Greenpeace boards rig heading for Barents Sea

I was going to comment that it should be fairly easy to get them off of the rig, but after doing some quick research, it's not that easy.

According to this answer about boarding a vessel without the captain;s permission, "boarding a ship without the permission of the captain or an officer or crewmember designated by him is a violation of international maritime law". It goes on to say that such boarders can be considered stowaways at minimum or even be charged for piracy in some countries, as this same group was last year in the Pechora Sea.


The point that makes it difficult, though, is that if the boarding occurs "...for the purposes of saving a life, preventing a personal injury or property damage...", then it is not considered piracy. I can already see claims that they were preventing damage to the Artic region.
The other point is that it would also make for bad publicity if the boarders were treated badly. 
Statoil said in a statement it wouldn't drill into oil reserves of the targeted Hoop area in the Barents Sea until a complaint from Greenpeace has been assessed by the Norwegian Ministry of Climate and Environment






Greenpeace boards rig heading for Barents Sea:

'via Blog this'

Ramping Up the Rhetoric

Ramping Up the Rhetoric

There has been an increase in the volume of so-called “Anti-Fracking” articles and commentary lately in the media. The funny thing is that many of these articles refer to hydraulic fracturing as a new technology. This is only because they have only recently become aware of the technique, so they perceive it as being new.

Also, there are the usual suspect celebrities going on & on about how bad hydraulic fracturing is for the environment and the people, when they are clueless as to how it works.

Examples of articles attacking the practice:

The two agendas against fracking

http://www.dailycamera.com/columnists/ci_23929276/laughery-two-agendas-against-fracking

Are fracked oil and natural gas really "snake oil"?

http://www.resilience.org/stories/2013-08-25/are-fracked-oil-and-natural-gas-really-snake-oil

Five Ways to Stop President Obama's Plan to Frack America

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-ruffalo/stop-fracking_b_3786370.html

Luckily, there have also been articles that support hydraulic fracturing and aim to dispel the myths that so-called “fractivists” are trying to scare America and the rest of the world with. 

See the examples below:

Ten Big Fat Lies About Fracking

http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/ten_big_fat_lies_about_fracking/13944#.Uke4ioasim7

Shale, Fracking Are Not The Main Cause Of Texas Water Shortages

http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidblackmon/2013/08/21/shale-fracking-are-not-the-main-cause-of-texas-water-shortages/

Fracking, Or Hydraulic Fracturing, Is Helping US To Produce More Of Its Own Energy [Graphics]

http://www.ibtimes.com/fracking-or-hydraulic-fracturing-helping-us-produce-more-its-own-energy-graphics-1411532

America’s Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas Surge and the Changing Global Energy Market

http://energytomorrow.org/blog/2013/september/sep-27-americas-unconventional-surge-and-the-changing-global-energy-market

Wood Mackenzie: Global Geopolitics Reshaped by North American Energy Independence

http://www.woodmacresearch.com/cgi-bin/wmprod/portal/corp/corpPressDetail.jsp?oid=11572576

Record-setting 2012 Warmth!!!

I found this interesting. We have been having record-setting high temps...leading some to say "See, I told you so! Global warming is real!"  Funny thing is, I have never denied that it appears that the world is getting warmer. I just don't believe that we humans are affecting it that much. Either side of the debate can use this to support their case, so I make no claims either way.


Record-setting 2012 warmth largely confined to North America, western Europe | Ars Technica:
'via Blog this'

Decline of SoLa

I think it is here...something that a couple of hundred years of wars, floods, hurricanes, and coastal erosion have not been able to bring about...the end of South Louisiana.

President Obama has reiterated his stance on the deepwater drilling moratorium while spending as much or more time pushing "Cap & Trade", or as I saw someone put it, "Smash Knee Cap & Tax", than talking about cleanup efforts. This does not bode well. Whether he knows it or not, he is forcing people to either A.) Move away to work somewhere else or B.) Lose their jobs and go on welfare...***Epiphany*** What better way to garner more support? Get a whole region dependent on him for survival! This is how demo-don'ts keep getting re-elected. This is also how dictators do it. Very scary.

I hope and pray that the people of the United States of America wake up to what's going on and don't let our country be turned into a powerless socialist has-been. Is it that everyone is OK with losing our freedom and sovereignty? I have heard a lot of people say that they would like to the US to be more like European countries...Have they seen the European countries lately? They are struggling! The EU is not quite working out like they had planned. The UK was wise to fully embrace the EU.

Enough of my ranting. I have gone from lamenting the decline of south Louisiana to complaining about the far left. I hope to make my next post about something positive in the oil and gas industry!