Fourteen years ago, on this day, April 20th, 2010, another of those normal accidents happened…,
2010 Deepwater Horizon rig explodes
The amount of carbon dioxide in the air was roughly 390ppm. As of 2024 it is 425ppm, but check here for daily measures.
The context was the clue is in the name, Deepwater and Horizon, both implying that we’re having to go further and further to find oil, that the energy return on investment is lowering and it’s getting riskier. And so it did. The context was that we’ve been extracting oil. If you don’t count Burma for 170 years, we’re very good at it. If by good you want to overlook the inevitable leaks, and the inevitable tanker disasters, these normal accidents.
What we learn Is that accidents happen. Normal accidents happen…
What happened next, BP tried to dodge the blame with a certain amount of success. The marine environments were devastated. people’s livelihoods were devastated. But we’ve moved on… other disasters we can expect. And there’s the Onion story, clearly inspired by Deepwater Horizon…
Millions Of Barrels Of Oil Safely Reach Port In Major Environmental Catastrophe
What do you think? Does this pass the ‘so what?’ threshold? Have I got facts wrong? Interpretation wrong? Please do comment on this post, unless you are a denialist, obvs.
Also on this day:
April 20, 2006 – David Cameron does “hug-a-husky” to detoxify the Conservative “brand”
April 20, 1998 – National Academy of Sciences vs “Oregon petition” fraud