Sad SOA

Yes, it is a “Sad State of Affairs” in Alaska, and not because of all that fake crap “Reality” bullshit! But who's on 1^st? Especially when Juneau is running out of money with the true “Alaskan Reality” of a budget deficit, so “Please Lord, one more Prudhoe Bay and I promise not to piss it all away”. But in all dishonest honesty, WTF! See, the Fed.'s have just assessed a $12-million dollar fine against Noble Drilling – the outfit contracted by SHELL to explore for oil and gas in the Beaufort & Chukchi seas back in 2012. Along with 8-felony indictments – so the corporation is a “person” draw names to find some low-life office assistant scapegoats that get hooked up in the slammer for 16-years! Not that this fine was unnecessary as a deterrent, but low and behold there is a definite disrespect for “equality” when it comes to polluting the waters of the Beaufort or Chukchi. Case in point. Back in 2010, it was discovered that Pioneer Natural Resources was illegally dumping hazardous glycol into the Beaufort and were caught, because a concerned Alaskan came forward with the allegations and enough evidence to indict a eunuch's ham sandwich for being without balls! But when the state oversight police handed Pioneer a $10,000 dollar fine, pocket change was handed over pronto – as this was a time wherein crime does indeed pay off. Yes, a measly $10k, for loosing over 40000 gallons of contaminated “glycol”, falsifying records, lying to authorities - no different then what the indictment against Noble and SHELL demonstrates. And too this day nobody has determined wherein hell that Pioneer glycol escaped off too – as the records indicate, could be there, could be here, “We don't know what we did with it”! And the guy responsible for it, he remained in an executive position! So it was an out-of-sight out-of-mind deliberate sabotage of the somewhat pristine environment, as back then this “Independent” was Sarah Palin's wet-dream fantasy. Now when Palin was governess, you didn't make waves or else ended up in the unemployment line with Walt. And the same thing that is happening with Noble and SHELL happened with British Petroleum, fined over $20-million for a pipeline leak in Prudhoe that was pretty much contained! So it appears there is a “Deep Pockets” syndrome, but this is not good for business! Now out at Pioneer's Ooogurk Island, in the well-bays the protected seal between the well conduits and gravel were never installed properly, but signed off by the agents, and this breach allowed all kinds of nasty hazardous waste to leech into the island's gravel foundation, which most likely made its way into the Colville. But it was a hands off approach, as Alaska needed these “Independents”, to waste money trying to recoup what was no longer an interest to “Big Oil”. Look, “Big Oil” finally went sick and tired of the preferential treatment – not only with tax breaks and royalty relief, but when caught, it meant laughable fines for the crime by the little guys. No different with what we see in the news today with SHELL. Just more of the same lame thing, “Big” attacks on “Big Oil” that, hey if they can't get it right then who in hell can? So is the fine justified? Not my call, but I do call to the carpet why we have such a dysfunctional system that does indeed allow preferential treatment when it comes to oversight. Now with Pioneer, the whereabouts of that lost hazardous stuff should have been addressed, the Fed.'s should have been called in as this was a crime scene, instead of the state collecting a measly few bucks then closing the case. Look, that same year after all that stuff disappeared, seal deaths were on the increase. But it only lasted that season, so there came no reserved research that supported any plausible reason as too why seals in the area were dying off – suspicious, of course it is. Good thing Pioneer finally called it quits, and left Alaska. Which means we are glad Palin called it quits! And here is another challenging thing that makes this whole thing with SHELL stink. When the flotilla of drilling ships and escort vessels headed north in 2012, it was under the microscope as this was a first of its kind adventure into these remote areas. Yes, under the watchful eyes and ears of the EPA, the Coast Guard, and a dozen other organizations that held an interest in coastal waters off of Alaska. But due to delays in our oversight trying to assess a “Green Light”, the oversight was called off – yes a phone call came from Alaska's delegation, and that was it. So what does an explorer too do, as when forced to move ahead, the message sent is difficult to comprehend. This is wherein interference by members of Congress find fault and fallout, it backfires. In fact, maybe the community service required by this indictment, maybe the really perpetrators should be claiming that service – but if we cannot trust them there, how in hell can we trust them here? We can't! And now that it has become more difficult to explore where no man has explored before, it means that members of Congress that find an interest also, well they will be able to demand more campaign “loot”, to get the innocent out of a mess that was perpetrated by an out-of-touch Congress' own true gift of guilt.

 Oooguruk Island on a “Good Day”

 Oooguruk Island, on a “Bad Day”

 Glycol sick seal from the Colville River 

(Watch as a giant rogue ice-sheet invades the Oooguruk, almost tipped the drilling rig over, and during this 100-year storm, all kinds of hazardous stuff went missing, over-board!)