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Politics : President Barack Obama -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: koan who wrote (75401)	5/20/2010 12:31:36 PM
From: ChinuSFO	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

Trying to think what that might be? I will provide you several. Let also Wharfy provide his. 1. How do you think the MMS should be restructured 2. Would it be wise to increase excise on oil without improving the public transportation infrastructure particularly in metro areas. 3. What else should this Administration do to encourage people to use green energy and expand the green energy infrastructure (Hint: I bought a new clothes washer under the "Cash for Appliances" program and am extremely happy not only with the Appliance but also with this Administration's idea)

To: koan who wrote (75401)	5/20/2010 12:32:30 PM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

The spill is a big deal. And... there is no difference between BP, Exxon, Chevron, Shell, Union, or the foreign NOCs. BP is really doing everything they can. You probably missed this. The government cannot do it better. Maybe the government of Saudi Arabia or Russia or Iran, cuz those are national oil companies, but here, in the US of A, ALL the expertise is in the private sector. You might find an army doc who is the greatest brain surgeon in the world, but you won't find anybody who is a deepwater driller. shelburn on May 15, 2010 - 10:11am I talked to someone who has been over at the BP offices. He estimated BP had about 250 to 500 people working on at least a dozen different approaches in the BP offices and that most of those people (the majority are specialist subcontractors) was probably backed up by 5 to 10 people in their own offices. Just for example I know of one company that has a department that specializes in the design and manufacture of underwater equipment for the drilling industry. Within a couple days after the initial incident virtually everyone in that department (over 100 people) was pulled off every project they were working on, split into two 12 hour shift and have been working on this 24/7 ever since. That is only one company working on one aspect of the problem. Diverdan on May 15, 2010 - 12:50pm Shelburn: Thanks I used to live a few blocks form that office and many friends from other companies are still there. I do not think people understand the Oil Patch network and the ability of a company like BP who has to deal with hurricanes, to mount a response campaign. I laugh when pol and others think they would not have university and government folks in from the beginning. I would love to be on one of those round the clock teams. Have done that before and it is amazing the work and drive and commitment. Despite the competition at times like this people come together. Aerospace is similar.Some of thee execs were just young bucks when I was working and have moved up. Hate to be in their shoes now. I had heard 165 organizations working the problem. == ROCKMAN on May 15, 2010 - 12:04pm THE OIL/NG RECOVERY PROCESS We might be getting close to seeing the flow funneled to the surface. This is a good time to point out how unprecedented this effort will be and how dangerous. What won’t be known until the very second the flow reaches the surface: how much oil, NG and water will be in the flow and what will the pressure be. Beyond those values a second level of uncertainty: how will those numbers vary over time? Flowing a known volume of oil/NG/water at a known pressure is standard ops for a processing ship. The NG is separated from the liquids and flared or piped away. I sat in a field offshore Africa and watched 25 million cf of NG flared every day. Very impressive and more than a little unnerving if you’re working on the ship. Those hands might live in their fire resistant clothing 24/7 and always have emergency breathing gear on the belt. And this is under very controlled conditions. Now look at what BP will attempt: as soon as the flow reaches the surface all the NG will have to be separated, trapped and flared. If they don’t the NG will accumulate around the ship until some spark sets off the explosion with the possible loss of the ship and all souls onboard. There is almost nothing more dangerous than NG vented to the atmosphere. The most powerful non-nuclear bomb (fuel/air bomb) in the world is based upon the fact. Here’s the problem in a nut shell: when the flow reaches the surface they have only two options: direct the entire flow into the ship’s separation system or shut the flow off. And if they close some sort of a surface control valve while the oil/NG continues to rise what will happen: increased pressure ruptures the capture system; the system backs up all the way to the sea floor and the oil/NG escapes; and whatever other nightmare scenario we can think of. These are not academic questions: the success of the recovery effort and the life of every hand on board depends on these answers. I assume they’ll have all non-essential personnel off the ship when the flow reaches the surface. That’s SOP when you thinks there’s a fair chance of killing your hands. Like the old saying: Be careful what you wish for (oil/Ng flowing up the funnel) because you might just get it.

To: koan who wrote (75401)	5/20/2010 3:13:12 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 149317

One in 7 US homeowners paying late or in foreclosure reuters.com <<...NEW YORK, May 19 (Reuters) - One in every seven U.S. households with a mortgage ended the first quarter behind on payments or in foreclosure, although a peak in unemployment could mean repayment stress is easing, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday. While the rate of new foreclosure actions has slowed, the stockpile of loans that are seriously delinquent or in foreclosure means a long path to recovery for the U.S. housing market. "It's like shutting off the oil leak, but you still have a lot of oil in the Gulf to deal with," Jay Brinkmann, the MBA's chief economist, said in an interview...>>

To: koan who wrote (75401)	5/20/2010 11:43:51 PM
From: tejek	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 149317

Apropo.....we were just talking about this issue. Obama to Mandate Rules to Raise Fuel Standards By PETER BAKER Published: May 20, 2010 WASHINGTON — President Obama has decided to use his executive power to order tougher fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks, accelerating the fight against climate change without waiting for Congress, administration officials said Thursday. Mr. Obama plans to announce on Friday that he is ordering the creation of a new national policy that will result in less pollution from medium- and heavy-duty trucks for the first time and will further reduce exhaust from cars and light-duty trucks beyond the requirements he has already put in place. Under rules that were eventually formalized last month, new cars have to meet a combined city and highway fuel economy average of 35.5 miles per gallon by 2016. The administration said the new rules would cut emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases by about 30 percent from 2012 to 2016. The plan Mr. Obama will announce on Friday will order further improvements in fuel efficiency for cars and light trucks made in 2017 and beyond, and in medium and heavy trucks made in 2014 through 2018. The initiative comes as the spill in the Gulf of Mexico has underscored the problem with dependence on oil, and officials said the president would cite the problem when he discusses his plan. The order allows Mr. Obama to advance his goals even as Senate Democrats have difficulty trying to pass a comprehensive energy bill that he supports. Administration officials confirmed the plan after disclosing it to environmental advocates but insisted on anonymity to avoid upstaging the announcement. In addition to the fuel efficiency and pollution standards, Mr. Obama’s directive will order more federal support for the development of new-generation cars like advanced electric vehicles and will instruct the Environmental Protection Agency to reduce pollutants from motor vehicles other than greenhouse gases. Environmentalists hailed the move. “President Obama’s oil savings proposal will reduce our dependence on oil,” said Daniel J. Weiss, director of climate strategy at the Center for American Progress, a liberal research organization. “More efficient cars and trucks will help to protect families’ budgets as well as America’s shores.” Medium and heavy trucks represent only 4 percent of all vehicles on American highways but they consume more than 20 percent of on-road transportation fuels, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists, an environmental advocacy organization. Improving the average fuel economy of these trucks by 3.7 miles per gallon would reduce American annual oil consumption by 11 billion gallons in 2030, the group said. Building cleaner cars costs money but may ultimately save consumers more through lower gasoline bills. The policy already enacted will add about $1,000 to the cost of an average new car by 2016, but save about $3,000 in fuel over the life of the vehicle, according to government officials. The president will be joined Friday by environmental leaders as well as representatives of major automakers and truck manufacturers supporting the new policy, administration officials said. The Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency will jointly develop the policy. Manufacturers want a single, national standard set over the long term because it is easier to meet than the patchwork quilt of regulations imposed in the past. Before the president’s initial policy a year ago, car and light-truck makers were facing fuel-efficiency standards being developed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in response to Congressional legislation, separate greenhouse gas standards being developed by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Air Act and the possibility of separate standards enacted in California and 13 other states. John M. Broder contributed reporting. cnbc.com