“A cure as destructive as the disease”

Recently, a 6-month offshore drilling moratorium has been put in place by The Interior Department so that new safety requirements can be implemented. Many in the industry say “The moratorium is arbitrary government interference in the private sector that would wipe out thousands of jobs and millions of dollars of income, compounding the already terrible economic effects that resulted from the spill.” Deepwater oil production will be allowed to continue under close oversight and tighter safety requirements, but consideration of new drilling permits are being suspended.

“The Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, an industry group that opposes the moratorium, says the suspension of operations on the 33 drilling platforms translates into a loss of $250,000 to $500,000 per day, per rig, or a total of roughly $8.25 million to $16.5 million per day. It says supply boats -- two per rig -- will lose nearly $1 million per day. And it estimates that the moratorium puts at risk 800 to 1,400 jobs per rig that translate into lost wages of $165 million to $330 million per month. The effect of that loss of income for onshore businesses that serve the affected families would magnify the economic damage.”BP will pick up the salaries of laid-off rig workers. (Offshore Drilling Moratorium)

But many engineers who worked with the Interior Department to develop a set of new safety recommendations for deep-water drilling say they think the moratorium could actually undermine safety. They say that shutting down and then restarting the drilling introduces new marginal safety risks. The bigger problem is with the migration of drill rigs from the Gulf of Mexico. The newer rigs are in higher demand, so they will go first and be the last to return, leaving only older equipment to be used once the moratorium is lifted. The crews from the rigs will disperse or move to other industries, leaving less experienced workers. The U.S. uses about 23% of the world’s oil and without deepwater drilling in our own waters, our dependency on foreign oil will increase. (ELA) Transporting oil in tankers has historically accounted for more oil spillage than well blowouts.

Opinions on whether or not the moratorium is necessary are vast. Some people think only high-risk should be the only ones to stop production and others say that 6 months is a relatively short time to shut down production. Either way, it is said that lifting the moratorium before the 6 month time span is unlikely. (Some Experts Call Oil Drilling Moratorium Misguided)

Sources:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/ask/crudeoil_faqs.asp#barrels_consume_year

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=127942449

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/06/18/offshore-drilling-moratorium-4-most-pressing-questions/

Random Things I Learned at E.C.H.O.

Bamboo is grass. When you put it in your garden, you will have to do no weeding! Bamboo is important in construction for third world countries because they cannot simply go to Home Depot to buy wood and other building supplies.

Eggshells, newspaper, and other trash are added to a bed of dirt and covered in a process called vermiculture T

he worms in the dirt eat the trash and recycle it, leaving more nutrient-filled dirt to fertilize plants.

System of rice intensification is when a patch of land is flooded to grow rice because when the land is flooded, no weeding is necessary. Farmers can grow more crops by having one flooded bed and one dry.

Raised beds are used to grow fruit during the rainy season so the fruit won’t rot when touching the damp ground. Waffle beds are used during dry season to collect the water when it is scarce.

It was surprising

to me when the guide gave us some numbers on how the world’s goods are divided up. 20% of people have 80% of disposable goods, 60% of people have 13% of goods, and 20% of people have 1% of goods. This is why half of the people in third world countries die of hunger everyday. E.C.H.O. believes in relief after a disaster, such as the earthquake in Haiti, but in development the rest of the time. This is evident in the story: Give a man a fish and feed him for a day; Teach a man to

fish and feed him forever.

E.C.H.O. focuses on teaching their farming practices to individual farmers and to children so that they may be carried on to future generations. Many children in third world countries are viewed as labor, so if they are sent to school E.C.H.O. sends them home with the food they have learned to grow. This allows the practices to be viewed as valuable to the parents rather than taking them away from more lucrative activities.

Rainforests replenish the world’s oxygen and take 100 years to restore.

Miracle fruit alters the taste palette, making everything taste sweet for 1 hour so it is fed to diabetics so they can taste sweet things since they are unable to eat sweets.

Sunflowers and marigolds are often planted n

ext to each other because the scent of marigolds repels bugs that are harmful to the sunflowers.

Many diseases are caused by unclean hands, therefore a contraption called the tippy tap is hung on the outside of the houses so residents can wash their hands.

Soil is not necessary to grow crops; only nutrients are necessary. Corn husks, pine cones, aluminum cans, and plastic bottles are some substitutes for soil in a wick garden. A wick garden is made when seeds are planted in carpet and the plants are held in place by the objects around it. Rooftop gardens can be grown in packaging peanuts so the roof does not cave in from the weight of soil. Shallow pool gardens have a

plastic liner to hold water in for the plants.

Air layering is a process in which moss in slits of trees to make new trees. New roots grow into the moss and then the branch can be lopped off and replanted to grow new trees.

The Moringa Tree

Another tree we learned about at E.C.H.O. was the Moringa Tree. The tree offers exceptional nutritional quality. Drying the leaves and crushing them offers 27% protein, 38%

carbohydrates and 19

% fiber. Ounce for ounce, the fresh leaves have more beta-carotene than carrots, more protein than peas, more vitamin C than oranges, more calcium than milk, more potassium than bananas, and more iron than spinach. This is an important nutrient source for new mothers who are breast-feeding and for young children. It can be added to baby formula also. It is often referred to as “mother’s best friend.” The roots may be ground and made into a horseradish-like tasting powder. The leaves may be eaten raw or cooked and the flowers can be brewed as a tea. The pods can be eaten like green beans or asparagus and the immature seeds may be cooked and eaten as you would garden peas.

In addition to the dietary benefits, the leaves may be used as animal forage, green manure, and to make biogas. The bark yields fiber to make rope and mats and the sap is used in medicines. The wood is used as paper pulp and produces a natural blue dye. Nearly every part of the tree is used for some purpose. The seeds consist of 42% oil which may be used as a lubricant for machinery and for cooking.

Another use we learned of was when the seed is crushed and added to water, it will help to purify it. As Americans we have readily available drinking water, but in third world countries, this is an acceptable method to purify water. This process kills approximately 90% of the bacteria in contaminated water. To further purify it, the water can be put into a smooth plastic bottle and left in the sun.

The Moringa is truly an amazing tree.

Protein Sources at E.C.H.O.

One of the things we learned about at E.C.H.O. was the three sources of protein from the lake. In the lake there were blue talapia that ate the grass that was fertilized by the droppings of the ducks held in the cage above the lake. When the interns drained the lake, they would get the three sources of protein: Blue talapia, ducks, and on a day to day basis, the eggs laid by the ducks.

Another source of protein from the farm are rabbits and goats. Goats are good for 5 M’s: meat, milk, money, manure, and muscle. The manure from both is used to fertilize the plants. The manure is also used in some poorer countries to make mud cookies. The mothers mix manure, mud and water together and let it dry. Once the mixture dries, they feed it to their children at night so they won’t cry from hunger. Although their bellies are temporarily full, this is very dangerous because of the bacteria in the animal waste and because it has no nutritional value.

The Neem Tree

One of the trees we learned about at E.C.H.O. was the neem tree. The neem tree is referred to as the pharmacy tree. It originated in India. Today, the tree has been brought into many other countries and through E.C.H.O., its popularity continues to grow because it is safe and effective against many ailments. The fruit must be completely yellow at time of harvest to avoid potential health hazards to humans.

Medicinal Uses

Neem cream reduces pain and kills bacteria which promotes faster healing and less scarring on a burn. It also increases the blood flow to the area which can reduce swelling of sprains and discoloration of bruises. Chewing a few leaves or drinking neem tea reduces pain of headaches, blood pressure and opens constricted blood vessels. Neem extracts or seed oil that was applied topically were effective in treating psoriasis. Applying the cream after washing your face could also prevent wrinkles. A daily mouth rinse with neem has shown improvements in tooth decay, bleeding, sore gums, and infections.

Non-Medicinal Uses

Rubbing neem oil on your body repels mosquitoes. Also, anything coated with neem will repel bugs away from plants so they will not eat it. It will also affect the insects ability to reproduce, but is non-toxic to other animals and humans. Neem cakes will improve soil quality and provide an ideal setting for plants to grow.