You Thrilled To The Kulluk's Saga, Now See Those Responsible Live, In Concert Person

[The Message in brief:  Go to this hearing just to see the key folks involved in drilling oil in the Alaskan Arctic.  Go see that these are just human beings and look them in the eye.  The more people who actually go and see them, the more people who will listen when they are back in the news saying, "No problem, just a minor mishap that isn't unexpected in situations like this."  Besides, other meetings I've been to on oil issues have usually had a high percentage of oil related employees.  There needs to be some balance.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013, Library Room 307, 10-12

UAA faculty?  Get your students to go see this.  Go yourself.  There are lots of classes that have a connection to Arctic oil drilling.   And your students know how to park on campus.]



I try to keep the an open, if skeptical, mind in this blog, but Shell Oil's attempts to look transparent while saying as little as they could get away with concerning the Kulluk and Noble Explorer oil rigs makes it hard.

I got an email last week from Senator Begich's office that started with:

"Alaska Field Hearing on Increased Arctic Maritime Activity Representatives from Shell Oil, Department of Interior, and Coast Guard to Attend"

It then went on:

"U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, announced that he will hold a hearing in Alaska on Arctic shipping safety and reviewing the lessons learned from the 2012 offshore drilling season. The hearing will be on March 27, 2013 from 10:00 a.m.—12:00 p.m. at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) Consortium Library in Room 307."

You ever try to find a parking place - even if you have the top of the line UAA parking sticker - near the library at 10 am?   Who's off work from 10am-noon on a weekday?  I bet there will be some oil company employees in the audience. 

“Reviewing Shell’s maritime activities and the government’s oversight of these operations is the next logical step in responsible development and preparation for increased Arctic activities,” said Sen. Begich.  “There are always lessons to be learned and as Chairman of the Oceans subcommittee, I will continue to do everything I can to make sure that the U.S. is ready to fully take advantage of opportunities – from increased shipping to development and revenue sharing -  in an evolving Arctic.”

How much are they going to say?  Who's going to be asking the questions?  Sounds like this is aimed at saying, "Kulluk and Noble Explorer?  No problem.  You learn through your mistakes.  Oil drilling, full speed ahead."  And that idea is corroborated further in the press release: 

Sen. Begich has been a vocal supporter of Arctic development, including OCS drilling, the need for infrastructure development to support increased Arctic drilling, and a strengthened Coast Guard presence in the Arctic. He has repeatedly pressed the Obama administration to expedite the permitting process and as a result, Shell Oil became the first producer in 20 years to initiate drilling operations in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas off Alaska’s northern coast.

So, why am I posting this then?  Because it's a chance to see the crew who has been responsible for the never-ending mishaps that seem to have gotten Shell North American VP fired recently:

"The executive in charge of Shell’s troubled Arctic drilling program is stepping down.

David Lawrence was Shell’s vice president for North American exploration. He’s been with the company for almost 30 years. Now, a spokesman says he’s leaving “by mutual consent.”

Shell won’t say whether Lawrence’s departure has anything to do with the 2012 drilling season. But it’s only been a week since the Department of the Interior released its review of Shell’s Arctic program. Interior’s investigators said Shell wasn’t fully prepared for the logistical challenges it faced in the Arctic.

Lawrence made headlines a year ago when he told a Dow Jones reporter that drilling in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas would be “relatively easy.” He said the oil Shell is pursuing in the Alaskan Arctic is located in shallow, low-pressure areas that were simpler to access than other deposits." (from KTOO)

So who will be there?  The list is below.  Most will be there in the flesh, though a few will visit via video-conferencing.  Nothing wrong with that, but you can't mingle and talk to them during the breaks.  

Department of Interior (DOI) representatives will participate in the meeting and will provide an overview of DOI’s high-level review of Shell’s 2012 offshore drilling program in the Arctic Ocean.  Shell executives and representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard will testify as well.

Witness List:

The Honorable Tommy P. Beaudreau, Acting Assistant Secretary - Land and Minerals Management, US Department of the Interior (via video teleconference)

Rear Admiral Thomas P. Ostebo, Commander, Seventeenth District, U.S. Coast Guard

Mr. Pete E. Slaiby, Vice President, Exploration and Production, Shell Alaska

Ms. Helen Brohl, Executive Director, US Committee on the Marine Transportation System* (via video teleconference)

Mr. Ed Page, Executive Director, Marine Exchange of Alaska**

Ms. Eleanor Huffines, Manager, U.S. Arctic Campaign***, Pew Charitable Trusts

Mr. Matt Ganley, Vice President, Bering Straits Native Corp.

               

* What's the Committee on the Marine Trasporportation Systems you ask.  From the CMTS website:

The CMTS is a Federal Cabinet-level, inter-departmental committee chaired by the Secretary of Transportation.
The purpose of the CMTS is to create a partnership of Federal departments and agencies with responsibility for the Marine Transportation System (MTS). The job of the CMTS is to ensure the development and implementation of national MTS policies that are consistent with national needs and to report to the President its views and recommendations for improving the MTS.
The MTS is essential to the American economy; it supports millions of American jobs, facilitates trade, moves people and goods, and provides a safe, secure, cost-effective, and energy-efficient transportation alternative. But because much of the system’s infrastructure is aging and constrained by capacity limitations, the CMTS is working to ensure that the MTS continues to meet the present and future needs of our nation... keep reading »

** Or the Marine Exchange of Alaska?

The Marine Exchange of Alaska (MXAK) provides services that aid safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible maritime operations.
Marine Exchange of Alaska
1000 Harbor Way
Suite 204
Juneau, AK 99801
907-463-2607 tel

***I can find a Pew Trust Arctic Program, but not campaign.

So folks, GO!  Check out this meeting.  Get a sense of the people involved.  Don't worry about parking - take a bus - 2, 3, 11, 45, and a bunch of others go by there. Here's a link to the People Mover's tools for finding the right bus.  There's a bus stop right near the library.  [The meeting is free too.]

Just Go, get a sense of the players.  I'll be listening online from LA.  When I get the online link, I'll post it here. 

US Senate Floor Has One Senator as Begich Presides

We took the Metro to Union Station today, then walked to the Russell Senate Building.
(#1 on the map below.)

We passed through lovely, tree filled park, for the three or four blocks from the station.

Security at the Russell Senate Office Building was like at the Federal Building in Anchorage.  Bothersome, but not that big a deal.  And then we were free to roam the halls of the building.

Senator Begich's office was where all those people were.  We were there to get tickets to get into the Senate Chambers.  It turned out we needed someone to take us there and that person turned out to be an intern from the University of Alaska Fairbanks named Adrian.   And they suggested we get him to take us on a tour, that he was the best guide.  So we did.

This the outer office in Senator Begich's office with some other Alaskans there talking to the staff.

Here's Adrian on the train from the Senate Office Building to the Senate itself.  I'd read already that you had to check in your cameras before going into the Senate Gallery.  We also had go through security again.  We'd seen on a C-Span screen that Sen. Begich was presiding in the Senate.  It turns out this was not despite his low rank in the Senate, but because of it.

There was only one Senator on the floor - Sen Sessions of Alabama - giving a speech about a new Judge candidate who he accused of taking her liberal agenda to the bench and making decisions based on politics not the law.  Sen. Begich checked his blackberry and read documents while Sen. Sessions talked to an empty chamber - except for those of us in the Gallery.  Then Sen. Sessions departed and Sen. Dodd of Connecticut began a similar speech about the Republicans forcing all 41 of their members to block a vote on the upcoming financial reform bill.  During this speech, another young Senator came to replace Sen. Begich on the podium.

I'd heard that this went on, but watching it brought home the absurdity of it all. People get to stand up and give their speeches to the C-Span audiences (which aren't shown the empty chambers) and get their words into the Congressional Record. On the bright side, not all the other Senators have to waste their time listening. For the record, I did not see this happen in Juneau. Since I couldn't take pictures in the Senate chambers, here's a picture of the OLD Senate Chambers we saw later.


Adrian and the other interns were meeting with Sen. Murkowski, but he had two other people to show around an hour later, so we went to lunch and rejoined them later on for the rest of the tour.

There were lots of domed ceilings and chandeliers.  I'm not sure what this one was.

Here's a bit of floor tile.

This is Albert Caswell, the Poet of the Senate.  You can read about him in this  Politico post.

Here's a brief excerpt from a poem posted in the Congressional Record April 27, 2009:

He cries .....
As half his face is gone, has died .....
In this face of courage we see .....
The true definition of beauty .....
Countless operations, courage's full measure .....
All in faith's affirmation .....
Both Beauty and The Beast .....
As his shot is heard around the world .....
As his courage is unfurled ..... beyond belief .....
A Beautiful Man .....
With every step, reloading .....
With the Height of Courage exploding .....
He takes command!

I'll let you make your own assessment of his poetry. 

This is the Senate Capitol Rotunda dome.

Our group in the Rotunda.

High on the Rotunda wall is a frieze depicting the history of the US from Columbus to the Forty Niners digging for gold in California.  

When we rode the underground train back to the Russell Senate Building, we shared the ride with Sen. McCain.

Then we got our Metro ride back to J1's place, walked Kona, then went out for dinner at Bombay Bistro in Rockville with an old friend and his family.  It's late so that's it.

Drug Company Push Poll Against Begich Health Care Proposals

According to Sourcewatch: 

A push poll is where, using the guise of opinion polling, disinformation about a candidate or issue is planted in the minds of those being 'surveyed'. Push-polls are designed to shape, rather than measure, public opinion. 

We just had a phone call poll from "a representative of the drug companies" in which we were told that Sen. Begich is proposing a number of amendments to the health care reform bill which will add considerable costs.  We were then asked if we were opposed to any bill that will increase the price of prescription drugs. 

So, if you get a call like this, pay attention to how they are trying to shape your opinion.