# Conservative response to BP spill: unwad your panties **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [May 2, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035 "2010-05-02T15:34:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Creole\_Tomato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@Creole\_Tomato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creole_Tomato)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/1 "2010-05-02T15:34:37Z")
I have been told by several people recently that anyone who is upset about the BP spill is ignorant, prone to hysteria, and (of course!) anti-American. A little searching around the interwebs provided this on the American Solutions (isn’t that a Gingrich-founded org?) website: “Other experts were quick to put the spill into context. Dr. Dagmar Etkin of Environmental Research Consulting said oil seeps naturally from the Gulf floor “at a rate of 1,500 to 4,000 barrels per day”, or as much as two to three times larger than what is currently leaking from the exploded rig. Etkin also mentioned that the constant appearance of oil has produced a large amount of natural bacteria that breaks down oil and reduces contamination.” [http://www.americansolutions.com/drill/2010/04/oil-continues-to-leak-from-sunken-rig.php](http://www.americansolutions.com/drill/2010/04/oil-continues-to-leak-from-sunken-rig.php) I tried to argue for a while, then realized it was pointless, and poured myself a little more bourbon as I breathed in the sweet aroma of spilled crude. Has anyone else heard this argument? It seems to have taken hold in Hannity land, as well. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Ponch8](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ponch8/32/9883_2.png) [@Ponch8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ponch8)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/2 "2010-05-02T15:37:43Z")
Shouldn’t conservatives be just as upset about this as liberals? Thousands and thousands of small businesses (fishing, beach tourism, etc.) could be negatively affected. It’s always conservatives who claim to be on the side of small business, free enterprise, and all that stuff. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/3 "2010-05-02T15:42:04Z")
What bullshit. Regardless of what may or may not be the natural seepage rate, _it doesn’t lead to oil slicks like this on a continual basis_. Obviously the BP spill is an environmental problem in ways that go far beyond anything caused by the background seepage rate. We don’t normally have to worry about whether the Loop Current will make an oily mess of every Gulf Coast beach between New Orleans and the Florida Keys. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/4 "2010-05-02T15:49:57Z")
Oh, you don’t have to worry about that, it will. There is no Plan A. Nor is there a Plan B. There isn’t even a Plan 9. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/5 "2010-05-02T15:56:37Z")
> [@Creole\_Tomato](#): > > "Other experts were quick to put the spill into context. Dr. Dagmar Etkin of Environmental Research Consulting said oil seeps naturally from the Gulf floor “at a rate of 1,500 to 4,000 barrels per day”, or as much as two to three times larger than what is currently leaking from the exploded rig. You obviously haven’t been to a Gulf coast beach (esp. Galveston) if you think that this piece is somehow untrue. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/6 "2010-05-02T16:15:30Z")
> [@bump](#): > > You obviously haven’t been to a Gulf coast beach (esp. Galveston) if you think that this piece is somehow untrue. I have been to [this](http://www.leapingfromthebox.com/blog/uploaded_images/seagrass-741675.jpg) [Gulf coast](http://www.apalachicolabay.org/image/photoAlbum/Heron%20on%20Beach%20Bickel.jpg) [beach](http://www.seaturtlesatrisk.org/leatherback%20turtle.gif), now in the path of the oil slick. Been going there for 20 years, and haven’t seen anything like what’s headed there now. So explain your post, please. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/7 "2010-05-02T16:26:59Z")
Care to share your thought process for how you determined that this is “the conservative response”? Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/8 "2010-05-02T16:30:04Z")
> [@Creole\_Tomato](#): > > I have been told by several people recently that anyone who is upset about the BP spill is ignorant, prone to hysteria, and (of course!) anti-American. Right! Our spills are bigger, better and longer-lasting than any other country’s, and anyone who says otherwise is a goddam commie. > [@](#): > > "Other experts were quick to put the spill into context. Dr. Dagmar Etkin of Environmental Research Consulting said oil seeps naturally from the Gulf floor “at a rate of 1,500 to 4,000 barrels per day”, or as much as two to three times larger than what is currently leaking from the exploded rig. Well, I’d say there’s some grade-A bullshit right there. Estimates of daily spill volume from MC 252 range up to 5,000 bbl/day, although in fact no one is claiming any particular estimate is an accurate measurement. Could be more, could be less. Moreover, assuming Dr. Dagmar is not a veterinarian or something, one would expect he knows that seepage of several thousand barrels a day from a point source is likely to be somewhat different in character from a similar amount from many small sources spread over tens of thousands of square miles. > [@](#): > > Has anyone else heard this argument? It seems to have taken hold in Hannity land, as well. :rolleyes: No, but of course it would, because GLOBAL WARMING IS A LIBERAL CONSPIRACY! ENVIRONMENTAL WACKOS! CHICKEN LITTLES! ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/9 "2010-05-02T16:37:58Z")
Isn’t Dagmar a woman’s name? [Hmm, yes …](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagmar_(American_actress)) ---
**Author:** ![Creole\_Tomato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a4c791/32.png) [@Creole\_Tomato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Creole_Tomato)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/10 "2010-05-02T16:38:48Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Care to share your thought process for how you determined that this is “the conservative response”? Thanks. I believe I did that. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/11 "2010-05-02T16:43:10Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Isn’t Dagmar a woman’s name? [Hmm, yes …](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dagmar_(American_actress)) Heh. Yes. Guess I was thinking of Dagwood… ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/12 "2010-05-02T16:43:24Z")
[http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/oil-hits-louisiana-coast-could-reach-florida-by-sunday/1091532](http://www.tampabay.com/incoming/oil-hits-louisiana-coast-could-reach-florida-by-sunday/1091532) > [@](#): > > …Pundit Rush Limbaugh, who has a home on Florida’s Palm Beach, suggested that the explosion could have resulted from Earth Day eco-sabotage by one of the rig workers. Limbaugh also said a cleanup was unnecessary. > > “The ocean will take care of this on its own if it was left alone and left out there,” Limbaugh said. “It’s natural. It’s as natural as the ocean water is.”.. Offered without comment, none being necessary. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/13 "2010-05-02T16:49:44Z")
First, it’s obvious that Limbaugh has upped his meds again. Palm Beach is on the other side of the state. AFAIK, there is no oil there to drill for, and little chance that Limbaugh will be personally affected by what happens in the Gulf. I do wish some real monkey wrench folks would take Rush for a swim off the coast of Louisiana. I wonder what Glenn Beck’s take is. IIRC, he’s from the Tampa Bay area and more likely to own Gulf Coast property. ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/14 "2010-05-02T16:49:46Z")
> [@Creole\_Tomato](#): > > I believe I did that. So, you “heard it from some people,” found a cite on a web site you seem to think is “conservative,” and seem to think that Hannity may have also “picked it up.” Is this accurate? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/15 "2010-05-02T17:03:04Z")
You think that’s dumb, check out some of the threads on Free Republic right now: [Another Obama Crisis Too Good](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2504940/posts) (on the theory the government did it on purpose) [Drilling Process Attracts Scrutiny in Rig Explosion](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2504946/posts) [Gulf of Mexico oil spill (Halliburton and the real cost of the oil era)](http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2505089/posts) (thread discusses “hysterical enviro-nazis beating their chests, as usual”) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/16 "2010-05-02T17:05:26Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Care to share your thought process for how you determined that this is “the conservative response”? Thanks. :rolleyes: Why don’t **you** tell **us** (and your response **will** be referenced in later threads) what outlets you do consider authentically representative of the conservative viewpoint? And then we’ll see what those sources have to say (now and later). ---
**Author:** ![Rand\_Rover](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/db5fbb/32.png) [@Rand\_Rover](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rand_Rover)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/17 "2010-05-02T17:12:09Z")
Brainglutton, why don’t you tell us what outlets you consider representative of the liberal viewpoint? ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/18 "2010-05-02T17:15:58Z")
Actually, what I’m hearing from most conservatives is, “Why did it take the Obama administration so long to respond to this?” Along with grousing about how if this had happened to George Bush, the media would have been full of articles braying about how Bush was fiddling while the coastline turned black. ---
**Author:** ![Lobohan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobohan/32/79_2.png) [@Lobohan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobohan)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/19 "2010-05-02T17:16:52Z")
> [@Rand\_Rover](#): > > Brainglutton, why don’t you tell us what outlets you consider representative of the liberal viewpoint? All of them but Fox and WND, right? Thinking like a conservative is easy! Well, I guess it would have to be. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035/20 "2010-05-02T17:21:58Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > Actually, what I’m hearing from most conservatives is, “Why did it take the Obama administration so long to respond to this?” Along with grousing about how if this had happened to George Bush, the media would have been full of articles braying about how Bush was fiddling while the coastline turned black. I’m wondering if you’d link to some of the prominent conservatives saying this in public. Seriously, this doesn’t match what I’ve been hearing. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/conservative-response-to-bp-spill-unwad-your-panties/538035.md?page=2)