The Interocitor

Here's another example of the same kind of rot.

Ballona creek runs through Culver City, down to Marina Del Ray, One fine day about 4 years ago I watched a breathless news "reporter" give a report about a "dangerous oil leak in to the sensitive biosphere of santa monica bay".

A "live team coverage" multi part story was generated that discussed the "evil gas station" tanks that were clearly the cause of this travesty against mother nature.

The actual cause was determined later to be natural petroleum tar from the la brea tar pits seam. Of course, they somehow forgot to report this story.

(...You mean oil comes from the ground?)

As a long time Angeleno, I can assure your readers that the greater LA Basin has a wide range of riverbeds, that are usually absolutely bone dry. However, when it rains as little as an inch in the foothills of the 7,000 foot high San Bernadino Mts range that surrounds the basin, they can swell their banks to capacity even when its bone dry in LA proper.

The people of LA didn't spend billions of dollars encasing those riverbeds in concrete because they were "big corporate anti nature" types, they were trying to protect their homes and business from disaster.

So, we should ban gas stations in LA?

Or maybe we should call the tar pits a Superfund site and clean them up.

Who was it who said that you never know how bad the press is until they write about something you know?

I once had a big argument with someone in LA. They of course hated "big oil", yet drove an SUV.

They were upset with how oil companies were exploiting the third world with the hunt for oil.

I said I agreed. "Why should it be acceptible for us to dig oil in Nigeria when we have it right here!" ( we were sitting an a restaurant in Long Beach)

They looked at me in shock. " Oil, right here?". I said yes, theres oil being pumped right there in long beach harbor ( I pointed to grissom island). And what was better, theres a refinery in Carson, the pipeline from pump to refiery would only be about 10 miles long. Almost zero risk of pullting the envorinment, unlike shipping it overseas in a big tanker.

I suggested that we have no right to expect the third world to pump our oil when we have it right here in California. Why not force californians, to pump their own oil, refine it here and only ship it within california.

Of course, when they realized I was talking about building new refineries, and building offshore oil rigs, only to pay 5.00 a gallon for gas, they tried to justify their position with "well, we have a unique biosphere".

I gave quick retort: " So, Nigeria is a disposable biosphere?, Japan, where 70% of our refinery work is done, they dont have a "unique biosphere there either"?

I enjoyed the hell out of that argument, but it was too easy. the vicitm was unaware of LA's proximity to oil fields( like the fact that the la basin is a HUGE oil field, and just over the san bernadino mountains in the town of mckittrick is one of the biggest in the lower 48 states) and the huge "factory" in carson was actually an evil oil refinery.

and SPEAKING OF SUPERFUND!!!!

You are aware that all the buildings along wilshire blvd have a real problem with petroleum tar seeping into their building basements. The problem? Once the substance appears in their property, it has to be treated as a 'toxic waste' and must be drummed and shipped to a toxic waste site! and a huge expense to the building owner.

As if the building owner created it! its been there for 5 billion years! its a part of nature!

arrrrggggghh!!!

I'm well aware of that. A long time ago I was on the board of a condo association. Our elevator's sump water was "toxic waste" and was extremely costly to dispose of.

"the vicitm was unaware of LA's proximity to oil fields"

Holy @#$!!

I knew about the oil industry in the L.A. area even before the enviro's got all up in arms over oil rigs off Santa Barbara (remember that?). I never lived closer to southern Cal than Salinas and I was just an "infink" then. </Popeye-speak>