“Capping Stack” issue a concern
To the editor:
After suffering three months of the worst environmental disaster in U.S. history, it didn’t take more than a few hours before MSNBC’s Chuck Todd was asking if this ” new technology,” (the latest, more tightly fitting “Capping Stack,”) meant that deepwater drilling can now be safely pursued.
It also took only a few hours for the Florida legislature to adjourn (without action) the special session which was to allow all Florida voters an opportunity to decide our fate vis-a-vis oil drilling.
Retired Admiral Thad Allen called for continued monitoring of pressure readings before ameliorating lingering concerns that the cap would exacerbate the situation and back pressures below the sea floor would precipitate other possible leak sources. In the face of these unknowns, the “Capping Stack” is being hailed as a technological breakthrough.
While most Americans hold their breaths waiting for the answer on what we cautiously hope is long overdue halt to the massive flow of oil into the Gulf, President Barack Obama said, “We won’t be done until we actually know that we’ve killed the well and that we have a permanent solution in place.”
Still, can we believe there will be any permanent solution before establishing more manageable policies which offer much needed protection of the once productive Gulf of Mexico? There will be no solutions that work which ignore the value of this major economic source of non-oil industry jobs which more benignly focus on fishing, boating, tourism, recreation and job creation offering opportunities for countless Americans.
Mike Mullins
Chair of the Captiva Erosion Prevention District
Captiva