Because they have no intention of cleaning up if they do. They will give it a dousing of Corexit and a deluge of propaganda. Problem solved.

I wish I could say that this is merely an election-year ploy to shut down the naysayers on the right, but this is merely an extension of his administration's policies so far...

Note the yellow one - Tor Viking II - it's an icebreaker. This was on Monday.




Lura on Beach Drive shared that photo from a busy moment in central Puget Sound around 10:20 this morning – while a new wildlife platform bobbed in the foreground, the background included a state ferry, an aircraft carrier – identified by Beach Drive Blog as the USS John C. Stennis – and the Tor Viking II, yet another of the ships that have converged on this area as part of the Shell offshore drilling flotilla that’s heading north sometime soon with the two drilling rigs that have been getting work done at Vigor Shipyard on Harbor Island. According to a document published in the Federal Register last Friday, Tor Viking (in Everett right now) is one of the 17 vessels for which a 500-yard safety zone has been ordered – including the drill rigs/ships Noble Discoverer and Kulluk – once they head north. (The Greenpeace Esperanza, which had been here for a while to monitor the potential departure, left this area some days ago.)

Obama can't afford to rile up the oil companies any more, he needs contributions too!

Besides, the Presidency has no real power. Only the House. Or so I've been told.

Pub Date: May 17, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Taxpayers for Common Sense (TCS) released “Subsidy Gusher: Taxpayers Stuck with Massive Subsidies while Oil and Gas Profits Soar.” The report describes the nearly $80 billion in subsidies the oil and gas industry will receive over the next five years. It also highlights the nearly $140 million in campaign contributions the industry handed out over the last ten years to influence federal policies.
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The move to issue this permit to Shell by next month means the Administration can claim they are expanding domestic resource production and dismiss criticism by Republicans that they're against domestic energy sources. Heck, North Dakota's landscape and water isn't the only new place to muck up.

And hey, the testing that Shell has done in testing its new oil spill containment device in Puget Sound (here in Washington) is absolutely similar to conditions found in the Artic. Right?

I wept when he was appointed. Between Vilsack and Salazar there could never be a change in anything.