Comments by "" (@DavidJ222) on "How climate change impacts people of color" video.
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The Trump administration said that it would roll back several major regulations meant to safeguard offshore drilling rigs, ending a bevy of safety measures put in place after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill that spewed 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
The Interior Department announced the newly revised Well Control Rule as part of President Donald Trump’s effort to expand offshore drilling and U.S. “energy dominance.” Under the rules, oil companies will be required to safety test devices meant to stop leaks for only 5 minutes every 21 days, far less frequently than in the past. The plan will also end mandatory reporting of some of those tests to the Interior Department. The changes are expected to save the oil industry more than $824 million over the next 10 years.
“Today’s final rule puts safety first, both public and environmental safety, in a common sense way,” newly confirmed Interior Secretary David Bernhard said in a statement. Bernhard is also a former oil lobbyist. IMAGINE THAT!!😲
The changes prompted an immediate outcry from environmental groups who worry they would open the door to yet another disaster like Deepwater Horizon.
“The well control rule was one of the most important actions we took, as a nation, in response to the BP-style disaster at sea,” Bob Deans, the director of strategic engagement at the Natural Resources Defense Council, said in a statement. “If the Trump administration’s final rule weakens these protections, as its proposed changes did, it will put our workers, waters and wildlife at needless risk. That’s irresponsible, reckless and wrong.”
The BP oil spill was the worst in U.S. history. An explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig killed 11 workers in April 2010 and the spill took months to cap before it was finally sealed off in late September. More than 210 million gallons of oil flowed into the Gulf of Mexico during that time, causing billions of dollars in environmental damages. The event also led to a dramatic loss of plant and animal life, and the loss of jobs and the livelihoods of many fisherman. Scientists are still studying the long-term effects on marine mammals and sea turtles.
Under the new regulations, oil companies will no longer be required to hire third-party safety inspectors to test the equipment meant to prevent leaks, known as blowout preventers. That same device failed during the BP spill.
The Gulf of Mexico and its coastline still haven’t recovered from 2010’s Deepwater Horizon blowout, which killed 11 workers, and thousands of marine animals as it gushed more than 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf for almost three months.
Trump has been moving to open up America’s oil fields for years, to various success. A federal judge blocked a plan to open up almost all of the country’s coastal waters to oil and gas leasing earlier this month, and Bernhardt said the Interior Department would put that plan on hold as it made its way through the court system
That's it, for the sake of greed, let's just totally f**k up the entire planet, and leave nothing but a smoldering dumpster fire for our kids, their kids, and for generations to come. IT'LL BE FUN!!!😆
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