like Scorpion King, The Rundown, Be Cool, Walking Tall, Gridiron Gang, The Game Plan, Get Smart, Race to Witch Mountain, Planet 51, Tooth Fairy, Doom, and Why Did I Get Married Too?.

He is really a very nice guy, and excellent role model for young athletes. I met him on a flight and spent a few hours sitting next to him.

[crxvfr]

BP denies terrorist-for-oil claims in 2nd PR battle after plugging Gulf gusher

Just as the spill in the gulf seems to be nearing and end, BP gets implicated in the early release of the Lockerbie Bomber. He was released almost a year ago because he supposedly had only 3 months to live.

It's like something out of a corporate crime thriller: a company reviled for one of the planet's worst oil spills is now fighting allegations that it secured the early release of a convicted mass murderer in order to gain access to more crude.

Apparently suffering from prostate cancer and not expected to live beyond three months, Al-Megrahi was released in August on compassionate grounds by Scottish justice secretary Kenny MacAskill. A year later, he's still alive and residing in Tripoli after serving only eight years of the life sentence handed down to him in 2001.

The U.S. Senate's foreign relations committee is holding hearings on July 29 to delve into BP's involvement in Al-Megrahi's freedom. Company executives will be asked to testify.

The company [BP] has admitted that it lobbied the British government to sign a prisoner-transfer agreement with Libya in order to facilitate drilling, but it insisted it didn't specify the case of Abdel Baset Al-Megrahi.

Strange Days we live in.

[ionized]

I just did some fun calculations. The better calculations for oil spilled so far is between 2.2e06 and 4.4e06 barrels. The government can fine BP up to $4,300 per barrel. That means that BP could owe nearly 20 billion in fines alone.

Maybe Tony should hock his yacht as a good-will gesture.

[trbizwiz]

Well 20billion is a drop in the bucket compared to the net of this disaster. Pardon the pun.
Our federal government has very stringent standards for pollution control. As Americans we spend thousands extra on emission controls as well as gass guzzler fees. We are kept from purchasing the most fuel efficient cars that europ uses because of diesel emissions. We are forced to pay thousands extra for hybrids when diesels could do it better and cheaper in the name of a clean environment.
These guys dump untold millions of barrels of crude in the gulf probably akin to no pollution controls on motor vehicles for the next hundred years, the bet for the release of terrorists, and will charge us more for the fuel we buy to pay for their mess.
There needs to be a very tuff investigation, and a bunch of these clowns need to be in real prisons. This company needs to be forced to pay rebates to people who are trying to clean up the environment.

[ionized]

This is not the correct way to show your anger...Keep in mind the welfare of those people who have invested a fare amount in these companies...I hope you will understand the feelings & sentiments of those investors...

"Feelings and sentiments of those investors"? You must be kidding! (I am now pretend playing a violin.) The investors neither deserve, nor will get my sympathy. In addition keep in mind that the money invested in BP is like a drop in the ocean of world-wide funds that are invested in any way.

[Sunking]

"Feelings and sentiments of those investors"? You must be kidding!

Well yah. If you have a pension or 401 K plan chances are you are asking for your own throat to be cut. California state workers pension plan has already lost of $1 billion in BP stock. NY State teachers union $386 million and counting. Both of those states are bankrupt and will have to default just like Greece had to. That means no pension.

[MarineLiner]

California state workers pension plan has already lost of $1 billion in BP stock.

NY State teachers union $386 million and counting.

[Mike90250]

[QUOTE=MarineLiner;11001]

[MarineLiner]

[ionized]

Well yah. If you have a pension or 401 K plan chances are you are asking for your own throat to be cut. California state workers pension plan has already lost of $1 billion in BP stock. NY State teachers union $386 million and counting. Both of those states are bankrupt and will have to default just like Greece had to. That means no pension.

People that have pension monies invested in stocks should make sure that their fund managers are smart enough to be sure that their retirement fund are not significantly hurt by one company losing half of its stock value.

That said, I am curious about how incompetent the fund managers are. How much is the Cal state fund worth? How much is the NYS teacher union fund worth. It is difficult to judge if those figure are significant if I don't know the total.

[russ]

Most people have little idea of what is in any funds they may own - why should they?

The large state pension funds like CA should already be very diverse but 1 billion in a particular stock is not out of reason at all. If the have a dab here and there they have no input with the fund managers at all - just like the ordinary person.

I stop at the BP station to fill up just to spite the antis. Better that they keep going though I would hope they manage to get rid of fools like Hayward.