Community Protest Against Drilling In The Gulf Of Siam

[bluechipit]

I remember a certain someone on here "protesting" on here about a floating walk way that the Langham Hotel had installed on Lamai beach, more "knee-jerk, uninformed showmanship for nothing.... "

[itishothere]

What's a 'doozie'?

I've seen Ixtoc 1, Exxon Valdez, the first Gulf War and now Deepwater Horizon. (Old git that I am huh? ) How many other 'doozie's am I unlikely to see?

[bluechipit]

What's a 'doozie'?

I've seen Ixtoc 1, Exxon Valdez, the first Gulf War and now Deepwater Horizon. (Old git that I am huh? ) How many other 'doozie's am I unlikely to see?

I'm pretty sure we haven't even started to see what's going to happen with the Deepwater Horizon mess. A real doozie there... Not.

[Tracer Round]

I remember a certain someone on here "protesting" on here about a floating walk way that the Langham Hotel had installed on Lamai beach, more "knee-jerk, uninformed showmanship for nothing.... "

Really? Were there banners around the island for notification of the organized protest? How many people came? Did the hotel have a plan drawn up beforehand for everyone to study before the construction began? Was there to be only one of these things or many? Is there a societal need for floating walkways in the same way that the need for oil and gas by society which drives the industry that drills wells?

I am not sure about the particulars of the protest that happened about Langham, but this seems somewhat different from drilling offshore for oil and gas. But maybe the Langham walkway is actually a derrick in disguise.

My point was that protesting these plans to drill for natural gas near the islands is laudable if the objections had merit. I believe that whatever objections there are, are, how shall I say? Statistically groundless.

By the way, what are the objections, specifically? What material is being put forth in support of the protesters' position (whatever that might be)?

Also, if the nature of the protest is, "We don't want the rigs near us," then the argument is empty in as far as being based on environmental concerns. The drilling is either bad, in which case it is bad anywhere in the world -- meaning you'd be calling for the end of all drilling worldwide -- or it's not, in which case the protest is a selfish local issue.

Aside from the point that every nation has the inherent right to explore for resources on its shores or territorial waters, advocating the end to such activities is just simpleminded ignorance. Petroleum products are not just gasoline; there are many uses, including plastics, which we all love so much we can't live without them. (You are typing on a keyboard made from a petroleum product. Shock, horror!)

The fact is that we humans MUST explore for energy sources. Our civilization is at the point -- arrived at long ago -- where we no longer have a choice whether to explore for oil and gas or not.

[sevenhills]

I remember a certain someone on here "protesting" on here about a floating walk way that the Langham Hotel had installed on Lamai beach, more "knee-jerk, uninformed showmanship for nothing.... "

Really? Were there banners around the island for notification of the organized protest? How many people came? Did the hotel have a plan drawn up beforehand for everyone to study before the construction began? Was there to be only one of these things or many? Is there a societal need for floating walkways in the same way that the need for oil and gas by society which drives the industry that drills wells?

I am not sure about the particulars of the protest that happened about Langham, but this seems somewhat different from drilling offshore for oil and gas. But maybe the Langham walkway is actually a derrick in disguise.

My point was that protesting these plans to drill for natural gas near the islands is laudable if the objections had merit. I believe that whatever objections there are, are, how shall I say? Statistically groundless.

By the way, what are the objections, specifically? What material is being put forth in support of the protesters' position (whatever that might be)?

Also, if the nature of the protest is, "We don't want the rigs near us," then the argument is empty in as far as being based on environmental concerns. The drilling is either bad, in which case it is bad anywhere in the world -- meaning you'd be calling for the end of all drilling worldwide -- or it's not, in which case the protest is a selfish local issue.

Aside from the point that every nation has the inherent right to explore for resources on its shores or territorial waters, advocating the end to such activities is just simpleminded ignorance. Petroleum products are not just gasoline; there are many uses, including plastics, which we all love so much we can't live without them. (You are typing on a keyboard made from a petroleum product. Shock, horror!)

The fact is that we humans MUST explore for energy sources. Our civilization is at the point -- arrived at long ago -- where we no longer have a choice whether to explore for oil and gas or not.

Great posts Tracer Round. Totally agree on your points, some people have no idea and with simplistic ideas.

[crusty]

I remember a certain someone on here "protesting" on here about a floating walk way that the Langham Hotel had installed on Lamai beach, more "knee-jerk, uninformed showmanship for nothing.... "

Really? Were there banners around the island for notification of the organized protest? How many people came? Did the hotel have a plan drawn up beforehand for everyone to study before the construction began? Was there to be only one of these things or many? Is there a societal need for floating walkways in the same way that the need for oil and gas by society which drives the industry that drills wells?

I am not sure about the particulars of the protest that happened about Langham, but this seems somewhat different from drilling offshore for oil and gas. But maybe the Langham walkway is actually a derrick in disguise.

My point was that protesting these plans to drill for natural gas near the islands is laudable if the objections had merit. I believe that whatever objections there are, are, how shall I say? Statistically groundless.

By the way, what are the objections, specifically? What material is being put forth in support of the protesters' position (whatever that might be)?

Also, if the nature of the protest is, "We don't want the rigs near us," then the argument is empty in as far as being based on environmental concerns. The drilling is either bad, in which case it is bad anywhere in the world -- meaning you'd be calling for the end of all drilling worldwide -- or it's not, in which case the protest is a selfish local issue.

Aside from the point that every nation has the inherent right to explore for resources on its shores or territorial waters, advocating the end to such activities is just simpleminded ignorance. Petroleum products are not just gasoline; there are many uses, including plastics, which we all love so much we can't live without them. (You are typing on a keyboard made from a petroleum product. Shock, horror!)

The fact is that we humans MUST explore for energy sources. Our civilization is at the point -- arrived at long ago -- where we no longer have a choice whether to explore for oil and gas or not.

Great posts Tracer Round. Totally agree on your points, some people have no idea and with simplistic ideas.

Hear, hear !

[BigC]

I remember a certain someone on here "protesting" on here about a floating walk way that the Langham Hotel had installed on Lamai beach, more "knee-jerk, uninformed showmanship for nothing.... "

Really? Were there banners around the island for notification of the organized protest? How many people came? Did the hotel have a plan drawn up beforehand for everyone to study before the construction began? Was there to be only one of these things or many? Is there a societal need for floating walkways in the same way that the need for oil and gas by society which drives the industry that drills wells?

I am not sure about the particulars of the protest that happened about Langham, but this seems somewhat different from drilling offshore for oil and gas. But maybe the Langham walkway is actually a derrick in disguise.

My point was that protesting these plans to drill for natural gas near the islands is laudable if the objections had merit. I believe that whatever objections there are, are, how shall I say? Statistically groundless.

By the way, what are the objections, specifically? What material is being put forth in support of the protesters' position (whatever that might be)?

Also, if the nature of the protest is, "We don't want the rigs near us," then the argument is empty in as far as being based on environmental concerns. The drilling is either bad, in which case it is bad anywhere in the world -- meaning you'd be calling for the end of all drilling worldwide -- or it's not, in which case the protest is a selfish local issue.

Aside from the point that every nation has the inherent right to explore for resources on its shores or territorial waters, advocating the end to such activities is just simpleminded ignorance. Petroleum products are not just gasoline; there are many uses, including plastics, which we all love so much we can't live without them. (You are typing on a keyboard made from a petroleum product. Shock, horror!)

The fact is that we humans MUST explore for energy sources. Our civilization is at the point -- arrived at long ago -- where we no longer have a choice whether to explore for oil and gas or not.

it must be mostly english doing all the complaining. i am english. one of the reasons i left the UK. just full of people moaning and complaining. i would have thought that living in someone elses country where the people are quite layed back that even if my tribe of fellow englsihman did follow me then they might have something interesting to do whilst out here living the dream but no. just complain. protest moan.

apparently even the thai's are just fed up with us and we have a reputation for it.

samui is not what it used to be 8 years ago.

thats my 2 pence i expect people will have some sary remarkes about my post but there again. what do i expect from my fellow engllishman

[smokie36]

it must be mostly english doing all the complaining. i am english. one of the reasons i left the UK. just full of people moaning and complaining. i would have thought that living in someone elses country where the people are quite layed back that even if my tribe of fellow englsihman did follow me then they might have something interesting to do whilst out here living the dream but no. just complain. protest moan.

apparently even the thai's are just fed up with us and we have a reputation for it.

samui is not what it used to be 8 years ago.

thats my 2 pence i expect people will have some sary remarkes about my post but there again. what do i expect from my fellow engllishman

You've been away a long time Big C. Now England is full of happy contented people living on benefits. I just want to escape the morris dancers.....oh aye and the English of course.

Edited July 11, 2010 by smokie36

[BigC]

What would you have protested against? The Macondo Well that exploded and has been issuing oil into the Gulf of Mexico was a freak event. It's so utterly foolish to protest something that is basically as safe as offshore drilling is. Why not protest against automobiles? They kill more people many orders of magnitude more than any drilling accident. And as far as being a polluter, this is nonsense. Any complicated endeavor comes with risk. Since the world needs petroleum products, oil must be obtained. Gas is also sought after. Accidents will happen according to the probabilities associated with the risk factors.

The ratio of wells drilled to the number of accidents like the Macondo Well disaster is large, to put it mildly.

A plane falls out of the sky and we protest airlines and planes....Construction waste is dumped illegally and we protest construction projects...a ship runs aground on a coral reef and we protest shipping...you get the point.

The fact is that drilling accidents can happen; this one off the US coast is a doozie but probably the likes of which you will never see again in your lifetime.

So again, what is it that was protested against? Do people want to stop offshore drilling here? If so, where is the evidence of imminent risk? Protesting this is just knee-jerk, uninformed showmanship for nothing.

If you want to protest against the production of gas, try turning your focus to the odoriferous beach road in Chaweng....

Oh and by the way, regarding the uncapped well, BP only owns 65 percent operating interest. 25 percent is owned by Anadarko and 10 percent by a Japanese company called, MOEX Offshore 2007. I don't see Anadarko being raked over the coals and a 25 percent stake in a well is not insignificant. But that's another matter.....

yes agreed. maybe people might learn from peoples accidents so they won't happen aagain. Basically they would not be doing it if there was not a demand for it.

Like the man said people protest then drive home in there cars and motor bikes. they forget that the same stu they are drilling for every body is buying. if you really want to portest seriously get a bike or walk and don't fly and don't use any gas.

i agree the enviroment has to be looked after but what can people do. either stop using oil and gas or just exept it. u really think that thailand is not going to drill somewhere/ somwhere where they know there is huge profit.

[BigC]

it must be mostly english doing all the complaining. i am english. one of the reasons i left the UK. just full of people moaning and complaining. i would have thought that living in someone elses country where the people are quite layed back that even if my tribe of fellow englsihman did follow me then they might have something interesting to do whilst out here living the dream but no. just complain. protest moan.

apparently even the thai's are just fed up with us and we have a reputation for it.

samui is not what it used to be 8 years ago.

thats my 2 pence i expect people will have some sary remarkes about my post but there again. what do i expect from my fellow engllishman

You've been away a long time Big C. Now England is full of happy contented people living on benefits. I just want to escape the morris dancers.....oh aye and the English of course.

like that suttle post. canselled my trip to india this month. going to heston hotel in houslow instead lol. as for benefits people still complain about that. i have been to the DSS ofice a few times. full of people threatening the people behinde bullet proof windows ( which are not cheap) / complainoing that they want more money. need money for the buss fair also for coming to the office and complaining. now they have missed 10 minutes of corination street and they are not happy

[smokie36]

like that suttle post. canselled my trip to india this month. going to heston hotel in houslow instead lol. as for benefits people still complain about that. i have been to the DSS ofice a few times. full of people threatening the people behinde bullet proof windows ( which are not cheap) / complainoing that they want more money. need money for the buss fair also for coming to the office and complaining. now they have missed 10 minutes of corination street and they are not happy

First job I ever had was working for the social. Back in those days we had no bullet proof windows though and one guy threatened me with a knife.....wiped the smirk off his face when I whipped out my giro pay check and showed him I was getting paid half what he got on benefits. Course this was in the newly defunct mining community of Scotland where oil and gas had taken over.....I was too polite in those days to tell hime 'On yer bike'.

[ruskiehat]

There has been Offshore drilling in various parts of the world which has been done safely and without spills, just dont employ numpties, those invloved in the industry know who and what i mean.

Until we find a viable alternative we still need Oil, like it or not, Thailand is not a Green minded country, just look at the amount of waste in plastic bags alone. I am all for a greener enviroment but the Thai's and Green thinking.... um.. sorry just not seen it yet.

[Rooo]

Seen a big billboard driving into Nathon. Didn't see the dates, but something like join hands around Samui 52 kilometres.

[BigC]

Seen a big billboard driving into Nathon. Didn't see the dates, but something like join hands around Samui 52 kilometres.

personally i do not have a problem with it. as long as they learn from whats happened in the other side of the world. then it should all be quite safe. no one wants to see the water polluted. it isn;t good for anyone. i like fishing. people savive on fishing trade. Thailands other income is also tourisme. nice clean hot water. think that if an envirment disaster happened the whole country would be in trouble and thailand does not have the same money as the americans to savaive on. So i hope they do the job right. maybe spend a bit more on making it extra safe because if any problems. then thailands economy will die. Yes in the short term money but long term. ouch !

[ruskiehat]

This post should be posted in the funny section... ie Thailand being Green... give me a break.. it's one of the most un-enviromentally countries I have been to.

[SilentReader]

Seen a big billboard driving into Nathon. Didn't see the dates, but something like join hands around Samui 52 kilometres.

Received this email yesterday.

Kill The Drill!

Koh Samui leads the protest against the oil exploration and drilling project off-shore of the Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao Region in the Gulf of Thailand.

Khun Ramamanate Jaikwang, President of the Siam Gulf Preservation Network Group, recently presided over the steering committee meeting for setting up a movement against any government grant to petroleum companies for oil exploration and drilling concessions in the territory of Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao.

The committee revealed that the direction of the movement shall be determined by representatives from official organizations, active communities, leading network groups and clubs on the islands, including: the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter, East Coast - Samui), the Tourism Association of Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao, the Green Island foundation and various other local community groups on Koh Samui and neighbouring islands.

The committee also announced that there shall be an initial mass demonstration, to be made on 31st July, 2010, of full public support against any oil exploration concessions. A minimum number of 35,000 local residents (including those from Koh Pha-Ngan, Koh Tao and Suratthani) and visitors (including foreigners who are sympathetic to the cause) will link hands forming a continuous human chain along Koh Samui’s 52-kilometre long ring-road.

The purpose of this huge collective expression of solidarity is to inform the Thai government, fellow citizens of Thailand and other nations of the world that the overwhelming public opinion in the Southern Region is fully against the Department of Petroleum granting permission for oil exploration and drilling in the territory of Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao which could have a disastrously negative impact on the entire region’s tourism and fishing industries, with possible knock-on effects being experienced in Suratthani, Nakorn Sri Thammarat and Chumporn, and even places as far a field as Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga.

The committee is calling for the government’s grant to the project to be withdrawn forthwith and requests an official meeting with the Department of Petroleum in order to discuss possible energy production alternatives which wouldn’t potentially threaten the region’s thriving tourism industry.

Rak Aao Thai Group

[BigC]

Seen a big billboard driving into Nathon. Didn't see the dates, but something like join hands around Samui 52 kilometres.

Received this email yesterday.

Kill The Drill!

Koh Samui leads the protest against the oil exploration and drilling project off-shore of the Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao Region in the Gulf of Thailand.

Khun Ramamanate Jaikwang, President of the Siam Gulf Preservation Network Group, recently presided over the steering committee meeting for setting up a movement against any government grant to petroleum companies for oil exploration and drilling concessions in the territory of Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao.

The committee revealed that the direction of the movement shall be determined by representatives from official organizations, active communities, leading network groups and clubs on the islands, including: the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter, East Coast - Samui), the Tourism Association of Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao, the Green Island foundation and various other local community groups on Koh Samui and neighbouring islands.

The committee also announced that there shall be an initial mass demonstration, to be made on 31st July, 2010, of full public support against any oil exploration concessions. A minimum number of 35,000 local residents (including those from Koh Pha-Ngan, Koh Tao and Suratthani) and visitors (including foreigners who are sympathetic to the cause) will link hands forming a continuous human chain along Koh Samui’s 52-kilometre long ring-road.

The purpose of this huge collective expression of solidarity is to inform the Thai government, fellow citizens of Thailand and other nations of the world that the overwhelming public opinion in the Southern Region is fully against the Department of Petroleum granting permission for oil exploration and drilling in the territory of Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao which could have a disastrously negative impact on the entire region’s tourism and fishing industries, with possible knock-on effects being experienced in Suratthani, Nakorn Sri Thammarat and Chumporn, and even places as far a field as Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga.

The committee is calling for the government’s grant to the project to be withdrawn forthwith and requests an official meeting with the Department of Petroleum in order to discuss possible energy production alternatives which wouldn’t potentially threaten the region’s thriving tourism industry.

Rak Aao Thai Group

yep 1 way to make it safe is for all those people that make trade such as fishing and torusime to have given hudge govement grants. so much that it would not make it worth to build.#

even if they were to give 1 million baht to each fisherman tourist worker and forang businesses. don't forget every business in these regions works with the sea. then that would probabaly be more than the oil rig. u have buge hotels which i think would want more than 1 million baht,.

[sevenhills]

Seen a big billboard driving into Nathon. Didn't see the dates, but something like join hands around Samui 52 kilometres.

Received this email yesterday.

Kill The Drill!

Koh Samui leads the protest against the oil exploration and drilling project off-shore of the Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao Region in the Gulf of Thailand.

Khun Ramamanate Jaikwang, President of the Siam Gulf Preservation Network Group, recently presided over the steering committee meeting for setting up a movement against any government grant to petroleum companies for oil exploration and drilling concessions in the territory of Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao.

The committee revealed that the direction of the movement shall be determined by representatives from official organizations, active communities, leading network groups and clubs on the islands, including: the Tourism Association of Koh Samui, the Thai Hotels Association (Southern Chapter, East Coast - Samui), the Tourism Association of Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao, the Green Island foundation and various other local community groups on Koh Samui and neighbouring islands.

The committee also announced that there shall be an initial mass demonstration, to be made on 31st July, 2010, of full public support against any oil exploration concessions. A minimum number of 35,000 local residents (including those from Koh Pha-Ngan, Koh Tao and Suratthani) and visitors (including foreigners who are sympathetic to the cause) will link hands forming a continuous human chain along Koh Samui's 52-kilometre long ring-road.

The purpose of this huge collective expression of solidarity is to inform the Thai government, fellow citizens of Thailand and other nations of the world that the overwhelming public opinion in the Southern Region is fully against the Department of Petroleum granting permission for oil exploration and drilling in the territory of Koh Samui, Koh Pha-Ngan and Koh Tao which could have a disastrously negative impact on the entire region's tourism and fishing industries, with possible knock-on effects being experienced in Suratthani, Nakorn Sri Thammarat and Chumporn, and even places as far a field as Phuket, Krabi and Phang-Nga.

The committee is calling for the government's grant to the project to be withdrawn forthwith and requests an official meeting with the Department of Petroleum in order to discuss possible energy production alternatives which wouldn't potentially threaten the region's thriving tourism industry.

Rak Aao Thai Group

yep 1 way to make it safe is for all those people that make trade such as fishing and torusime to have given hudge govement grants. so much that it would not make it worth to build.#

even if they were to give 1 million baht to each fisherman tourist worker and forang businesses. don't forget every business in these regions works with the sea. then that would probabaly be more than the oil rig. u have buge hotels which i think would want more than 1 million baht,.

Sorry, can't make sense of this comment?. Please explain in English. Cheers.

[ruskiehat]

Ok lets have a serious discussion here and lets base it on some facts here in Thailand and around the world.

My background is in the subsea oil and gas industry, although I work for oil and gas I still like and support Greenpeace for what they stand for, though not always agreeing with them. But they are needed as they have highlighted a lot of short comings in our world. .

The latest Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will hopefully change a lot of attitudes and lead to an improvement in safety and safety culture offshore. This does not mean Offshore Drilling is unsafe; It is all how it is managed and done. In the North Sea after the Piper alpha disaster the whole offshore mentality has changed. Hopefully this will also take place in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere.

Installing a Oil rig will not kill off sea life if done properly if you must know, installing underwater pipelines and structures encourage sea life to take hold in areas where normally there was no place for sea life to take hold. Any scuba diver will tell you this.

Trust me on this I see this every day at work, plus because fishing is restricted in these areas we have a build up of sea life. If you don't believe me, look at Norway, a Oil producing country with one of the largest Seafood industries. Both Oil and Seafood industries living and working successfully side by side.

We all need Oil in order to live in our present modern world, unless we are able to wean ourselves off it overnight we have no viable alternative.

Now lets look at Thailand. A country which more than any other country in the region has probably used the tourism dollar to develop and in a way industrialise it's islands and beach's for mass tourism to such an extent that it is now verging on over development. All these Tourists shiting, eating and using Carbon fuels to get to and fro, where do you think majority of all this waste is going. You really think the Thai's are thinking long term when it comes to the Environment.

I would love to hear some Green policies that are being done by the Thai government, someone please enlighten me. I can on the other hand tell you that builders, homeowners are getting NO help to reduce their Carbon footprint and yet you still have tax subsidies for fuel in efficient pick up trucks!!!!

I live in Pattaya, apart from Buddha hill would any of our Pattaya BM's on here like to point out any GREEN PARK areas dedicated for Children to play in, for locals to walk and exercise?

The Only reason In Bangkok we have Lumpini Park and other parks in Bangkok is probably because it was a dedicated park set aside years ago, if that land was available for Condo or office development right now it would have been built over by now.

So before foreigners on here go on harping on about saving the environment in Thailand which I am in favour off, maybe they should try convincing the local population 1^st, who are quite willing to keep to BUILD BABY BUILD, without any planning from what I can see. This is what is going to kill the Thai environment more than one Oil rig

Edited July 18, 2010 by ruskiehat

[Rooo]

Of interest , article :

Locals and expats discuss specific actions to oppose looming oil exploration

By Akanee Thongtara

Concerned local Thai citizens and expatriates on the island gathered at the office of the Tourism Association of Koh Samui to discuss actions to try to block the pending oil exploration projects of NuCoastal (Thailand), in the Gulf of Thailand near Koh Samui, and to solicit financial support for a major protest against proposed oil drilling. The "Hand around Samui" protest is planned to be held on July 31. The ring road protest foresees more than 35,000 people from the islands of Samui, Phangan and Tao holding hands and forming a human chain along Samui's ring road, between 10am and noon, to express their objection to drilling projects.

Continued link here

http://thesamuigazette.com/

[crusty]

Ok lets have a serious discussion here and lets base it on some facts here in Thailand and around the world.

My background is in the subsea oil and gas industry, although I work for oil and gas I still like and support Greenpeace for what they stand for, though not always agreeing with them. But they are needed as they have highlighted a lot of short comings in our world. .

The latest Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will hopefully change a lot of attitudes and lead to an improvement in safety and safety culture offshore. This does not mean Offshore Drilling is unsafe; It is all how it is managed and done. In the North Sea after the Piper alpha disaster the whole offshore mentality has changed. Hopefully this will also take place in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere.

Installing a Oil rig will not kill off sea life if done properly if you must know, installing underwater pipelines and structures encourage sea life to take hold in areas where normally there was no place for sea life to take hold. Any scuba diver will tell you this.

Trust me on this I see this every day at work, plus because fishing is restricted in these areas we have a build up of sea life. If you don't believe me, look at Norway, a Oil producing country with one of the largest Seafood industries. Both Oil and Seafood industries living and working successfully side by side.

We all need Oil in order to live in our present modern world, unless we are able to wean ourselves off it overnight we have no viable alternative.

Now lets look at Thailand. A country which more than any other country in the region has probably used the tourism dollar to develop and in a way industrialise it's islands and beach's for mass tourism to such an extent that it is now verging on over development. All these Tourists shiting, eating and using Carbon fuels to get to and fro, where do you think majority of all this waste is going. You really think the Thai's are thinking long term when it comes to the Environment.

I would love to hear some Green policies that are being done by the Thai government, someone please enlighten me. I can on the other hand tell you that builders, homeowners are getting NO help to reduce their Carbon footprint and yet you still have tax subsidies for fuel in efficient pick up trucks!!!!

I live in Pattaya, apart from Buddha hill would any of our Pattaya BM's on here like to point out any GREEN PARK areas dedicated for Children to play in, for locals to walk and exercise?

The Only reason In Bangkok we have Lumpini Park and other parks in Bangkok is probably because it was a dedicated park set aside years ago, if that land was available for Condo or office development right now it would have been built over by now.

So before foreigners on here go on harping on about saving the environment in Thailand which I am in favour off, maybe they should try convincing the local population 1^st, who are quite willing to keep to BUILD BABY BUILD, without any planning from what I can see. This is what is going to kill the Thai environment more than one Oil rig

So right ! At last a lucid sensible explanation to all the hysterical Green Loonies. Pity they didn't start protesting when the seismic work was done in 1971 !

[carmine]

Ok lets have a serious discussion here and lets base it on some facts here in Thailand and around the world.

My background is in the subsea oil and gas industry, although I work for oil and gas I still like and support Greenpeace for what they stand for, though not always agreeing with them. But they are needed as they have highlighted a lot of short comings in our world. .

The latest Oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will hopefully change a lot of attitudes and lead to an improvement in safety and safety culture offshore. This does not mean Offshore Drilling is unsafe; It is all how it is managed and done. In the North Sea after the Piper alpha disaster the whole offshore mentality has changed. Hopefully this will also take place in the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere.

Installing a Oil rig will not kill off sea life if done properly if you must know, installing underwater pipelines and structures encourage sea life to take hold in areas where normally there was no place for sea life to take hold. Any scuba diver will tell you this.

Trust me on this I see this every day at work, plus because fishing is restricted in these areas we have a build up of sea life. If you don't believe me, look at Norway, a Oil producing country with one of the largest Seafood industries. Both Oil and Seafood industries living and working successfully side by side.

We all need Oil in order to live in our present modern world, unless we are able to wean ourselves off it overnight we have no viable alternative.

Now lets look at Thailand. A country which more than any other country in the region has probably used the tourism dollar to develop and in a way industrialise it's islands and beach's for mass tourism to such an extent that it is now verging on over development. All these Tourists shiting, eating and using Carbon fuels to get to and fro, where do you think majority of all this waste is going. You really think the Thai's are thinking long term when it comes to the Environment.

I would love to hear some Green policies that are being done by the Thai government, someone please enlighten me. I can on the other hand tell you that builders, homeowners are getting NO help to reduce their Carbon footprint and yet you still have tax subsidies for fuel in efficient pick up trucks!!!!

I live in Pattaya, apart from Buddha hill would any of our Pattaya BM's on here like to point out any GREEN PARK areas dedicated for Children to play in, for locals to walk and exercise?

The Only reason In Bangkok we have Lumpini Park and other parks in Bangkok is probably because it was a dedicated park set aside years ago, if that land was available for Condo or office development right now it would have been built over by now.

So before foreigners on here go on harping on about saving the environment in Thailand which I am in favour off, maybe they should try convincing the local population 1^st, who are quite willing to keep to BUILD BABY BUILD, without any planning from what I can see. This is what is going to kill the Thai environment more than one Oil rig

So right ! At last a lucid sensible explanation to all the hysterical Green Loonies. Pity they didn't start protesting when the seismic work was done in 1971 !

Indeed it is an excellent post from someone that knows what they are talking about isn't it Crusty. We've all learnt something have'nt we.

[SamuiDude]

In a way "Ruskiehat" makes a lot of sense. Set aside the probable risk of the "possible future" incident, there's always two sides on the coin. This time Chevrolet's timing couldn't have been worse.

It's not like nuclear power was popular in Europe after Chernobyl's "nuclear winter". Times have changed and now nuclear power is making its way as Chernobyl is just a distant memory. In a wake of possible global warming scenario nuclear power seems to be the fastest, cleanest, economic and "safest" solution, as that one day in the history upgraded nuclear power plant safety issues world wide. New rules, -regulations, -safety measures and so forth were placed in.

Make no mistake [ ], safety features and measures on this future possible rig would be tightly viewed, ever more so than without the Gulf of Mexico catastrophe. BUT, we live in the world were safest, best, cheapest, cleanest, biggest or any other other superlative has it's fans and opposer's - nothing is EVER good for everyone. Democracy has it's means but in general - wisdom, power, corruption, political games and money are the ones that rule.

We should easily join our hands to show the world that we care of our island despite the result - it would show island's unity once facing a unique threat and this would mean there exists the ISLAND SPIRIT...

[screamingeagle]

This whole issue is such a load of crap. No one will stop it if it means cash for the Thai economy. Really, you people should stop wasting your time with useless billboards and leaflets. It's gonna happen. Get used to it and move on. Find another useless cause to waste your time on.

[sevenhills]

This whole issue is such a load of crap. No one will stop it if it means cash for the Thai economy. Really, you people should stop wasting your time with useless billboards and leaflets. It's gonna happen. Get used to it and move on. Find another useless cause to waste your time on.

S.E. If they spent as much time trying to resolve the (lack of) WATER issue on the island, (we may all have abundant flowing water) instead of wasting their time bagging projects that will inject vast amounts of much needed money into the Thai economy through job creations etc both on the mainland and on the islands. Wake up to yourselves.

Edited July 26, 2010 by sevenhills

[crusty]

This whole issue is such a load of crap. No one will stop it if it means cash for the Thai economy. Really, you people should stop wasting your time with useless billboards and leaflets. It's gonna happen. Get used to it and move on. Find another useless cause to waste your time on.

Well that settles it ! When Crusty campaigns for Governor his running mates will be Screaming Eagle and Carmine with Seven Hills as Ombudsman. Make your votes earlier, earlier !

[carmine]

This whole issue is such a load of crap. No one will stop it if it means cash for the Thai economy. Really, you people should stop wasting your time with useless billboards and leaflets. It's gonna happen. Get used to it and move on. Find another useless cause to waste your time on.

Well that settles it ! When Crusty campaigns for Governor his running mates will be Screaming Eagle and Carmine with Seven Hills as Ombudsman. Make your votes earlier, earlier !

We'll need work permits i suppose?

[screamingeagle]

This whole issue is such a load of crap. No one will stop it if it means cash for the Thai economy. Really, you people should stop wasting your time with useless billboards and leaflets. It's gonna happen. Get used to it and move on. Find another useless cause to waste your time on.

Well that settles it ! When Crusty campaigns for Governor his running mates will be Screaming Eagle and Carmine with Seven Hills as Ombudsman. Make your votes earlier, earlier !

Count me in! I'll buy a suite and an insincere smile tomorrow!

[crusty]

This whole issue is such a load of crap. No one will stop it if it means cash for the Thai economy. Really, you people should stop wasting your time with useless billboards and leaflets. It's gonna happen. Get used to it and move on. Find another useless cause to waste your time on.

Well that settles it ! When Crusty campaigns for Governor his running mates will be Screaming Eagle and Carmine with Seven Hills as Ombudsman. Make your votes earlier, earlier !

Count me in! I'll buy a suite and an insincere smile tomorrow!

No need. You will be presented with one of those white suits with a red sash and a chest full of gold medals including the obligatoray parachute wings !

[screamingeagle]

This whole issue is such a load of crap. No one will stop it if it means cash for the Thai economy. Really, you people should stop wasting your time with useless billboards and leaflets. It's gonna happen. Get used to it and move on. Find another useless cause to waste your time on.

Well that settles it ! When Crusty campaigns for Governor his running mates will be Screaming Eagle and Carmine with Seven Hills as Ombudsman. Make your votes earlier, earlier !

Count me in! I'll buy a suite and an insincere smile tomorrow!

No need. You will be presented with one of those white suits with a red sash and a chest full of gold medals including the obligatoray parachute wings !

Yeah. have you noticed that when Thais want to impress (elections, business etc) they are always wearing a military uniform in their photos!! Would you vote for a person who belongs, or had belonged to, an organisation that is responsible for 17 coups. I thnk not!

I remember going into a dentists in BKK a few years back. Plastered all over the reception walls were photos of the dentist wearing the obligatory military uniform. I turned round and walked straight out. I mean, would you entrust year teeth to a squaddie?????

Edited July 27, 2010 by screamingeagle