The media coverage of the of the oil rig disaster off the Louisiana coast is filled with the usual stories about damage to the environment, the need for and future of off shore drilling, President Obama's statement that we must revisit future plans for off shore drilling seem all to predictable. Why are virtually no articles focusing on the cause?
The LA Times reported today in an excellent review on drilling technology explained, BP officials said it is too early to know details about how the gulf blast occurred. But they said the rig operators had tapped a new reservoir of oil and were preparing to install a cement plug through the pipes to cap it for future production. It's possible gas rose up through the riser and exploded.
Notice the BP official used the term possible not probable. In statical analysis, the probability of an event happening is a probability of 1 in 4.
"It has a one in four chance of happening," or "If you try this 100 times, it will probably happen 25 of them," so it is the same as a 25% chance.
As reported today in
The Dallas Morning News, the explosion came less than a month after Obama's decision to open portions of the East Coast to oil and gas exploration, and opponents of the move have seized on the blast as a reason to reverse course. Probably.
The blast, subsequent fire and oil spill occurred two days before Earth Day, April 20, 2010. Coincidence? Possibly.
Again today the
MSNBC noted President Barack Obama directed that no new offshore oil drilling leases be issued unless rigs have new safeguards to prevent a repeat of the explosion that unleashed the massive spill threatening the Gulf Coast with major environmental damage.
A rather odd declaration to say the least since the cause of the explosion is not known. China is currently drilling for oil off our coast. Why is the United States thwarted from drilling in its own territory when just 50 miles off the Florida coastline while the
Chinese government is drilling for oil under Cuban leases?
The United States is not drilling off its own coasts because of the environmental movement. Are they concerned about China's drilling? Possibly.
Will China be required to use the new safe safeguards required by U.S. companies? Possibly.
The Atlanta Business Journal reported that the Oil Rig reported the explosion three hours before the fire. Is this scenario a cause for investigation? High Probability.
As reported by CBS News, crews were doing routine work before the explosion and there were no signs of trouble. He said the explosion appeared to be a blowout, in which natural gas or oil forces its way up a well pipe and smashes the equipment. But precisely what went wrong was under investigation.
Will the green movement use this as further fodder for their agenda?
They already have.
Will the cause of this disaster ever be determined? Possibly.
Does the horrible blast, fire and subsequent oil spill fit perfectly with the current administration's, "do absolutely anything to accomplish their objectives policy? Probably.
Was Ted Kennedy given a hall pass in his causing the death of Mary Jo Kopechne? Undoubtedly.
Was Jimmy Carter's a failed presidency? Absolutely, according to the liberal think tank,
the Brookings Institution.
Was Richard Nixon a "crook?" Absolutely.
I'm not a big fan of coincidence. Coming from a science background proof lies with statistical probability. Random thoughts while observing the passing charade, I'm J.C.
Jim Campbell runs Charging Elephants.
