by Andre Sharp
Look folks, there is nothing to fear from drilling oil here in Hermosa. We are professionals. We know what we are doing. We have ways to mitigate any problems. We will not have any problems. Believe me. There is nothing to fear.
Meanwhile…A CBS News investigation found that dangerous spills and leaks by the U.S. oil and gas industry are happening all the time across the country. As the report said, “Everyday there’s numerous releases happening throughout just this country…Sometimes every couple of hours there’s a new incident.” But ours will be completely safe.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those lying statistics?
Alberta, Canada, has had an average of two crude oil spills a day, every day for the past 37 years. That makes 28,666 crude oil spills in total, and they just had a major oil spill in the tar sands that went unnoticed for 11 days, and that created a dead zone that killed all the vegetation and animals in its path. The company spokesman said that only salt water was leaking. That will not happen here.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those lying Canadian natives?
Oil spills from leaking pipelines happen only with old pipelines that are not well maintained. Except that the Canadian oil spill happened with a pipeline that is only 5 years old and is being maintained. Well that was a fluke. But ours will be completely safe, and it will not happen here.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those lying Canadians?
Oil spills happen when mistakes are made; when people are careless; when a tanker breaks down; when equipment breaks down. But ours will be completely safe, and it will not happen here.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those lying environmentalists?
There have been other major spills around the world, but we will be using state of the art equipment, and it will not happen here.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those laws of unintended consequences?
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says there are about 70 per day. Well, the industry says, “most of these are small and don’t do much damage.” What about the few that do the damage? Well, ours will be completely safe, and it will not happen here.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those liars at the EPA?
Oil spills occur from overflowing waste pits, from truck spills; from pipeline breaks; even from the drilling site itself; on roads to haul out the oil. But we will do it safely, and that just won’t happen here.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those liars at the EPA?
Fumes from oil are irritating to eyes, nose, mouth and lungs; oil contributes CO2 to global warming; clumps of it settle on ocean floor endangering fish habitat; oil contains cancer-inducing hydrocarbons. Well we have ways of dealing with that, and it won’t happen here.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those inconvenient truths?
Why do so many oil spills happen? Because there are a lot of tricky steps to get oil out, and accidents can happen at every step of the way. But, because we are prepared, we have ways of dealing with that, and it won’t happen here.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those inconvenient truths?
We saw the long-term consequences of oil spills on the shores of Alaska with the Exxon Valdez and on the Louisiana shores from Deepwater Horizon. Imagine what a spill – even a small one – will do to our shore here in Hermosa Beach, and to the health of our citizenry. Well, we are prepared for any eventuality and have ways of dealing with that. It just won’t happen here.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those inconvenient truths?
A Columbia University study found that over 40 percent of adults living within ten miles of the Louisiana coast reported physical symptoms of skin irritations and respiratory problems, attributed to the oil spill, and over one-third of parents report that their children have experienced physical symptoms or mental health distress because of the oil spill. We are not the Louisiana coast; our methods are different and that will not happen here.
I mean, who are you gonna believe, me – or those Columbia University ninnies?
As I said, pay no attention to all these fear mongering liars. After all, who are you gonna believe?
